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Everyone has a bucket list to fulfill; I too have mine and to visit Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro has to be one such thing. We have seen the statue several times, in movies, in pictures, and drawn as wall art. The beautiful Christ overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro tempts us to pay a visit and over 2 million people visit the site. It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and a symbol of religion. Let us know more about it in the following article. 

It is older than it looks 

Many of us predict that Christ the Redeemer is a 21st century marvel but the statue was constructed in 1931 over a course of 9 years. The statue that stands on the top of Corcovado mountain and is 38 meters(124.7ft) high, it weighs 635 metric tons and after its construction it has become a cultural icon of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a symbol of Christianity across the world. 

The original design was different 

Christ the Redeemer is the largest Art Deco statue in the world, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and then constructed by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and French engineer Albert Caquot. However, initially, it was planned for the statue to have a cross in his left hand and a globe of the world in his right hand. But after fierce criticism in the media, the statue was redesigned to the current famous version with both hands wide spread. 

Stories inspired by Christ the Redeemer 

Several stories inspired by the statue have come up in the recent years, once such story is ?The Sailor.? A sailor man was fed up with life and he wanted to leave his ship to search for drinks in the port district. Just when he stepped outside all of a sudden he saw Jesus appear up in the clouds. With no idea of what was going on at the top of the mountain, he was in shock of this vision. He turned around, went back to the ship, called the father and made his confessions. According to the legend, that shows how big of an impact the whole construction of the statue had, he then never touched alcohol anymore or thought to take his own life. 

Christ the Redeemer stand on top of a mountain peak and almost after 100 years after its construction the fact that the statue stands on top of a large mountain makes it prone to lightning strikes, and it gets hit several times a year. In 2008, an enormous thunderstorm damaged the head, eyebrows, and fingers. Later, in 2014, lightning hit and broke one of Christ?s fingers. Also, over the years, the statue is gradually getting darker. 

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