The Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is not only the symbol of Paris but an enduring icon of France. This iron lattice tower is special because it was originally criticized for its design when it was erected for the 1889 World's Fair, yet it has become one of the most recognizable structures globally. Its 300-meter height made it the tallest man-made structure for 41 years, and it offers visitors breathtaking views over the City of Light.
Did you know?
An unusual story about the Eiffel Tower involves its role during World War II. When German forces occupied Paris, the French cut the Tower's lift cables to prevent Hitler from visiting the top unless he climbed the steps. As a result, Hitler never ascended the Tower, and it is said that the French flag was hoisted atop the Eiffel Tower when Paris was liberated before the city itself was fully free.
If you want to know more about the Eiffel Tower, in Paris. It might help you choose the right colors to apply o this iconic french structure. Imagine this landmark in 1889 World's Fair. Please read on below. Or you can also color this other free coloring page on another Paris landmark.
The Eiffel Tower is one of the most popular landmarks in the world. It is located in the magnificent capital city of the country, Paris. It is the main symbol of Paris and one of the symbols of France. It was built between 1887 and 1889. It got the name after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, as his company built the tower.
Nowadays it is the most-visited paid monument in the world, with around 7 million tourists each year. It has a height of 324 meters (1,063 feet), which is about the same height as an 81-storey building. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in France and was the tallest building in the world for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York was made.
It was also the first-ever man-made structure to surpass 200 and 300 meters. It is made of 18,000 metallic parts. While today it’s not even in the top 100 tallest buildings in the world, it is still a large and impressive construction very appreciated by tourists from all over the world.
You would have to take 1,665 steps to get to the top, but don’t worry because you won’t need to do that. You can easily get to the top with an elevator, and the elevators here are travelling more than 100,000 km each year. That’s 2.5 times the circumference of the Earth!
The tower is repainted every 7 years and it needs a whopping 60 tons of paint. It looks beautiful during the day, but it’s even more impressive at night when it’s lighted by 20,000 lightbulbs.
Top interesting facts about the Eiffel tower:
1- Initially, the Eiffel Tower was scheduled to be demolished after 20 years. It was built to display the French industrial mastery during a World Fair and then they would tear it down, to use the land. But Gustave Eiffel installed a radio antenna with a wireless telegraph transmitter inside the tower. And ...
2- In November 1898, after the very first radio contact in Morse code with Parthenon (Greece), they decided to permanently install a transmitting station on the tower. One year later, they were able to communicate with London via radio transmission. The tower became very useful for the country, so they decided against the idea of destroying it. :)
3- Another interesting fact is that there is a private apartment that you can visit when it is open to the public. Gustave Eiffel, the genius behind the design, included this apartment for himself and organized many 'parties' which included famous guests like Thomas Edison.
4- Curiously enough, during World War II, Hitler and his army occupied France and he ordered the Eiffel Tower to be destroyed. It proved to be unsuccessful. The German General Dietrich von Choltitz took credit for sparing the destruction of the Eiffel Tower. He intentionally disobeyed the order, and luckily since the war was near the end, it was never demolished.
5- An amusing piece of history also came from that era. When the French Resistance, discovered that the Germans were planning to hoist their flag on the tower, they cut the elevator cable, so that it forced the Nazis to go up the stairs to raise up their flag.
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