60 Fun Facts About Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer overlooks which city?

It has become a cultural icon of both the city and Brazil.

What does Corcovado, the name of the statue's mountain, mean in Portuguese?

The granite peak rises about 710 metres in the Tijuca Forest.

In which artistic style is Christ the Redeemer built?

It is the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world.

How tall is the statue, excluding its pedestal?

The pedestal adds another 8 metres.

How wide is the statue's outstretched armspan?

The open arms were chosen as a symbol of peace over an earlier design holding a globe and a cross.

What two materials is the statue made of?

Soapstone was chosen for its endurance and ease of use.

Which direction does the statue face?

It looks out over Guanabara Bay toward the sunrise.

How much does the statue weigh?

That is about 700 short tons.

Between which years was the statue constructed?

Construction took nine years.

On what date did the monument open?

12 October is also the feast of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil's patron saint.

Which French-Polish sculptor created the statue?

He was born in Paris to a Polish father who had fled the January Uprising.

Which Brazilian engineer designed and built the monument after winning a 1924 competition?

He collaborated with a local artist on the design.

A sculptor from which country carved the statue's face?

Gheorghe Leonida had studied at the Fine Arts Conservatory in Bucharest and in Italy.

Which French engineer designed the reinforced-concrete structure?

Engineers judged concrete more suitable than steel for the cross-shaped statue.

Which Vincentian priest first proposed a Christian monument on Corcovado in the 1850s?

He wanted to honour the emperor's daughter, the regent, but the project was never approved.

Why was the 1850s statue proposal finally dropped after 1889?

The idea was revived by the Catholic Circle of Rio in 1920.

What was the name of the 1920 event organised to collect donations and signatures for the statue?

Monument Week was driven by concern about godlessness in society, and Brazilian Catholics gave most of the money.

What did the original design show Christ holding?

Organisers accepted it at first, then switched to the open-armed figure.

From which country was the concrete for the base supplied?

It came from Limhamn.

Which inventor was meant to switch on the statue's floodlights by radio from Rome at the 1931 opening?

Bad weather meant the lights had to be switched on at the site instead.

Roughly how far away was Marconi when he was supposed to light the statue?

He was stationed in Rome.

What was consecrated beneath the statue on its 75th anniversary in 2006?

It is named after Our Lady of the Apparition and hosts baptisms and weddings.

What natural hazard damaged the statue's fingers, head and eyebrows in February 2008?

Another strike in January 2014 dislodged a finger on the right hand.

What did vandals do to the statue during its 2010 renovation?

The mayor called it a crime against the nation; the culprits later apologised.

How many replacement stones were used in the 2010 restoration?

They came from the same quarry as the original, and one hundred people worked on the job.

Why are replacement stones on the statue getting darker over time?

Strong winds and erosion make periodic maintenance necessary.

In what colours was the restored statue lit in 2010, and why?

Brazil were playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the time.

Which footballer replaced the statue in a controversial 1998 Pirelli tyre commercial?

His trademark goal celebration was both arms outstretched; the Catholic Church objected.

Christ the Redeemer was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Where were the winners announced on 7 July 2007?

The poll was run by Bernard Weber's New 7 Wonders Foundation, based in Zurich.

The statue stands within which national park?

The forest is largely the result of reforestation begun in the 1860s.

Which emperor opened the Corcovado Rack Railway in October 1884?

The line was later the first in Brazil to be electrified.

How long is the Corcovado Rack Railway?

The trip takes about 20 minutes and departs every 20 minutes.

How many steps lead from the railway terminus to the observation deck at the statue's foot?

Escalators and lifts were added in 2003.

Which rack system does the Corcovado railway use?

It is metre gauge with a maximum incline of 30 percent.

Which Winterthur company built the trains that served the Corcovado line from 1980 to 2019?

Their successor company Stadler supplied the replacements in 2019.

Which of these famous passengers is recorded as having ridden the Corcovado railway?

Popes Pius XII and John Paul II, Santos-Dumont and Princess Diana also rode it.

Landowski's Christ the Redeemer was a collaboration; who is credited with the design alongside Silva Costa?

Oswald was a local artist.

Which sibling of the sculptor who carved the face was a pioneering female engineer?

Their brother Dimitrie Leonida was also an engineer.

The statue's French structural engineer is also remembered for designing what in the First World War?

The US built nearly a thousand Caquot R balloons in 1918-19.

The statue's French-Polish sculptor won which prestigious prize in 1900 with a statue of David?

He went on to a fifty-five-year career.

The Cristo de la Concordia in which Bolivian city is slightly taller than Rio's statue thanks to 44 centimetres of hair?

It stands on San Pedro Hill.

The Christ the King statue in Świebodzin, Poland, was given its height of thirty-three units for what symbolic reason?

With its mound and crown it reaches 52.5 metres.

The Sanctuary of Christ the King in Almada, Portugal, was inspired by Rio's statue after whose visit in 1934?

It overlooks the Portuguese capital from across the Tagus.

The Christ of the Ozarks near Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was erected in 1966 by whom?

It stands atop Magnetic Mountain and was inspired by Rio's statue.

Christ of the Abyss, a submerged bronze statue of Jesus, has its original cast off which coast?

It sits near where Dario Gonzatti, the first Italian to use scuba gear, died in 1947.

Which Vietnamese city has a 32-metre Christ statue among the many inspired by Rio's?

Cristo Rei in Dili, East Timor, is another at 27 metres.

The city's name means January River. In which year did Europeans first see Guanabara Bay, on New Year's Day?

They mistook the bay for the mouth of a river.

The 1850s monument was intended to honour which daughter of the emperor?

She was regent of Brazil and the emperor's daughter.

Which mayor called the 2010 paint attack a crime against the nation?

The culprits later apologised and turned themselves in to police.

What year saw the Corcovado railway electrified, a first for Brazil?

It had been steam-hauled from its opening.

Roughly how many passengers per hour can the Corcovado railway's three electric trains carry?

Waits to board can stretch to several hours because of the limited capacity.

What was the statue's construction cost, in the money of the day?

That is roughly $4.5 million in 2025 dollars.

Christ the Redeemer holds what world record among sculptures?

Several later Christ statues are taller, including the 43-metre Christ the Protector in Encantado in southern Brazil.

How high is Corcovado, the mountain on which the statue stands?

The peak sits inside Tijuca National Park, and the statue adds another 30 metres plus its pedestal on top.

How tall is the pedestal on which the 30-metre statue stands?

The whole structure faces east and stretches its arms 28 metres wide across the summit.

What did the vandals who spray-painted the statue's arm in 2010 eventually do?

Mayor Eduardo Paes had branded the attack a crime against the nation while the four-month restoration was under way.

What did a lightning strike on 17 January 2014 knock off the statue?

An earlier strike in February 2008 had already damaged the fingers, head and eyebrows and prompted repairs to the lightning rods.

The chapel consecrated beneath the statue in 2006 is named after which patron saint of Brazil?

Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated it on the 75th anniversary, allowing baptisms and weddings to be held there.

Which Brazilian town's 43-metre Christ the Protector statue overtops Rio's landmark?

It stands in Rio Grande do Sul; Bolivia's Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba is another that edges past the Rio original.

What perceived trend in society motivated the Catholic Circle of Rio's 1920 push for the statue?

Their Monument Week collected donations, mostly from Brazilian Catholics, and the open-armed design was chosen as a symbol of peace.