60 free Christ the Redeemer trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Christ the Redeemer trivia quiz covers the open-armed statue above Rio de Janeiro from a priest's proposal in the 1850s to the restorations of the 21st century. The easy questions are ones any traveller can attempt: which city and country it watches over, which mountain it stands on, what it is made of, how tall it is and which famous list of seven it joined in 2007. From there it moves into how it was built: the Catholic Circle's Monument Week, the rejected globe-and-cross design, the French sculptor, the Brazilian engineer, the Romanian who carved the face and the Frenchman who made the concrete work. The harder end is for Rio regulars and engineering buffs: the concrete shipped from Sweden, the cost in 1931 dollars, Marconi's radio switch, the rack railway that Dom Pedro II opened in 1884, the 223 steps, the chapel under the statue, the 2008 and 2014 lightning strikes, the 60,000 replacement stones, the paint-sprayed arm, the Ronaldo tyre advert and the family of Christ statues from Cochabamba to Almada and the Ozarks that it inspired. Every answer was checked against encyclopaedia entries on the statue, its makers and its setting before publishing, and the supporting sentence is stored with each question. If you enjoy this one, try our Brazil, world landmarks and Seven Wonders quizzes next.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Christ the Redeemer overlooks which city?
Rio de Janeiro
It has become a cultural icon of both the city and Brazil.
Q 02What does Corcovado, the name of the statue's mountain, mean in Portuguese?
Hunchback
The granite peak rises about 710 metres in the Tijuca Forest.
Q 03In which artistic style is Christ the Redeemer built?
Art Deco
It is the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world.
Q 04How tall is the statue, excluding its pedestal?
30 metres
The pedestal adds another 8 metres.
Q 05How wide is the statue's outstretched armspan?
28 metres
The open arms were chosen as a symbol of peace over an earlier design holding a globe and a cross.
Q 06What two materials is the statue made of?
Reinforced concrete and soapstone
Soapstone was chosen for its endurance and ease of use.
Q 07Which direction does the statue face?
East
It looks out over Guanabara Bay toward the sunrise.
Q 08How much does the statue weigh?
635 tonnes
That is about 700 short tons.
Q 09Between which years was the statue constructed?
1922 and 1931
Construction took nine years.
Q 10On what date did the monument open?
12 October 1931
12 October is also the feast of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil's patron saint.
Q 11Which French-Polish sculptor created the statue?
Paul Landowski
He was born in Paris to a Polish father who had fled the January Uprising.
Q 12Which Brazilian engineer designed and built the monument after winning a 1924 competition?
Heitor da Silva Costa
He collaborated with a local artist on the design.
Q 13A sculptor from which country carved the statue's face?
Romania
Gheorghe Leonida had studied at the Fine Arts Conservatory in Bucharest and in Italy.
Q 14Which French engineer designed the reinforced-concrete structure?
Q 21Roughly how far away was Marconi when he was supposed to light the statue?
9,200 km
He was stationed in Rome.
Q 22What was consecrated beneath the statue on its 75th anniversary in 2006?
A chapel
It is named after Our Lady of the Apparition and hosts baptisms and weddings.
Q 23What natural hazard damaged the statue's fingers, head and eyebrows in February 2008?
Lightning
Another strike in January 2014 dislodged a finger on the right hand.
Q 24What did vandals do to the statue during its 2010 renovation?
Albert Caquot
Engineers judged concrete more suitable than steel for the cross-shaped statue.
Q 15Which Vincentian priest first proposed a Christian monument on Corcovado in the 1850s?
Pedro Maria Boss
He wanted to honour the emperor's daughter, the regent, but the project was never approved.
Q 16Why was the 1850s statue proposal finally dropped after 1889?
The new republic separated church and state
The idea was revived by the Catholic Circle of Rio in 1920.
Q 17What was the name of the 1920 event organised to collect donations and signatures for the statue?
Semana do Monumento
Monument Week was driven by concern about godlessness in society, and Brazilian Catholics gave most of the money.
Q 18What did the original design show Christ holding?
A globe in one hand and a cross in the other
Organisers accepted it at first, then switched to the open-armed figure.
Q 19From which country was the concrete for the base supplied?
Sweden
It came from Limhamn.
Q 20Which inventor was meant to switch on the statue's floodlights by radio from Rome at the 1931 opening?
Guglielmo Marconi
Bad weather meant the lights had to be switched on at the site instead.
Sprayed paint along the arm
The mayor called it a crime against the nation; the culprits later apologised.
Q 25How many replacement stones were used in the 2010 restoration?
60,000
They came from the same quarry as the original, and one hundred people worked on the job.
Q 26Why are replacement stones on the statue getting darker over time?
The original pale stone is running out
Strong winds and erosion make periodic maintenance necessary.
Q 27In what colours was the restored statue lit in 2010, and why?
Green and yellow for Brazil at the World Cup
Brazil were playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the time.
Q 28Which footballer replaced the statue in a controversial 1998 Pirelli tyre commercial?
Ronaldo
His trademark goal celebration was both arms outstretched; the Catholic Church objected.
Q 29Christ the Redeemer was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Where were the winners announced on 7 July 2007?
Lisbon
The poll was run by Bernard Weber's New 7 Wonders Foundation, based in Zurich.
Q 30The statue stands within which national park?
Tijuca
The forest is largely the result of reforestation begun in the 1860s.