!!!Christ the Redeemer Statue

by Stanislav Sedov and
Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

15 November 2012

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

After we got accustomed to Rio, my friend Dima and myself decided to
visit the Corcovado hill, one of the city's main attractions, with
world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer on the top.

We couldn't get there by car so we had to load all our equipment on the
bus. The usual story followed after that: security at the entrance
wouldn't let us on the premises unless we had a photo permit from the
park's administration. An attempt to take off from the bus stop was also
stopped by guards. There were no other places near the statue from which
we could take off so that day we couldn't shoot anything.

[{Image src='01_Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

After we found out the address of the park's administration we
immediately rushed in that direction. But we had to look for this
address for a long time because there was no exact location on the map.
Finally, with a help from local residents, we found our way. It was a
very beautiful place: high up in the mountains in the heart of the
national park. Surprisingly, we couldn't get any cell service in the
area; instead, we had a very good connection via free WiFi.

I'd rather skip the details of our conversation with the administration
representatives. Basically, they had nothing against us taking pictures
of the statue, but at the same time they couldn't allow the photo shoot
without getting approval from the church first. For some unknown reason,
the church also couldn't give such approval on a short notice. So after
a day of worthless struggle we returned to the hotel without any permits
or documentations.

The next day Dima rented a large helicopter to take pictures of the
Christ statue. In the evening, without any hope for a positive answer,
we decided to call the park's administration. And a miracle happened! An
employee in charge of our case was able to get a photo permit from the
church representatives. We were allowed to take off from the base of the
statue!

[{Image src='02_Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='441'}]

The next morning we got up before dawn. It was still dark when we drove
up to the bus parking space. Guards at the gate had been warned to let
us in on our own transportation.

But as we climbed higher up the hill the expression on our faces
gradually changed from happy to gloomy: the top of the mountain was
covered by thick fog. All the way from the parking lot to the
observation desk we were surrounded with "milky fog". On the way up we
met another group of people who were making a film about Rio.

We spent all this time in agony while waiting to see if the fog would
clear away. It would have been such a shame to fly halfway round the
world, spend so much effort to get here at dawn and not to shoot
anything because of heavy clouds.

But we were lucky: during sunrise the wind blew from the ocean and
gradually cleared the fog away from the hill, leaving behind fantastic
colors. Suddenly a huge heavy cloud floated above our heads became
brightly coloured in orange. Dima shouted: "Urgent take off!" And we
were on our way!

[{Image src='03_Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='396'}]

Over the last year I've seen many amazing sunrises, but I haven't seen
so many colors at the same time. Color extravaganza lasted for about 10
minutes. During that time we managed to make 2 short take offs, the
results of which you can see in our virtual tour.

And now we would like to give you some interesting facts about Christ
the Redeemer Statue:

Each great city has its own landmark. Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Statue
of Liberty in New York, Opera house in Vienna, and majestic Kremlin
towers, famous Moscow landmark. But today we want to tell you about the
statue of Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) in Rio de Janeiro.

On a 700-meter high Corcovado mountain stands a giant figure of Christ,
his arms are stretched out towards the city, as if blessing the land.
Each year, nearly 2 million tourists and residents climb to the top of
the mountain to take a photo besides the monument "for good luck."

[{Image src='04_Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='585'}]

The exact dimensions of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro
are as follows: the height of the figure is 38 meters, the height of the
pedestal — 8 meters, weight — 1145 tons, arm stretch — 30 meters. It is
believed that the idea behind ??the creation of the statue came up in
1922, on the 100th anniversary of Brazil's independence. It appears that
the story of the statue goes with its roots deep in the past.

Back in 1859 a Catholic priest Pedro Maria Boss was struck by the
majestic beauty of the mountain of Corcovado while visiting Brazil. It
was he who proposed to build a monument to Christ on top of the
mountain. But at that time his aspirations were hard to accomplish:
first the Brazilian Court had no money, and then the monarchy was
replaced by the republican government. And since the church was legally
separated from the state, the idea of building a monument was forgotten.

The mountain was too striking to be empty, and in the XXth century
Catholic organizations of Rio de Janeiro raised the issue again.
Signatures were collected, funds were raised and, as a result, this
ambitious project was able to get more than 2 million reals ($250,000),
a huge amount of money for that time.

[{Image src='05_Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro in fog.jpg' caption='Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro in fog' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='336'}]

Administration of Rio de Janeiro announced a competition for the best
design, which attracted a lot of contenders. The winner was Heitor da
Silva Costa. He proposed that the posture of Jesus Christ with the arms
stretched to the sides would symbolize a cross, and a massive pedestal
would symbolize the globe. Thus, the sculpture serves to give people one
thought — "Everything is in God's hands."

The final design of the monument was done by artist Carlos Oswald. By
proposing a number of corrections, he rejected the idea of a globe. And
then, finally, everything was ready for the monument to be built.

The construction lasted for about nine years. For several reasons, first
and foremost technological ones, the creation of a giant statue in
Brazil at that time was impossible, so all parts, including the frame,
were manufactured in France.

[{Image src='06_Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='540'}]

Disassembled parts were delivered to Brazil, and then transported by
rail to the top of Mount Corcovado. The opening of the monument took
place in October 12, 1931. This date is considered to be the "birthday"
of the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro and is annually celebrated
with a lot of festivities.

The statue was repaired twice — in 1980 and 1990, and in 2010 it
underwent some cosmetic restoration: it was vandalized with strange
inscriptions, such as "when the cat's away, the mice will play" (the
meaning of this act remains unclear to this day).

In 1932 and 2000 the system of nighttime illumination was upgraded. In
2007, this famous Rio de Janeiro landmark was chosen as one of the Seven
New Wonders of the World.

[{Image src='07_Rio de Janeiro.jpg' caption='Rio de Janeiro' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='537'}]

The statue can be reached by electric train or by mountain road. While
being driving to the statue, you can't stay away from the window even
for a second because Brazilian nature is so picturesque. Observation
desks offer astonishing views of Rio de Janeiro: the famous beaches of
Copacabana and Ipanema, "Sugar Loaf" mountain, the Tijuca National Park,
the Atlantic Ocean and the Guanabara Bay with a town at the base of the
bay.

Not to sound vain, please take a look at this breathtaking sight with
the help of our virtual tour.

\\ \\
[12 Panoramas of Christ the Redeemer Statue|Geography/America/Brazil/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Christ_the_Redeemer_Statue]
[{SET customtitle='Redeemer Statue (AP)'}]
[{Metadata Suchbegriff='Redeemee'}]