More Surprising Landmark Facts
Famous global sites achieve landmark status by transcending local geography to become symbols of human achievement, natural wonder, or shared global history. These world-class landmarks generally meet distinct criteria that elevate them to international recognition.They are instantly identifiable by people worldwide, often serving as the visual shorthand or defining image for an entire country. Many hold official designation as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, meaning they possess cultural or natural significance so exceptional they transcends national boundaries. Others represent a monumental leap in human capability, architectural design, or artistic expression for the era in which they were constructed. Most attract millions of international travelers annually, shifting from local reference points to major global tourism sites. But, did you know that many have rather surprising and interesting backstories? For example, were you aware that the Stonehenge monoliths were not quarried locally? Or that the Statue of Liberty was first intended to go to the Middle East or that the Roman Coliseum once had a sunshade awning? There’s more than meets the eye to many of the most famous landmarks in the world. Here we’ll take a look at six more and learn some of the most fascinating facts you didn’t know about a number of other iconic global landmarks.
Sonehenge - Wiltshire, England
Stonehenge is a world-famous prehistoric megalithic monument located on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Built in multiple stages between roughly 3000 BC and 1500 BC during the late Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, the iconic structure features a ring of massive standing horseshoe-shaped sarsen stones. These stones are large, hard blocks of silicified sandstone left behind as natural erosion remnants from roughly 34 to 66 million years ago. The sarsen stones are topped with interlocking lintels and a horseshoe of towering trilithons. These are megalithic structures made of two large vertical upright stones (posts) supporting a third horizontal stone (lintel) placed across the top. Managed by English Heritage and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Stonehenge is an architectural marvel. Its celebrated for its precise astronomical alignments with the solstices, though its exact purpose as a burial ground, ceremonial site, or ancient calendar remains a subject of ongoing historical study. What is also amazing is that the massive sarsen stones, which weigh between 25 and 40 tons apiece, came from the West Woods about 15 miles away while the smaller stones originated in Wales. We cannot yet determine how the ancients transported those heavy stones such long distances before the invention of the wheel.
Statue of Liberty - New York, USA
The Statue of Liberty, formally titled Liberty Enlightening the World, is a 305-foot monument on Liberty Island in New York Harbor that stands as a universal symbol of freedom, democracy and hope. It was conceived in 1865 by French political intellectual Édouard René de Laboulaye and sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi with an internal iron framework engineered by Gustave Eiffel. Sculptor Bartholdi originally designed this massive copper figure to guard the entrance to the Suez Canal in Egypt. When the Egyptian Government rejected the expensive project, he repurposed his early sketches and pitched the giant statue to the United States instead and it was presented as a gift from France to the United States and dedicated on October 28, 1886. The statue clutches a tablet inscribed with the date of the US Declaration of Independence in her left hand and holds a beacon torch aloft in her right. Lady Liberty also features broken shackles at her feet to honor the abolition of slavery and long served as a welcoming beacon to millions of immigrants arriving via nearby Ellis Island.
Colosseum - Rome, Italy
The Colosseum is a massive elliptical stone and concrete area in the center of Rome and stands as the largest ancient amphitheater ever built. The four-story structure could seat roughly 50,000 spectators who gathered for free public spectacles like gladiatorial combats, wild animal hunts, and mock naval battles. Most folks don’t know this, but the Colosseum originally had a retractable awning known as the velarium, an ancient Roman engineering marvel built to protect the tens of thousands of spectators from the scorching Mediterranean sun. The massive canvas-like system covered roughly 237,000 square feet and weighed an estimated 80 tons. It left an open ring in the center to allow hot air to escape and create a natural cooling breeze. To construct the velarium, Roman engineers mounted 240 towering wooden masts about 65 feet high into specialized sockets and stone brackets around the top edge of the amphitheater. It took hundreds of skilled sailors from the Imperial Roman Fleet to operate the complex network of ropes, wooden drums, pulleys and winches using horns and trumpets to coordinate the awning’s movement.
Mount Rushmore - South Dakota, USA
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is an enormous monumental sculpture carved into the granite face of a mountain in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota. Designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and executed between 1927 and 1941, the monument features 60-foot tall faces of four influential US presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Borglum selected these specific presidents to represent the birth, growth, development, and preservation of the United States. Today, the site is managed by the US National Park Service and attracts more than two million annual visitors, serving as an iconic symbol of American history and a subject of ongoing historical and cultural dialogue regarding its location on land sacred to the Lakota Sioux. Most people are unaware that a secret chamber was carved deep into the rock directly behind the head of Abraham Lincoln. This hidden room was intended to serve as a secure vault holding America’s most important historical documents for future civilizations to discover. Although no original historical documents were ever placed inside the vault, it does hold 16 porcelain enamel panels etched with the text of foundational US documents and historical records.
Machu Picchu - Andres Mountains, Peru
Machu Picchu is a 15th-Century Inca citadel perched high in the Andes Mountains of Southern Peru at an elevation of nearly 8,000 feet. Constructed around 1450, the site features remarkable dry-stone architecture, agricultural terraces, and sacred temples Though abandoned during the Spanish conquest and hidden by vegetation for centuries, it was brought to worldwide attention by Hiram Bingham in 1911 and is now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Amazingly, the ancient Incan engineers who built this mountaintop citadel cut their heavy granite blocks with such absolute precision that they did not need any mortar to hold them together. The stones fit together so tightly that you cannot even slide a piece of paper between them, allowing the walls to seamlessly shift and resettle during major earthquakes.
Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, USA
The Golden Gate Bridge is an iconic 1.7-mile suspension bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin County across the Golden Gate Straight. Designed by engineer Joseph Strauss, construction began in January of 1933 and took a little over four years to complete amid immense financial and physical challenges during the Great Depression. Strauss pioneered advanced safety measures, including a revolutionary safety net suspended beneath the floor that saved the lives of 19 workers. Despite these precautions, 11 men tragically lost their lives during the construction phase. Upon its completion, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest and tallest suspension bridge in the world. Its bright orange color was originally meant only as a temporary primer paint. But, the consulting architect noticed that the vibrant primer made the bridge highly visible in the thick bay fog and convinced the city to keep it in perpetuity.
Until next time...safe travels.
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