The Lion of Belfort

The Lion of Belfort is a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi located in Belfort, France. It was finished in 1880 and is entirely made of pink sandstone. The blocs it is made of were individually sculpted then moved under Belfort castle to be assembled. The sculpture is 22 meters long and 11 meters high.

Related Topics:
Frédéric Bartholdi - Belfort - France - 1880 - Sandstone - Castle

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The lion symbolizes the heroic resistance of Belfort during a 103 days long Prussian assault (from December 1870 to February 1871). The city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (only 3,500 were from the military) lead by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau.

Related Topics:
Lion - Belfort - Prussia - December - 1870 - February - 1871 - Denfert-Rochereau

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Instead of facing Prussia to the east as was intended, it was turned the other way because of German protestations.

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A copy of the statue stands in the center of Denfert-Rochereau square in Paris.

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