29/08/2016
Let’s talk about one of the most visited places in the world: Christ the Redeemer!
Did you know it even have a heart? Or that you can get married inside of it? One of the most known “postal card” places in Rio de Janeiro has some very interesting curiosities that just a few people know, but today I will tell you some of them!
Heart:
On Christ the Redeemer it is possible to see a discrete heart, which is a stylized image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Measuring 1.30m, is the only part of the Monument, coated soapstone, that is projected into the building. Through this symbol, on opening day, all of Brazil was consecrated to the Sacred Heart (of Jesus).
Inside of it, master engineer Heitor Levy and fiscal engineer Pedro Fernandes Viana put a glass phial containing a parchment with the genealogy of both families, as a demonstration of faith and gratitude.
Small Triangles:
The statue is hollow, made of reinforced concrete, and covered with thousands of small triangles of soapstones, which are usually damaged by lighting along the years. In fact, despite the lightning rods, the Statue of Christ the Redeemer is hit by lightnings several times per month in the summer.
Father Pierre-Marie Boss was the first to have the idea of building a religious monument on top of Mount Corcovado. He left his dream recorded in a poem in the prologue of the 1903 edition of the book "Imitation of Christ":
Poem:
"Oh Corcovado: there stands the stone giant, craggy, towering and sad, as if questioning the immense horizon: -" When will you come? For centuries I hope. Yes, here is the unique pedestal in the world. When will the statue, as I colossal - image of the one who made me "?
Chapel:
Dozens of couples get married and several babies get baptized every year in the small chapel inside the pedestal underneath Christ the Redeemer Statue.
Size:
Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro was the tallest in the world when it was built in 1931. Since then many other Jesus statues have been built. Nowadays (2013), there are two other statues of Christ bigger than Christ the Redeemer statue, which are Christ of Peace (Cochabamba, Bolívia) only 2 meters higher and Christ the King (Swiebodzin, Poland) 13 meters higher.
Super-resistant:
Being on top of Corcovado, the Monument was designed to withstand winds of up to 250km / h - four times higher than the average recorded at the time of its construction. He even withstands the winds of a Category 5 hurricane, like Hurricane Katrina, which hit the USA in 2005.
