14 Curiosities that perhaps you did not know about the Eiffel Tower.
14 Curiosities that perhaps you did not know about the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris hides a multitude of curiosities. This monument, built at the end of the 19th century, has become a symbol of the city, of France itself and, at the time, of technical modernity.
It is one of the most visited monuments in the world and one of the most reproduced in the cinema or in novels, hence its enormous popularity. But the Eiffel Tower contains some incredible stories. We have compiled 14 most interesting curiosities about the Eiffel Tower.
1. The Eiffel Tower was built for a Universal Exposition.
On the occasion of the centenary of the French Revolution, in 1889 Paris was chosen as the city to hold the Universal Exposition. The organization opened a project contest to choose its main image, whose characteristics were that it had to be made of iron and be 300 meters high. The Eiffel Tower entered the contest, and won it. The most curious thing is that in the contest there were proposals as peculiar as a giant guillotine.
2. Previously rejected by Barcelona and other cities
Actually, the project was presented for the Universal Exhibition of Barcelona, which was held in 1888, but the proposal was rejected by the Government. In the same way, it was also rejected in other European cities for not fitting in with the prevailing aesthetics of the moment.
3. An “express” construction
Due to the very structure of the Eiffel Tower, conceived as a gigantic Meccano, it was completely built in just over two years. Specifically, 2 years, 2 months and 5 days; between February 1887 and March 1889. This “express” tempo is due to the fact that a large part of the assembly was carried out in the workshops of the Eiffel companies. For the same reason, on site, the number of workers never exceeded 250.
4. Some technical details
The Eiffel Tower is made up of 18,038 iron pieces of 5,300 different designs and its assembly with two and a half million rivets, much more than necessary, which were added for safety.
5. Radio saved the Eiffel Tower
As an ephemeral monument it was meant to be, the Eiffel Tower concession was established for 20 years. That means that in 1909 it had to be demolished.
In addition, except for the numerous visits during the Exposition (around 2 million people), the number of tickets sold falls year after year.
However, before the end of the concession, a radio station was installed in the tower, which confirms its strategic interest. For this reason, the concession was extended for another 70 years.
6. It was the tallest building in the world
The 300 meters of the Eiffel Tower allowed it to be placed in the first place of the tallest buildings in the world. This record was held until 1930, when the Chrysler Building in New York was built. In total, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world for 41 years. At present, with the new antenna installed in 2022, the Eiffel Tower stands at a height of 330 meters.
7. Strategic enclave during the First World War
The Eiffel Tower had a very important strategic role during the First World War. On the one hand, the tower was used as a radio and telecommunication test station for the French army. With this, two primary objectives were met: to intercept enemy signals and direct the strategic organization of French troops.
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