The Belfort Lion - the legacy of a talented master (10 photos + 1 video)

This colossal lion, colossal in size and majesty, was created by the same man who designed the Statue of Liberty.





The massive Lion of Belfort, standing at the foot of the fortress in the city of Belfort in France, serves as a symbol and reminder of the French resistance to the Prussian troops.



Belfort

The giant lion, erected in 1880, commemorates the French resistance to the invading Prussian forces, who greatly outnumbered them. In the 1870s, Prussian troops stormed the town of Belfort for 103 days. The invading force numbered some 40,000 men against only 17,000 French, but eventually the Prussian siege was repelled. Less than a decade later, a massive lion was erected to commemorate the battle.





Frederic Auguste Bartholdi

Sculptor Frederic Bartholdi, who had just completed the Statue of Liberty, made the lion from sandstone taken exclusively from the Belfort fortress. It is almost 11 meters high from head to paw, and more than 22 meters long. There are smaller copies in Paris and Montreal, but the true size of the monument can only be understood by looking at the original Belfort Lion.



The Lion of Belfort

Bartholdi's famous works also include the figures of the four trumpeting angels in the church in Boston, the statue of Diderot on Place Diderot in Langres, and the "Bartholdi Fountain" in Lyon.