The tallest statues on 6 continents (7 photos) (photo)

Since a list of the world's tallest statues doesn't offer any interesting geography (they're all in Asia) or diversity of characters (half are Buddha statues), we looked at each continent. Which statues are the tallest in each continent? How's the Statue of Liberty doing? Is it considered tall? Is it true that all the monuments in Australia are upside down? And what about Antarctica? Well, there you have it. We'll go from shortest to tallest. And note—we include the height of the pedestal.

Australia — The Big Merino





Height: 15.2 m

Australia was an immediate problem. It's supposedly a large, developed country, but there aren't any particularly tall statues. We only accept sculptures of living creatures for our collection, so that leaves only this little ram.

The monument was erected in 1985 as a tribute to local farmers and sheep farming. Inside Rambo, as the locals call it, there's an exhibition on the history of Australian sheep farming, a shop selling genuine Merino wool products (the breed's name), and a spiral staircase leading to a viewing platform in the ram's eye.

Oceania — Christ the Redeemer Statue



Country: East Timor

Height: 27 m

Since Australia is such a quirk, let's expand this part of the world a bit to include Oceania. The tallest monument here is the Christ the Redeemer statue, located on the top of the Fatucama Peninsula, in the suburbs of East Timor's capital, Dili. It's extremely picturesque, despite the state of the statue itself.

South America — Cristo de la Concordia





Country: Bolivia

Height: 34.2 m (40 m with pedestal)

No, not the one in Rio. Brazil's Christ the Redeemer statue is 4 meters shorter on its own and 2 meters shorter with its pedestal.

Africa — African Renaissance Monument



Country: Senegal

Height: 49 m

The bronze composition, depicting a young family, was erected on a 100-meter hill by North Korean (!) builders in the socialist realist style. The monument drew harsh criticism from the local population due to its enormous cost ($27 million) and the semi-nude appearance of the figures. The complex is completely floored inside, and the head of the main male figure houses an observation deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

North America - The Birth of the New World (or the Columbus Statue)



Country: Puerto Rico

Height: 110 m

No, this isn't the Statue of Liberty; it's second tallest at 93 meters including the pedestal (the statue itself is 46 meters). And yes, the monument is reminiscent of the Peter the Great Monument in Moscow, as it was also designed by Zurab Tsereteli.

By the way, we didn't include the Moscow Peter the Great on the list, since with a total height of 98 meters (taller than the Motherland Monument), the Peter the Great statue itself is only 18 meters tall (about 18% of the height). The rest is the giant ship, the rostral columns, and the granite island pedestal. The Columbus statue in Puerto Rico is slightly taller than the Statue of Liberty without the pedestal, so it's all fair game.

Asia — Statue of Unity



Country: India

Height: 182 m (with pedestal — 240 m)

This is by far the tallest statue in the world. With or without the pedestal. The reinforced concrete monument depicts Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement, which united the disparate states into a single country.

And now for the most interesting part.

Antarctica — Bust of Lenin



Height: 1.5-2 m

The bust of Lenin was erected by Soviet polar explorers in 1958 on the roof of the temporary "Pole of Inaccessibility" station, marking their achievement at the most remote point in Antarctica. Over the decades, the station itself has become completely buried under several meters of snow, leaving only this plastic monument, officially designated a protected historical site, perched on the surface of the icy plateau.