Christ the Redeemer

The 30-metre statue with open arms above the city

On the 700-metre Corcovado mountain above Rio stands a giant statue — Christ with open arms. It is 30 metres tall, its arms span 28 metres, and it was built in 1931. It is covered in 6 million pieces of soapstone — women wrote wishes on the back of each one! Lightning strikes the statue several times a year; in 2014 it broke off a finger. You get to the top by train and 220 steps.

Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) stands on Corcovado mountain (710 m) in Tijuca National Park; built in 1922–1931 by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, French sculptor Paul Landowski (plaster models in Paris) and Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida (the face). 30 m tall on an 8 m pedestal, arms spanning 28 m, weighing 635 t; a reinforced-concrete core faced with a mosaic of 6 million triangles of soapstone (steatite — resistant to heat and rain). Funded by donations from Brazilian Catholics. The largest Art Deco statue in the world. Lightning strikes it 3–6 times a year (it has lightning rods). One of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World' (2007). 2 million visitors a year; a rack railway (1884, Brazil's first electric train). A symbol of Rio and Brazil, and inspiration for the 2016 Olympics logo.

Fun facts

• The statue is covered in 6 million pieces of soapstone, many with wishes written on the back.
• Lightning hits the statue up to 6 times a year.
• The statue's face was made in Paris and shipped to Brazil in pieces.