Eiffel Tower x Pari$ France::

Why was the Eiffel Tower Built

The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World Fair which also coincided with the centenary of the French Revolution. Out of a number of designs submitted as part of a competition, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel won, and was responsible for erecting the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower Facts

Even though it is one of the best known monuments worldwide, many facts about the Eiffel Tower are not known to many.

Following are a few important facts about the Eiffel Tower.

-- Erection of the Eiffel Tower began on January 26, 1887

-- Erection of the Eiffel Tower was completed on March 31, 1889

-- Erection of the Eiffel Tower took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days from start to finish

-- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel was the main architect, Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier were the main engineers, Stephen Sauvestre was the main architect, and Jean Compagnon handled the construction of the Eiffel Tower

-- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel is the very person who created the internal frame of the Statue of Liberty in the year 1885

-- The Eiffel Tower stands 324 meters tall

-- Material used for the Eiffel Tower is wrought iron (puddle iron) of the highest quality

-- The Eiffel Tower was made using 9441 tons of wrought iron

-- A total of 18038 pieces of wrought iron were joined together to create the Eiffel Tower

-- Approximately 60 tons of paint is required to paint the Eiffel Tower

-- The Eiffel Tower is painted every 7 years in 3 shades of brown (darkest shade at the bottom)

-- Even today painting the Eiffel Tower is done using brushes

-- In clear weather (very seldom seen today) you can see approximately 42 miles from the top of the Eiffel Tower

-- The base of the Eiffel Tower covers a square area of 100 meters

-- During gusty winds, the Eiffel Tower sways upto 15 cms at its summit

-- The names of 72 prominent French scientists and famous personalities are affixed on the sides of Eiffel Tower just beneath the first platform, 18 names per side

-- There was only one death during the construction period of the Eiffel Tower, that too outside working hours and not work related

-- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel died on December 27, 1923 in Paris

-- The Eiffel Tower has a total of 1710 steps to the topmost third level small platform, 674 steps to the second level, and 347 steps to the first level, all counted from the ground

-- The Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled and the metal sold as scrap 20 years after it was constructed, but this never happened

-- The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure when it was built, but this has been surpassed over the years

-- Today, the Eiffel Tower is open to the public every day of the year

-- Persons on wheelchairs can visit the Eiffel Tower upto the second level using the elevator

-- You can use the steps only till the second platform (the third platform is accessible only via elevators)

-- The Eiffel Tower has got restaurants on the first and second platforms

-- The restaurant on the first platform is Altitude 95 and faces the river Seine

-- The restaurant on the second platform is named Jules Verne and needs prior booking

-- The Eiffel Tower belongs to the city of Paris and is given on a renewable contract to a limited company named Societe d'exploitation de la Tour Eiffel

-- Over 200 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower since its inception

-- There are 1,792 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower.