The Lion of Belfort (Belfort, France)

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The Lion of Belfort is a 22 m long and 11 m high statue made up entirely of red sandstone. The blocks were individually carved and then moved to be assembled under Belfort castle. The lion was erected in commemoration of the 103-day long Franco-Prussian war.  The statue is intended to face Prussia but had to be turned the other way due to German protests. Replicas of the sculpture can be found in Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris and in the Jardin botanique de Montreal in Canada.

Bartholdi Fountain (Washington D.C, USA)

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The Bartholdi Fountain is the centerpiece of the Bartholdi Park in Washington DC. It is made up of Classical and Renaissance forms, featuring three 11 ft tall sea nymphs carrying a large basin on their heads. The main fountain itself sits on a bigger reflecting basin about 40 ft across. The fountain stands 30 ft tall and weighs 40 tons. The cast iron piece features frogs, turtles, fish and cherubs. Bartholdi cast the fountain in Paris and displayed it at the International Centennial Exhibition in Philidelphia together with the Statue of Liberty’s right arm and torch. It was bought for $6,000 by the US government and moved to Washington DC in 1877.

Switzerland Succoring Strasbourg (Basel, Switzerland)

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Switzerland Succoring Strasbourg is an 88 cm high and 80 cm wide statue erected in 1895 near the train station in Basel, Switzerland. It is a gift from the city of Strasbourg, France in appreciation of the help it received during the 1870 Franco-Prussian war.

La Fontaine Bartholdi (Lyon, France)

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On April 20, 1857, the city council of Bordeaux held a competition to create a fountain of Place Quinconces which a then 23 year old Frédéric Bartholdi won. However, the city hall decided to cancel the project twice. In 1888, two years after Bartholdi made the Statue of Liberty in New York, the fountain project was finally realized, but was deemed as too expensive it was sold to Lyon. It was eventually placed at the Place des Terreaux where it still stands today.

The La Fontain Bartholdi is a 21 ton fountain made up of lead supported by an iron frame.

Marquis de Lafayette Statue (New York, USA)

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The Marquis de Lafayette Statue is a life-size bronze sculpture of the French-born nobleman and soldier who fought with General George Washington during the American Revolution. Cast in 1873 and dedicated in 1876, the statue is a token of appreciation from the French government for the state of New York for the aid provided during the Franco-Prussian War—thus the inscription “in remembrance of sympathy in times of trial.”Another Bartholdi work of a Lafayette statue stands at Lafayette Square in Upper Manhattan which depicts him shaking General Washington’s hand.

Statue of Liberty (New York, USA)

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The Statue of Liberty, probably the most famous monument in the world was presented to the United States of America by the people of France in 1886 to celebrate its centennial.  The copper-clad statue of a robed woman holding a torch represents the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. Officially named Liberty Enlightening the World, the monument is one of the recognizable icons of the United States.

The copper sheets, assembled on a framework of steel supports were designed by Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and Alexander-Gustave Eiffel. The figure was dismantled into 350 pieces and packed in 214 crates for transit to America, where, four months later were reassembled on Bedloe’s Island, now Liberty Island.

The colossal statue stands on top of a rectangular pedestal with an irregular eleven pointed star foundation. It measures 151 ft (46 m) tall but reaches 305 ft (93 m) tall with the pedestal and foundation. It is the center piece of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in Liberty Island in New York Harbor. The Bartholdi sculpted work has hundreds of replicas around the world.

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