Lion of Belfort

Lion of Belfort
The face of the red sandstone lion
Artist	Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Completion date	1880
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Sandstone
Location	Belfort, France

The Lion of Belfort, in Belfort, France, is a monumental sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World).

Overview

Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red sandstone. The blocks it is made from were individually sculpted, then moved under Belfort castle to be assembled. Twenty-two meters in length and 11 meters in height, the colossal work dominates the local landscape.

The lion symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, a 103-day Prussian assault (from December 1870 to February 1871). The city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (of whom only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau.

Instead of facing Prussia to the east as was intended, the statue was turned the other way following German protests.

Smaller editions stand in the center of Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris and in Downtown Montreal — Lion of Belfort (Montreal).

Gallery

• 
  People standing in front of the sculpture, showing its enormous size.
• 
  The Lion beneath the Belfort citadel.
• 
  The Lion of Belfort
• 
  Bronze reduction of the sculpture in Place Denfert-Rochereau, Paris.
• 
  Stone reduction of the sculpture in Dorchester Square in Montréal.
• 
  Belfort Lion in night
• 
  The Lion just before official inauguration on September 18th, 2011.

See also

• List of statues by height