Eiffel Tower in Paris is regarded as the most-visited and the most well-known tourist attraction in the world. Ever since its construction till today, hundreds of millions of visitors have climbed this tower in order to enjoy the magnificent view on the city of light and love. However, the past of this iron lady hides numerous interesting stories which you’ll find in the rest of the article.
The Eiffel Tower is the most-well known symbol of Paris among tourists. This iron construction was commissioned in 1887 and finished in 1889 for the celebration of 100 years of the start of French Revolution and for the purpose of the World’s Fair (Exposition Universelle). The name of the tower comes from the name of the engineer Gustave Eiffel, even though the original design of the tower is the merit of Maurice Koechlin who never received the proper acknowledgement. It is believed that Eiffel was not excited about the design of the tower, but at the end decided to buy the patent.
The Eiffel tower is the most well-known symbol of Paris. This metal construction is 324 meters high (including the TV antenna on the top of the tower), weighs 10,000 tons, while some 1,700 steps lead to the top of the tower. When the tower was opened to public, the elevators were not functional, therefore numerous visitors of the tower had to climb all of the 1,740 steps that lead to the top. With the end of the exhibition almost no one wished to climb the tower. After the World’s Fair had ended, the tower almost had no visitors. The local Parisians sent numerous letters of complaints in order to draw attention to the grotesque structure that according to their opinion, did not fit with the architectural style of the rest of the city. The Eiffel Tower was to be demolished 20 years after it was built, but it remained in its place till today. The main reason was not the potential of the tower to become a tourist attraction, but a rather practical one - it became a perfect place for a broadcast transmitter.
The Eiffel Tower even played an important role during the First World War, when it was used for intersecting enemy radio communications. During the Second World War, the tower was to be blown up by the direct orders of Adolf Hitler, however General Dietrich von Choltitz refused to carry out the order.
Interesting facts
