Christ the Redeemer - Corcovado

In 1859 the Vincentian father Pedro Maria Boss arrived Rio de Janeiro and was struck by the mystorious beauty of the Corcovado mountain and suggested the the construction of a religous monument in honour of Princess Isabel, which in 1921 gave way for the idea of a great statue of christ viewable by all in the marvelous city of Rio.
In 1922, on the markation of Brazilian independence and a milepeal in the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, the work began for fullfilling the ambisious project with the fundamental stone beeing put inplace on the 22 april.
After a hard competition, the project by the engineer Heitor da Silva Costa is chosen and in September, a national fundraising campaign for the works is organized.
1931 – Is the famous year in the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, the monument is inaugurated on the 12 October. The final design of the monument was authored by the fine artist Carlos Oswald and the French Sculptor Paul Landowski was placed in charge of executing the sculpture. The monument to Christ, the Redeemer on the Corcovado mountain becomes the largest art déco sculpture in the world.
Up till today, several reforms have been completed to ensure the quality of O Christo Redentor. Lighting has been added, and the latest renewal of September 2002 is the addition of a panoramic elevator and motorized staircase to ease the difficulty for elderly persons. (It used to be a hard rise of 220 steps to get to the top)