The ''Lion of Belfort'', in

Belfort Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort. Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, is an 1880 monumental sculpture by

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi ( , ; 2 August 1834 – 4 October 1904) was a French sculptor and painter. He is best known for designing ''Liberty Enlightening the World'', commonly known as the Statue of Liberty. Early life and education Barthol ...

, the sculptor of the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

(''Liberty Enlightening the World'').

Overview

Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

. The blocks it is made from were individually sculpted, then moved to the cliff below

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

to be assembled. Twenty-two meters in length and 11 meters in height, the colossal work dominates the local landscape. The

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, a 103-day

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n assault from December 1870 to February 1871. The city was successfully defended against 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (of whom only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, with the fortress holding out until the Armistice of Versailles obligated French forces to abandon it. Bartholdi's first preparatory model depicted the lion facing defiantly east towards

, but he was then asked to calm its expression to avoid a diplomatic fallout with the German Empire. In response he reversed the statue to face west with its rear to Prussia, but added an arrow beneath its front paw that points back towards the German border.Bartholdi entre au musée
Aurélie Jacques, 28 avril 2011, Le Point Smaller editions of the statue stand in the center of

Place Denfert-Rochereau The Place Denfert-Rochereau (), previously known as the Place d'Enfer, is a public square located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement of Paris, France, in the Montparnasse district, at the intersection of the boulevards Boule ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and also in Dorchester Square in

Downtown Montreal Downtown Montreal (French language, French: ''Centre-Ville de Montréal'') is the central business district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The district is situated on the southernmost slope of Mount Royal, and occupies the western portion of the ...

Gallery

File:The Lion of Belfort, by Bartholdi.jpg, People standing in front of the sculpture, showing its enormous size. File:2011-09-06 14-18-32-citadelle-belfort.jpg, The ''Lion'' beneath the Belfort citadel. File:2014-09-15 16-14-55 lion-belfort.jpg, The ''Lion of Belfort'' File:Lionbelfort.JPG, Bronze reduction of the sculpture in

, Paris. File:J12338 EMDX-ArtVille 20110617-190029-LionDeBelfort-SquareDorchester.jpg, Stone reduction of the sculpture in

Dorchester Square Dorchester Square, originally Dominion Square, is a large urban square in downtown Montreal. Together with Place du Canada, the area is just over or of manicured and protected urban parkland bordered by René Lévesque Boulevard to the south ...

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. File:Belfort Lion.jpg, Belfort ''Lion'' at night File:Le Lion de Belfort avant son inauguration le 18 septembre 2011.jpg,

References

External links

Sculptures of lions Outdoor sculptures in France Buildings and structures in Belfort 1880 sculptures Monuments and memorials in France Stone sculptures in France Sandstone sculptures Sculptures by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi Colossal statues 1880 in France Monuments and memorials completed in the 19th century {{France-sculpture-stub

Overview

Gallery

See also

References

External links