7 Eiffel Tower Replicas From Around The World
There are more than 30 large-scale replicas of the Eiffel tower in existence; for your viewing pleasure, I’ve put together a short list of some of my personal favourites.
Built in 1889, the Eiffel Tower has to be one of the most recognisable structures on earth; in fact, it is the most visited paid monument on the planet.
Height-wise, the tower was the tallest man-made structure on earth for 41 glorious years, until that pompous Chrysler Building stretched skyward in 1930. Named after the engineer – Gustave Eiffel – who’s company designed and erected it, the Eiffel Tower has been copied the length and breadth of the planet.
From South America to Eastern Europe, from China to Japan; let our journey commence:
1) Long Ta, China (Full Scale)
Long Ta, also known as the Dragon Tower, is a television and observation tower that stands proud in the Harbin, Heilongjiang region of China. The tower contains restaurants and huge advertising hoardings and is the tallest lattice structure in Asia.
Long Ta was completed in 2000.
2) Tokyo Tower (Full Scale)
This Eiffel Tower replica in Tokyo was completed in 1958 and is still the second tallest artificial structure in Japan. More than 150 million people have visited Tokyo Tower since it opened.
The tower was a reaction to Japan’s telecommunications boom. The government was concerned that small masts would overrun the city so they decided to commission one massive one to cover the entire region instead.
Once the tower popped the TV aeriel on the top it became taller than the real Eiffel Tower. However, it only weighs about half as much. Does the tower have a mascot? It is Japanese after all… yes, yes it does. In fact, it has two. They are brothers and they’re collectively they’re called Noppon. One is Younger Brother and the other is is Older Brother:
This is Older Brother:
Every five years, the tower has to be repainted which takes around 12 months and uses 28,000 Litres of paint.
3) Funkturm, Berlin (1:2)
The Funkturm is a half sized version of the Eiffel Tower standing in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf region of the city. Completed in 1926, its prime function was TV broadcasting, but it has since given that up and is now a protected monument. It is still used to transmit mobile phone signals and police radio, so it’s not completely useless.
Just FYI, the Funkturm is the only observation tower that stands on porcelain insulators.
4) Window of the World, China (1:3)
The Window of the World in Shenzhen, China is a huge theme park which houses replicas of 130 international monuments. The Eiffel Tower being one of them.
There’s lots of this sort of stuff going on:
And this, too:
5) Torre del Reformador, Guatemala (1:5)
The Torre del Reformador (Tower of the Reformer) is a 75 meter tall steel framework tower in Zone 9 of Guatemala City.
The tower was built in 1935 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Justo Rufino Barrios, who was elected President of Guatemala in 1873.
President Barrios was responsible for bringing in the first telegraph lines and railroads to Guatemala.
6) Turnel Eiffel, Romania (1:6)
This one-sixth representation of the Eiffel Tower sits on private land in Slobozia, just outside of Bucharest. It was built by a Romanian billionaire. According to local folklore, the property also boasts a replica of the ranch featured on the TV series – Dallas. Pretty odd, right?
According to rumours, the fella that built it got the cash together by “indelicate” means, such as bribery and the like. He imagined that people would flock to the attraction; according to the stories, he ended up in jail before the park could become the success he hoped it would be.
7) Golden Sands, Bulgaria (1:10)
Golden Sands is one of Bulgaria’s most popular holiday destinations. They are the proud owners of a 10% size Eiffel tower. It’s not the most impressive of the bunch, but the surroundings look pretty nice.
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There’s plenty more of these replicas around, but I simply don’t have the time to cover them all I’m afraid. Anyhow, once you’ve seen one replica you’ve seen them all. If you’re enjoying looking at man-made structures why not pop these links into your eyes next:
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