When the tower was built, some Parisians thought it was a mockery and should be demolished. Today it is considered one of the masterpieces of architecture in the world.

The Eiffel Tower, one of the most visited attractions in Paris, but also in the world, was built in 1889 as an exhibit for the World's Fair, on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the French Revolution.

Gistav Eiffel didn't design the Eiffel Tower

This was done by one of his employees - engineer Maurice Coslan. In fact, Eiffel rejected Koslan's original sketches, calling them too minimalist and looking for something more spectacular. After approving Koshlan's final design in 1884, Eiffel began selling his company's masterpiece.

The Spanish didn't want it

The Eiffel originally planned to build its tower in Barcelona, but the Spaniards rejected it, worried that it would be awkward and would disturb the appearance of the city.

Fortunately, the World fair was held in Paris

It happened that Paris was looking for a monumental arch 300 meters high, which would serve as an entrance to the world fair in 1989, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. The design of the company Eiffel & Co was chosen among more than 100 competing projects, and construction began on January 28, 1887.

The tower remained the eternal symbol of Paris

The original plans foresaw that the Eiffel Tower on the Field of Mars in Paris would remain for twenty years, however, it was preserved from demolition by various scientific experiments that the Eiffel itself encouraged, primarily in the development of telecommunications.

Only one worker died during the construction

The structure is composed of 18,038 cast iron parts, with the help of two and a half million rivets. During the construction, thanks to the security measures introduced by the Eiffel, only one worker was killed, which was an exceptional achievement during that time.

The largest building for more than four decades

Completed on March 31, 1889, the tower was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years until the completion of the construction of the Chrysler building in New York in 1930. The tower is 300 meters high (324 with a later television antenna), and the metal structure weighs 7,300 tons. 1,665 steps lead to the top.

The Parisians didn't like it

At least not everyone. As soon as the Eiffel Plans were announced, some 300 disgruntled Parisians signed a petition against the construction of the monolithic structure, calling it "useless and monstrous", "stunning nonsense" and "a disgusting metal pillar". Even two years after the tower was completed, the writer Guy de Maupassant pointed out that he has lunch exclusively under the tower every day, because that is the only place where he cannot see it.

The tower grows about 15 centimeters every summer

Thanks to the thermal expansion, the Eiffel Tower can grow up to 15 centimeters on warm days.

It was yellow

The Eiffel Tower was not born with that perfect bronze complexion - it was painted 18 times, about once every seven years (other colors the tower wore include red-brown, yellow-ocher and maroon). Wondering how much paint it is? About 60 tons cover the surface of the tower, plus 50 kilometers of rope and 2 hectares of netting. But that's not the only cost of maintenance - it's just how much the daily lighting of the tower costs.

But it never be green

All this paint is not just for show - regular application of multiple coats of paint protects the metal from oxidation (which is responsible for the green color of Miss Liberty in New York). According to the Eiffel itself, "the more meticulous the painting, the longer the tower will last."

At the top of the tower is apartment

At the highest level of the tower is an apartment that belonged to the Eiffel. He had an apartment with beautiful period furniture and a concert piano, which he often used for gatherings with prominent people of that time, among whom was Thomas Edison. Today, the interior of this room is used as an exhibition space, where, in addition to authentic objects, wax figures of the Eiffel and his contemporaries are also exhibited.