When the Eiffel Tower was erected. Passenger elevators in the Eiffel Tower. Who built the Eiffel Tower

You can take the elevator or walk (1,652 steps) to the top, which offers a magnificent view of the entire city. 19.01.2016 12:42

The most recognizable landmark of Paris, a symbol of France, named after its creator Gustav Eiffel. It is a place of real pilgrimage for tourists. The designer himself simply called it a 300-meter tower.

Eiffel Tower (Paris) - symbol of France

In 2006, the tower was visited by 6,719,200 people, and over its entire history - over 250 million people, making the tower the most visited attraction in the world. Eiffel Tower (Paris) was conceived as a temporary structure - it served as the entrance arch of the Paris World Exhibition of 1889. The tower was saved from the planned demolition 20 years after the exhibition by radio antennas installed at the very top - this was the era of the introduction of radio.

Where is the Eiffel Tower

If we talk about where is the Eiffel Tower specifically, it stands on the Champ de Mars opposite the Jena Bridge over the Seine River.

The question of how to get to the Eiffel Tower is also very simple: you need to navigate to the Bir-Hakeim station on line 6 of the Paris Metro. Another option is Trocadero station on line 9. Bus routes to the Eiffel Tower are: 42, 69, 72, 82 and 87.


If you wish, you can see in real time what is happening around the main attraction of Paris and see others. Webcams of the Eiffel Tower and Paris are not as popular and developed as in New York, so they offer only a limited view of the tower.

Height of the Eiffel Tower

Height of the Eiffel Tower in the spire is 324 meters (2000). For more than 40 years, the Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world, almost 2 times taller than the tallest buildings in the world at that time - the Cheops Pyramid (137 m), (156 m) and Ulm Cathedral (161 m) - until in 1930 it did not surpass the Chrysler Building in New York.

Throughout its history, the tower has repeatedly changed its paint color - from yellow to red-brown. In recent decades, the Eiffel Tower has been invariably painted in “Eiffel Brown” - an officially patented color close to the natural shade of bronze, which is barely visible in night photos of the Eiffel Tower.

Eiffel Tower in Paris: history

Eiffel Tower in Paris was created specifically for the World Exhibition of 1889, which was organized by the authorities for the centenary of the Great French Revolution. The famous engineer Gustave Eiffel submitted to the Paris administration his project for a 300-meter iron tower, which he was not actually involved in. On September 18, 1884, Gustav Eiffel received a joint patent for the project with his employees, and subsequently bought the exclusive right from them.

On May 1, 1886, a nationwide competition for architectural and engineering projects for the future World Exhibition opened, in which 107 applicants took part. Various extravagant ideas were considered, including, for example, a giant guillotine, which was supposed to be reminiscent of the French Revolution of 1789. Eiffel's project becomes one of the 4 winners and then the engineer makes final changes to it, finding a compromise between the original purely engineering design scheme and the decorative option.

In the end, the committee settled on Eiffel's plan, although the idea of ​​the tower itself did not belong to him, but to two of his employees: Maurice Koechlen and Emile Nouguier. It was possible to assemble such a complex structure as a tower within two years only because Eiffel used special construction methods. This explains the decision of the exhibition committee in favor of this project.

In order for the tower to better meet the aesthetic tastes of the demanding Parisian public, the architect Stéphane Sauvestre proposed covering the base supports of the tower with stone, connecting its supports and the ground floor platform with the help of majestic arches, which would simultaneously become the main entrance to the exhibition, and placing spacious glazed halls, give the top of the tower a rounded shape and use a variety of decorative elements to decorate it.

In January 1887, Eiffel, the state and the municipality of Paris signed an agreement according to which Eiffel was provided with an operating lease of the tower for his personal use for a period of 25 years, and also provided for the payment of a cash subsidy in the amount of 1.5 million gold francs, amounting to 25% of all expenses for construction of a tower. On December 31, 1888, in order to attract the missing funds, a joint-stock company was created with an authorized capital of 5 million francs. Half of this amount is funds contributed by three banks, the other half is the personal funds of Eiffel himself.

The final construction budget was 7.8 million francs. The tower paid for itself during the exhibition period, and its subsequent operation turned out to be a very profitable business.

Construction of the Eiffel Tower

Construction work was carried out by 300 workers for just over two years - from January 28, 1887 to March 31, 1889. The record-breaking construction time was greatly facilitated by the drawings. High Quality indicating the exact dimensions of more than 12,000 metal parts, for the assembly of which 2.5 million rivets were used. To finish construction of the Eiffel Tower at the appointed time, Eiffel applied, for the most part, pre-fabricated parts. At first, high cranes were used. When the structure outgrew their height, mobile cranes specially designed by Eiffel were used. They moved along rails laid for future elevators. The first tower elevators were powered by hydraulic pumps. Two historic Fives-Lill elevators, installed in 1899 in the eastern and western pillars of the tower, are still in use to this day. Since 1983, their operation has been ensured by an electric motor, while the hydraulic pumps have been preserved and are available for inspection.

The second and third floors of the tower were connected by a vertical elevator, created by engineer Edu (Eiffel’s classmate at the Central Higher Technical School) and consisting of two mutually leveling cabins. Halfway to the landing, at an altitude of 175 m from the ground, passengers had to transfer to another elevator. Water tanks installed on the floors provided the necessary hydraulic pressure. In 1983, this elevator, which could not operate in the winter, was replaced by an Otis electric elevator. It consisted of four cabins and provided direct communication between two floors. The construction of the Eiffel Tower required special attention to safety issues of continuous work. This became Eiffel's greatest concern. During the construction work there was not a single death, which was a significant achievement for that time.

The work progressed slowly but continuously. It aroused surprise and admiration among Parisians who saw the tower growing into the sky. On March 31, 1889, less than 26 months after the excavation began, Eiffel was able to invite several more or less physically strong officials to the first ascent of 1,710 steps.

Eiffel Tower (France): public reaction and subsequent history

The structure was a stunning and immediate success. During the six months of the exhibition, more than 2 million visitors came to see the “iron lady”. By the end of the year, three quarters of all construction costs were recovered.

In October 1898, Eugene Ducretet conducted the first telegraph communication session between the Eiffel Tower and the Pantheon. In 1903, General Ferrier, a pioneer in the field of wireless telegraphy, used it for his experiments. It so happened that the tower was left at first for military purposes.

Since 1906, a radio station has been permanently located on the tower. January 1, 1910 Eiffel extends the lease of the tower for a period of seventy years. In 1921, the first direct radio transmission from the Eiffel Tower took place. A wide radio broadcast was broadcast, made possible by the installation of special antennas on the tower. Since 1922, a radio program began to be published regularly, which was called “Eiffel Tower”. In 1925, the first attempts were made to relay a television signal from the tower. The transmission of regular television programs began in 1935. Since 1957, a television tower has been located on the tower, increasing the height of the steel structure to 320.75 m. In addition to it, several dozen linear and parabolic antennas are installed on the tower. They provide retransmission of various radio and television programs.

During German occupation In 1940, the French damaged the elevator drive right before Adolf Hitler's arrival, so the Fuhrer never climbed it. In August 1944, as the Allies approached Paris, Hitler ordered General Dietrich von Koltitz, the military governor of Paris, to destroy the tower along with the rest of the city's landmarks. But Von Koltitz disobeyed the order. Surprisingly, a few hours after the liberation of Paris, the elevator drive started working again.

Eiffel Tower: interesting facts

• The weight of the metal structure is 7,300 tons (total weight 10,100 tons). Today, three towers could be built from this metal at once. The foundation is made of concrete masses. The vibrations of the tower during storms do not exceed 15 cm.
• The lower floor is a pyramid (129.2 m each side at the base), formed by 4 columns connected at a height of 57.63 m by an arched vault; on the vault is the first platform of the Eiffel Tower. The platform is a square (65 m across).
• . The platform is a square (65 m across).
• Four columns rising on the second platform, pyramidally approaching and gradually intertwining, form a colossal pyramidal column (190 m), carrying a third platform (at a height of 276.13 m), also square in shape (16.5 m in diameter); there is a lighthouse with a dome on it, above which at an altitude of 300 m there is a platform (1.4 m in diameter).
• There are stairs (1792 steps) and elevators leading to the tower.

Restaurant halls were erected on the first platform; on the second platform there were tanks with machine oil for the hydraulic lifting machine (elevator) and a restaurant in a glass gallery. The third platform housed the astronomical and meteorological observatories and the physics room. The light of the lighthouse was visible at a distance of 10 km.

The erected tower was stunning with its bold design. Eiffel was severely criticized for the project and simultaneously accused of trying to create something artistic and non-artistic.

Together with his engineers - specialists in bridge construction, Eiffel was engaged in calculations of wind force, well aware that if they were building the tallest structure in the world, they must first of all make sure that it was resistant to wind loads.

The original agreement with Eiffel was for the tower to be dismantled 20 years after construction. As you might guess, it was never implemented, and the story of the Eiffel Tower continued.

Under the first balcony, on all four sides of the parapet, the names of 72 outstanding French scientists and engineers, as well as those who made a special contribution to the creation of Gustav Eiffel, are engraved. These inscriptions appeared at the beginning of the 20th century and were restored in 1986–1987 by the Société Nouvelle d’exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, a company hired by the mayor’s office to operate the Eiffel Tower. The tower itself is the property of the city of Paris.

Eiffel Tower lighting

The lights on the Eiffel Tower were first turned on on its opening day in 1889. Then it consisted of 10 thousand gas lamps, two searchlights and a lighthouse installed on the top, the light of which was colored blue, white and red - the colors of the national flag of France. In 1900, electric lamps appeared on the Iron Lady's designs. The current golden lighting was first turned on on December 31, 1985, and can be seen in many photographs of the Eiffel Tower taken in last years. In 1925, Andre Citroen placed an advertisement on the tower that he called “Eiffel Tower on Fire.” About 125 thousand electric light bulbs were installed on the tower. One after another, ten images flashed on the tower: the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, star rain, the flight of comets, the signs of the Zodiac, the year the tower was created, the current year and, finally, the name Citroen. This promotion lasted until 1934, and the tower was the most high place for advertising in the world.

In the summer of 2003, the tower was “dressed” in a new lighting robe. Over the course of several months, a team of thirty climbers entangled the tower structures with 40 kilometers of wires and installed 20 thousand light bulbs, manufactured to a special order from one of the French companies. The new illumination, which cost 4.6 million euros, was reminiscent of the one that first turned on on the tower on the night of New Year 2000, when the tower, usually illuminated by golden-yellow lanterns, in a matter of seconds was dressed in a fairy-tale glow, winking with silver lights.

From July 1 to December 31, 2008, during France's presidency of the EU, the tower was illuminated with blue stars (reminiscent of the European flag).

It consists of four levels: lower (ground), 1st floor (57 meters), 2nd floor (115 meters) and 3rd floor (276 meters). Each of them is remarkable in its own way.

On the lower level there are ticket offices where you can buy tickets to the Eiffel Tower, an information stand where you can grab useful brochures and booklets, as well as 4 souvenir shops - one in each column of the tower. In addition, in the southern column there is a post office, so you can send a postcard to your family and friends right from the foot of the famous building. Also, before starting to conquer the Eiffel Tower, you have the option of having a snack at the buffet located right there. From the lower level you can enter the offices where old hydraulic machines are installed, which in the past raised elevators to the top of the tower. They can only be admired as part of excursion groups.

The 1st floor, which can be reached on foot if desired, will delight tourists with another souvenir shop and the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant. However, in addition to this, there is a preserved fragment of a spiral staircase, which at one time led from the second floor to the third, and at the same time to Eiffel’s office. You can learn a lot about the tower by going to the Cineiffel center, where animation dedicated to the history of the structure is shown. Children will certainly be interested in meeting Gus, the hand-drawn mascot of the Eiffel Tower and the character of a special children's guide book. Also on the 1st floor you can admire posters, photographs, and all kinds of illustrations from different times dedicated to the “Iron Lady.”

On the 2nd floor, the first thing that attracts attention is the general panorama of Paris, opening from a 115-meter height. Here you can replenish your supplies of souvenirs, find out a lot about the history of the tower at special stands, and at the same time order yourself a delicious lunch at the Jules Verne restaurant.

The 3rd floor is the main goal of many tourists, in fact the top of the Eiffel Tower, located at an altitude of 276 meters, where elevators with transparent glass lead, so that already on the way there there is a stunning view of the French capital. At the top you can treat yourself to a glass of champagne at the Champange bar. Climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris is an experience that will last a lifetime.

If you want to experience this, then it's time to book a tour to the Eiffel Tower:

Eiffel Tower Restaurants

Having lunch or simply drinking a glass of wine in one of the restaurants located on the Eiffel Tower while admiring the view of Paris is the dream of many, so once you get to the top you should not deny yourself the pleasure of visiting a restaurant on the Eiffel Tower. In total, the tower houses two excellent restaurants, a bar and several buffets.

Opened recently on the 1st level of the Eiffel Tower, the 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant offers its visitors both light lunches and classic dinners, which can be enjoyed in a cozy and friendly atmosphere of the restaurant, looking at Paris from a height of 57 meters. It's not a very fancy place, but it's a very nice place. You can book your two-course meal and lift ticket using the link below.

"Jules Verne"

The restaurant on the 2nd floor of the tower, named after the famous writer, is an excellent example of modern and refined French cuisine. A variety of delicacies and unique dishes combined with a designer interior and impeccable ambiance - all this turns an ordinary lunch at Jules Vernet into a real feast of taste.

The “Champagne Bar”, located at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and drinking a glass of sparkling drink there is a kind of logical conclusion to the climb to the main attraction of Paris. You can choose pink or white champagne, which cost between 10-15 euros per glass.

Eiffel Tower Tickets

As mentioned above, ticket offices are located on the lowest level of the tower. The cost of an adult ticket to the top of the tower is 13.40 euros, to the 2nd floor - 8.20 euros. You can find out about other tickets on this page in a separate section. In addition, tickets for the Eiffel Tower can be purchased online on the attraction's website. In this case, an electronic yuillet will be sent by e-mail, which you need to print out and take with you on the day of your visit. Tickets can be purchased at least one day in advance of your visit. You can book tickets for the Eiffel Tower on the website, where all instructions are also indicated.

Whether you're lucky enough to have visited Paris, or you're just dreaming of getting there, chances are you're aware of the French capital's most beloved landmark: the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel in French) was the main exhibit of the Paris and World Exhibition in 1889. It was built in honor of the centenary of the French Revolution, and was intended to demonstrate the industrial prowess of France throughout the world.

The French engineer Gustave Eiffel is usually credited with designing the tower, which bears his name. Actually it's two less famous person– Maurice Koechlin and Emil Nougir, who came up with the original drawings for the monument.

They were chief engineers for the Compagnie de Etablissements Eiffel, Gustave Eiffel's engineering firm. Together with Gustave and the French architect Stephen Sauvestry, the engineers submitted their plan to a competition that was to be the centerpiece of the 1889 fair in Paris.

The Eiffel company won the design, and construction of the tower began in July 1887. But not everyone was happy with the idea of ​​a giant metal monument that would stand in the city center. When construction of the tower began on , a group of three hundred artists, sculptors, writers and architects sent an appeal to the head of the Paris Exhibition, begging him to interrupt the construction of an “unnecessary tower” that would “stand over Paris” like a “black big smokestack.” But the protests of the Paris community fell on deaf ears. Construction of the tower was completed in just two years, on March 31, 1889.

Eiffel Tower construction process

Each of the 18,000 pieces used to build the tower was designed specifically for this project and prepared at the Eiffel factory on the outskirts of Paris. The structure consists of four huge wrought iron arches set on stone piers.

The construction of the tower required 2.5 million assembled rivets and 7,500 tons of cast iron. In order to protect the tower from external factors, workers painted every inch, a feat that required 65 tons of paint. Since then, the tower has been repainted 18 times.

Facts you didn't know about the Eiffel Tower:

– Gustave Eiffel used wrought iron latticework to build the tower. To demonstrate that metal can be as strong as stone, but lighter.

– Gustave Eiffel also created the internal frame for the Statue of Liberty.

– The total cost of the construction of the Eiffel Tower was 7,799,502.41 French gold francs in 1889.

– The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet (324 meters) tall, including the antennas at the top. Without antenna it is 984 feet (300 m).

“At that time, it was the tallest structure until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1930.”

– The tower sways slightly in the wind, but the sun affects the tower more. As which side of the tower heats up in the sun, the top moves can vary by 7 inches (18 centimeters).

– The weight of the tower is about 10,000 tons.

– There are about 5 billion lights on the Eiffel Tower.

– The French came up with a nickname for their tower – La Dame de Fer (The Iron Lady).

– One tower elevator travels a total distance of 64,001 miles (103,000 km) per year.

Using the tower

When the Compagnie Des Etablissements Eiffel won the tender to begin construction of the tower on the Champ de Mars, it was understood that the structure was temporary and would be removed after 20 years. But Gustave Eiffel was not interested in seeing his beloved project dismantled after a couple of decades, and so he set about making the tower an indispensable tool for society.

Just a few days after its opening, Eiffel installed a meteorological laboratory on the third floor of the tower. He offered to use the laboratory to scientists for their research on the entire gravity of electricity. Ultimately, it was the enormous tower, not the laboratory, that saved it from extinction.

In 1910, Paris accepted the Eiffel concession, due to the self-interest of this structure, as a wireless telegraph transmission. The French military used the tower to maintain communications in Atlantic Ocean and interception of enemy data during the First World War. Today the tower includes more than 120 antennas for both radio and television signals throughout the capital and beyond.

Tower today

The Eiffel Tower is still a major element of the city's urban landscape. More than 8 million tourists visit this iconic building every year. Since its opening in 1889, 260 million citizens from all over the world have come to see this architectural marvel when in Paris.

She has something to offer you. Three platforms near the tower are home to: two restaurants, several buffets, banquet hall, a champagne bar and many souvenir shops. Guided tours are available for children and tourist groups.

The tower is open to the public all year round. From June to September – the tower remains open even after midnight. Prices vary, but visitors can expect to pay between $14 (11 euros) and $20 (15.5 euros) per person. The ticket includes access to the tower's three public elevators and 704 stairs. Tickets, including discounted ones, can be ordered online or at the ticket office near the tower.

Practical information

Location: Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France.

Working hours: Sunday – Thursday from 9:30 to 23:00. Friday, Saturday from 9:30 to 00-00.

Directions:

By metro, stops Bir-Hakeim (3 minutes, line 6), Trocadero (5 minutes, line 9), École militaire (5 minutes, line 8);

RER trains: Champs de mars stop (1 minute walk);

By car: If you want to come to the Eiffel Tower by car, we recommend that you park in any of the underground car parks closest to the Eiffel Tower. Good choice is the Quai Branly car park, located less than 300 meters from the tower!

Eiffel Tower- this is the most famous architectural landmark Paris, known as the symbol of France, erected on Field of Mars and named after its designer Gustapha Eiffel.

She is the most recognizable and tall building V Paris, its height together with the new antenna is 324 meters, which is approximately equal to a house in 81st floor!

Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 and has amazing story origin. In 1889 V Paris, in memory of the centenary French Revolution, Was held World's Fair, it was thanks to the exhibition that the city authorities commissioned the creation and erection of a temporary structure to serve as its entrance arch.

The all-French competition of architectural and engineering projects, which were supposed to determine the architectural appearance of the future World Exhibition, has started May 1, 1886. Participated in the competition 107 applicants, most of which, to one degree or another, have already repeated the tower design proposed Eiffel. Thus the project Eiffel becomes one of the four winners, and then the engineer makes final changes to it, finding a compromise between the original purely engineering design scheme and the decorative option.

As a result, the committee still settles on a plan Eiffel, although the idea of ​​the tower itself did not belong to him, but to two of his employees - Maurice Koechlen And Emile Nouguier. It was possible to assemble such a complex structure as a tower within two years only because Eiffel applied special methods construction.

But in order for the tower to be more refined and meet the tastes of the demanding Parisian public, the architect Stefan Sauvestre was commissioned to work on its artistic appearance. He proposed covering the base supports of the tower with stone, connecting its supports and the ground floor platform with the help of majestic arches, which would simultaneously become the main entrance to the exhibition, placing spacious glazed halls on the floors of the tower, giving the top of the tower a rounded shape and using various decorative elements to decorate it. .

IN January 1887 Eifel, state and municipality Paris signed an agreement according to which Eiffel an operating lease of the tower for a period of 25 years was provided for personal use, and a cash subsidy in the amount of 1.5 million gold francs was also provided, amounting to 25% of all costs for the construction of the tower. The final construction budget was 7.8 million francs.

300 workers during two years, two months and five days carried out construction work. The record construction time was facilitated by extremely high quality drawings indicating precise dimensions. And already March 31, 1889, less than in 26 months after the start of digging pits, Eiffel invited several more or less physically fit officials to the first ascent to 1,710 steps!

The structure was a stunning and immediate success. For six months of the exhibition, see "iron lady" came more 2 million visitors.

But also opponents Eiffel Tower there was also enough, starting from the very beginning of its construction. The creative intelligentsia of Paris and France spoke in this guise; they feared that the metal structure would suppress the architecture of the city, violate the unique style of the capital, which had developed over the centuries, and therefore sent indignation and demands to the Paris mayor's office to stop the construction of the tower, and after construction, demands dismantling. But from the demolition planned under the contract, 20 years after the exhibition, the tower was saved by radio antennas installed at the very top - this was the era of the introduction of radio!

Throughout its history, the tower has repeatedly changed its paint color - from yellow to red-brown. Recent decades Eiffel Tower invariably painted in the so-called "brown-eiffel"- officially patented color, close to the natural shade of bronze

Weight of the metal tower structure - 7,300 tons(total weight 10,100 tons).

The lower floor is a pyramid formed by 4 columns connected at a height of 57.63 meters by an arched vault; on the vault is the first platform The lower floor is a pyramid (129.2 m each side at the base), formed by 4 columns connected at a height of 57.63 m by an arched vault; on the vault is the first platform, which is a square.

On this platform rises a second pyramid-tower, also formed by 4 columns connected by a vault on which the second platform is located.

Four columns rising on the second platform, pyramidally approaching and gradually intertwining, form a colossal pyramidal column carrying a third platform, also square in shape; There is a lighthouse with a dome on it, above which there is a platform at an altitude of 300 meters. There are 1,792 steps and elevators leading to the tower.

Restaurant halls were erected on the first platform; on the second platform there are tanks with machine oil for the elevator and a restaurant in a glass gallery. The third platform housed the astronomical and meteorological observatories and the physics room. The light of the lighthouse was visible at a distance of 10 kilometers!

According to some estimates Eiffel Tower have already visited more than 200,000,000 people since its construction in 1889! It is the most visited tourist monument in the world!

The creator of the tower often spoke humorously about his brainchild: “I should feel jealous of the tower. After all, she is much more famous than me.". Gilt bust Gustave Eiffel installed at the northern "leg" of the tower with a simple inscription: "Eiffel: 1832 - 1923".

Chronology of the construction of the Eiffel Tower