The Lion of Belfort... by KarmaSong

Photography • Historical • posted on May 25, 2009

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Description

The Lion of Belfort is a sculpture by FrÃ©dÃ©ric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and located in Belfort, France. It was finished in 1880 and is entirely made of red sandstone. The blocks it is made from were individually sculpted then moved under Belfort castle to be assembled. The sculpture is 22 meters long and 11 meters high and dominates the local landscape. The lion symbolizes the heroic resistance of my hometown during a 103 day-long Prussian assault (from December 1870 to February 1871). The city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau.

En 1879, le sculpteur Auguste Bartholdi taille dans le grès rouge de la falaise un lion blessé et rugissant afin d'honorer la résistance de Belfort et de son gouverneur (le lion tourne le dos à l'Allemagne pour éviter toute provocation). Ce "Lion de Belfort" mesure 22 mètres de long et 11 mètres de haut. Il est devenu le symbole de la ville.

Thank you very much for your nice comments on my previous photo. Have a nice week under the sun...

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Comments (71)

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Lunastar

7:20PM | Mon, 25 May 2009

Jean-Luc this is a fabulous capture. I can see why the lion was choosen as a tribute, Those men showed great bravery and heart.

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amota99517

7:41PM | Mon, 25 May 2009

What a marvelous statue and such a great shot!

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stevey3d

2:32AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Superb image Jean-Luc! Wonderful pov and light!

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TheAnimaGemini

2:49AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Great capture Jean-Luc and thank you for the background story. Very interesting.

M2A

3:52AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Superbe dualité de couleurs (marron & bleu), l' angle de vue est trés intelligent.

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lucindawind

8:43AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

its fabulous!!

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Cosme..D..Churruca

10:55AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

j'adore!

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photostar

11:28AM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Had no idea that Bartholdi also sculpted in stone mediums. Thanks much for sharing the photo and the information regarding the sculptor and sculpture.

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mgtcs

7:18PM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Excelente photo!

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tofi

9:24PM | Tue, 26 May 2009

Beautiful art piece and capture, my Friend! Seems so great and sublime, I could imagine just how wonderful and powerful this structure stands in its entirety! Excellent control of lighting and tone.... A refreshing and superb mood and atmosphere!

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DarkStormCrow

1:25AM | Wed, 27 May 2009

Excellent!

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kahun.hida

8:21AM | Wed, 27 May 2009

biglion！！！　大きくて素晴らしい彫刻！！！！！

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JAYBEEH

11:23AM | Wed, 27 May 2009

Excellent shot.....and very interesting historic commentary!!...I've enjoyed this little catch-up session in your gallery....Nice one Jean-Luc!!

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densa

11:50PM | Wed, 27 May 2009

what an amazing sculpture

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magnus073

7:32AM | Thu, 28 May 2009

This one is simply amazing Jean-Luc and I'm so glad you gave the background on it

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kgb224

8:59AM | Thu, 28 May 2009

Stunning capture my friend.

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furuta

11:19AM | Fri, 29 May 2009

Interesting and wonderful capture. excellent image!!

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gaius

2:21PM | Fri, 29 May 2009

Mon inculture...à tout le moins mon ignorance concernant Belfort, m'a toujours fait croire que "le" lion était une sculpture placé au milieu de la ville...Me voici un peu moins ignorant grâce à cette belle image et merci de nous avoir rappelé cette belle page d'héroïsme.

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kasalin

7:01AM | Sat, 30 May 2009

Like a postcard!!! Fabulous !!

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hipps13

10:10AM | Sat, 30 May 2009

really cool capture, Jean-Luc I really like staring at this warm hugs that smile, Linda

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erlandpil

12:07PM | Sat, 30 May 2009

Great shot erland

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three_grrr

11:02PM | Sat, 30 May 2009

Another view of the Lion of Belfort here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LionDeBelfort.jpg You'll have to cut and paste I wanted to see what the whole statue looked like. It is mangificent! Your portrait of it is also magnificent, a marvelous POV.

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netlauv

11:28PM | Sat, 30 May 2009

Magnifique prise de vue :0) Une bien belle sculpture pour cette ville en tout cas, et une très jolie photo pour nous. Merci ;0)

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danob

6:25PM | Sun, 31 May 2009

Bravo Jean-Luc quite amazing bit of art, and very well captured with great sky detail

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Shirahime

3:22AM | Mon, 01 June 2009

Excellente prise!

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lyron

1:56PM | Mon, 01 June 2009

Fantastic!!!

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beatoangelico

2:27PM | Mon, 01 June 2009

F-A-N-T-A-S-T-IC..!!!!

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delaorden_ojeda

5:15AM | Wed, 03 June 2009

Fantastic capture my friend, excelent composicion and pov, superb colors and details, bravo Jean-Luc ! thanks for the info !

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artaddict2

5:22AM | Wed, 03 June 2009

Fine capture of this magnificent stone sculpture, invaluable information too, Well done Jean-Luc!

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novelist

6:39PM | Wed, 03 June 2009

What a heroic and beautiful lion. I imagine I'd feel very safe under his watch. What a fabulous story about a fascinating place and time. I love the point of view you chose, and how he looks out toward that perfect blue sky.