Today.Az » Weird / Interesting » Europe’s most expensive monuments named - PHOTOS
23 August 2012 [10:43] - Today.Az
It was never meant to last for more than two decades but a late decision to make the Eiffel Tower a permanent fixture on the Parisian landscape proved extremely lucrative.
The iconic 324-metre high structure has been named as the most valuable monument in Europe worth a staggering £344billion, according to a new study.
Research commissioned by Italy's Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce considered monuments' image, branding and aesthetic qualities to determine a monetary value.
The material and property value of any structure was not taken into account.
Built in 1889 as the entrance arch to the World Trade Fair, the Eiffel Tower is the most visited paid for tourist attraction in the world which last year saw a staggering 7.1million people climb to one of its three viewing platforms.
Construction of the tower had been the subject of some controversy, attracting criticism from both those who doubted it was feasible and those were were against the idea on artistic grounds.
Their objections were a continuation of the longstanding debate about the relationship between architecture and engineering.
A whopping 200million visitors have now visited the landmark since it opened and the tower is still the tenth tallest lattice style building on the planet.
Part of the original design rules were that it could be easily demolished but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the permit granted by the city expired.
In the opening weeks of the First World War the tower's powerful radio transmitters were used to jam German communications, slowing the advance on Paris and contributing to the Allied victory at the First Battle of the Marne.
Its value is six times more than its nearest rival the Colosseum in Rome, which is valued at £72billion on the new list published by Italy's Monza and Brianca Chamber of Commerce.
The gladiatorial amphitheatre which was completed in 80AD draws about 4million tourists a year to its crumbling interior.
The UK's most valuable monument is deemed to be the 1,000-year-old Tower of London, which is worth an estimated £56billion to the British economy.
In excess of 2million visitors enter the tower, which is now looked after by the Historic Royal Palaces charity, every year.
THE MOST EXPENSIVE MONUMENTS IN EUROPE
1. Eiffel Tower, Paris: £344billion
2. The Colloseum, Rome: £72billion
3. The Sagrade Familia Cathedral, Barcelona: £71billion
4. The Duomo Cathedral, Milan: £65billion
5. The Tower of London: £56billion
6. The Prado Museum, Madrid: £46billion
7. Stonehenge, UK: £8.3billion
Other famous European landmarks on the list included the Duomo cathedral in Milan worth £65billion, Madrid's Prado Museum worth £46billion and Britain's Stonehenge worth £8.3billion.
Stonehenge in Wiltshire dates from prehistoric times Wiltshire and is one of the most famous sites in the world.
Composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks its attraction lies not just in its age, but also the mystery that surrounds its construction - before the age of mechanical lifting equipment.
It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.
The gothic Duomo cathedral in Milan took nearly six centuries to complete and is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italy.
The survey also put a price of £64billion on the White House in Washington DC.
Home to the President of the United States the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style.
It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams.
/dailymail.co.uk/
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