It is difficult to believe now that the Eiffel Tower was originally built to last for only two decades. But thankfully it stayed on and became a permanent fixture on the Parisian landscape. The iconic 324-metre high structure is today valued at a staggering £344billion, making it the most valuable monument in Europe. This mind boggling figure for the most expensive building has come out of a study conducted by Italy’s Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce who went into the details of all the major monuments and took into account its image, branding and aesthetic qualities to arrive at a figure to determine its monetary value.
7.1 Million Visitors Paid to Climb the Eiffel Tower Last Year
No doubt, the Eiffel Tower is the most lucrative monument in Europe and over the years has served a purpose beyond being a tourist attraction. It was built in 1889 to serve as the entrance arch at the World Trade Fair. And today it has become the most visited tourist attraction in the world. Just in the last one year, 7.1 million tourists paid to climb to one of its three viewing platforms. The undisputed leader of monuments had attracted a lot of controversy when it was built. There were many at the time who doubted its feasibility and even found it undesirable on artistic grounds. There were those who objected to the mega construction on both grounds of architecture and engineering.
Eiffel Tower Proved Valuable for Communications Purposes
But better sense prevailed and the tower was built and not dismantled later as it was originally decided. In its existence over a century, the tower has attracted a whopping 200 million visitors. The tower also enjoys the honor of being the tenth tallest lattice style building on the planet. The tower was designed in such a way that it could be dismantled with relative ease when the permit granted by the city expired. But the tower proved valuable for communication purposes and it was allowed to continue beyond its original permit period. Powerful radio transmitters mounted on the tower proved invaluable in jamming the German communications and thus slowing their advance.
Coliseum in Rome: Second Most Expensive Monument
The second most valuable monument in Europe is the Coliseum in Rome which is way behind and valued at only £72billion. Built in 80AD, the gladiatorial amphitheatre attracts 4 million visitors in a year. The 1,000 year old Tower of London with an estimated value of £56billion is the most valuable monument in UK. Maintained by Historic Royal Palaces charity, the tower gets 2 million visitors in a year. The other important monuments in Europe are the Duomo cathedral in Milan which is worth £65billion, Madrid’s Prado Museum with a value of £46billion and Britain’s Stonehenge which is estimated to be worth £8.3billion. All these monuments, though from different periods of history, are very valuable in their own way. They attract tourists and visitors and thus contribute to the economy of the country. The study has also categorized the White House in Washington DC as a monument and has valued it at £64billion. Built with white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style, the White House was completed in the year 1800 and since then has been the home of the President of the United States.
