Cristo Redentor and the open-armed skyline of Rio de Janeiro

Cristo Redentor rises above Rio de Janeiro on Corcovado, an Art Deco Christ figure in concrete and soapstone whose outstretched arms define the city’s skyline.

Cristo Redentor, known in English as Christ the Redeemer, stands high above Rio de Janeiro on the summit of Corcovado mountain, its outstretched arms forming a vast horizontal cross against the sky. Completed in 1931 as a monumental statue of Jesus Christ, it has become an enduring landmark of Brazil’s coastal metropolis and a fixed point in the city’s mountainous skyline.

An Art Deco Christ in concrete and soapstone

The statue of Cristo Redentor is a towering Art Deco figure, rising 30 m (98 ft) above its own base and extending its arms in a straight line across the ridge of Corcovado. The figure stands on a square stone pedestal about 8 m (26 ft) high, bringing the total height of monument and base together to 38 m (125 ft).stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall The horizontally spread arms reach about 28 m (92 ft) from fingertip to fingertip, forming a clearly geometrical cross-shape when seen from a distance across the city’s bays and hills.The arms stretch 28 metres wide

Cristo Redentor is constructed from reinforced concrete and clad in a mosaic of pale soapstone tiles, a combination that gives the monument its characteristic light-coloured surface and crisp Art Deco lines.reinforced concrete clad in soapstone tiles The statue’s engineering and cladding were overseen by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, while the sculptural form of the figure was created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, whose work on the head and hands is explicitly recorded in the historical documentation.Projeto em estilo art déco do escultor francês Paul Landowski Together, the structure and its pedestal weigh well over 1,000 tonnes, anchoring the open-armed figure firmly onto the granite of Corcovado above the forested slopes of Tijuca National Park.peso 1.145 Tonnen

From idea to inauguration in 1931

The idea of a large Christ monument overlooking Rio de Janeiro took shape in the early twentieth century, with the project gaining momentum in the 1920s as a national undertaking funded by donations. Construction on Cristo Redentor’s concrete structure and soapstone cladding is recorded as taking place across the second half of that decade, beginning in the mid-1920s and proceeding year by year as the segmented body and arms were assembled on the summit.construction lasted nine years

The monument was inaugurated on 12 October 1931, a date associated in Brazil with the veneration of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, and recorded in multiple historical accounts as the official opening of the statue.Die Statue wurde am 12. Oktober 1931 eingeweiht On that day, Cristo Redentor entered the skyline of Rio de Janeiro as a completed artwork, its Art Deco figure of Christ standing above the city’s bays and hills, facing towards the urban core with arms extended over the ridges of Tijuca. The project’s combination of Brazilian engineering and French sculpture, carried out in reinforced concrete and soapstone, firmly places Cristo Redentor within the broader history of early twentieth-century monumental Art Deco sculpture.a mais alta estátua do mundo no estilo Art Déco

Corcovado, Tijuca forest and the urban panorama

Cristo Redentor stands on the summit of Corcovado, a granite peak rising to around 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro. The mountain forms part of the Tijuca National Park, a protected area of Atlantic rainforest that surrounds the monument with steep, densely vegetated slopes and ridges.on the peak of the 700-metre Corcovado mountain From the decks and terraces around the pedestal, visitors look out across Guanabara Bay, the organised curves of Copacabana and other ocean beaches, the neighbouring peak of Pão de Açúcar and the varied skyline of central and southern Rio de Janeiro.

The statue forms part of a wider cultural landscape that has been formally recognised by UNESCO: Rio de Janeiro’s “Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea” were inscribed on the World Heritage List as a cultural landscape in 2012.Rio de Janeiro recibe certificado de Patrimonio Mundial de la Unesco In that designation, sites such as Corcovado, Flamengo Park, Copacabana, the Botanical Garden and the Tijuca forest are recognised together for the way mountains, forest and urban shoreline interlock. Cristo Redentor’s position on Corcovado places it at the centre of this landscape, visible from many of the bays, districts and hilltops that form Rio’s urban fabric.

Visiting Cristo Redentor: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• Cristo Redentor stands on Corcovado, a peak within Tijuca National Park in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro; visitors reach the summit by road vehicles or by the historic Corcovado railway that climbs through the forest from the lower city.
• At the summit, the terraces around the statue stand at an elevation of around 700 m (2,300 ft), and access involves stairways and stepped ramps between the train or road arrival points, the pedestal level and the viewing platforms.
• The terrain combines mountain slopes and constructed walkways; weather on Corcovado can differ from conditions at sea level, and cloud or mist sometimes surrounds the summit.
• Portuguese is the official language of Brazil and the currency is the Brazilian real.
• Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.

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Frequently asked questions about Cristo Redentor

Where is Cristo Redentor located in Rio de Janeiro?

Cristo Redentor stands on the summit of Corcovado, a mountain within Tijuca National Park in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro.

What should visitors expect on a visit to Cristo Redentor?

Visitors reach the summit by rail or road, then move by stairways and ramps to viewing terraces around the statue, with wide panoramas over the bays and city districts.

What makes Cristo Redentor distinctive among city landmarks?

Its 30 m high Art Deco figure with 28 m wide outstretched arms, built in reinforced concrete and soapstone on a 700 m mountain, gives Rio de Janeiro a recognisable open-armed skyline.