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Alexander the Great Fountain in Skopje, Macedonia
Historical Background
Erecting of Alexander the Great Statue On 21 June 2011 the Republic of Macedonia erected the largest statue of Alexander the Great in the world. As cranes lifted the bronze statue on top of the pedestal, hundreds of Macedonians sang the national anthem and other patriotic songs, waving flags and shouting "Macedonia!"
Some wept for joy, saying, "Alexander has finally came home," as one middle-aged bystander put it. "I'm very excited also because I have a son called Alexander who lives abroad and when he was small he used to say 'I'm Alexander the Macedonian'. This is a great move by the government," another elderly woman said, tears in her eyes. "This is a historic day that we have been long awaiting," another bystander said. "With this, Macedonia's identity is confirmed, here it is." "I feel proud to be Macedonian and God bless our prime minister for having brought us this warrior, the king of Macedonians," said another referring to Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
Alexander the Great on Bucephalus Statue The equestrian bronze statue of the Macedonian king riding his horse Bucephalus is 14.5 m (47.6 ft) tall and weighs 48 tons. Alexander is depicted as brandishing his sward high in his right hand as if he had just given the command for an attack. His left hand is restraining his rearing horse Bucephanus. Symbolically he is facing east toward Asia, in direction of Persia. The massive bronze rests on top of a 10 m (32.8 ft) tall cylindrical column pedestal which is a centerpiece of a large circular fountain. The complete structure rises 24.5 meters (80 feet) into the skyline and dominates the Skopje downtown square "Macedonia".
For a picture gallery of the Alexander the Great statue click here.
Column Pedestal with Marble Sculpture Reliefs The column pedestal under the Alexander the Great bronze statue consists of three large marble sculpture reliefs depicting the victorious battles of the Macedonians against the Greeks and Persians. Alexander the Great is shown on all three sculpture reliefs while his father Philip appears in the one showing the Battle of Chaeronea where the Macedonians defeated unified Greece. Each of the three marble sculpture reliefs is separated by bronze ring with ancient Macedonian motifs.
For a picture gallery of the Sculpture Reliefs click here.
Bronze Statues of Macedonian Soldiers At the base of the column are total of 8 bronze statues. Seven of these bronze statues are of ancient Macedonian soldiers in resting and battle formation and one depicts Alexander’s father Philip of Macedon. Philip is brandishing his sward in the air and facing south in the direction of Greece, in reference to his conquest of Greece. Each of the 8 bronze statues is 3 m (9.8 ft) tall.
For a picture gallery of the Macedonian Soldiers bronze statues click here.
The Fountain The column pedestal stands in large circular elevated fountain with four steps leading to the walking ring. There are also 8 bronze lions, each 2.5 m (8.3 ft) tall, around the edges of the fountain pool, four of which act as part of the fountain, releasing water from their mouths. The fountain is illuminated with series of light beams from the top, sides, and bottom.
For a picture gallery of the Alexander the Great fountain click here.
The MOsaic At the base of the fountain is a very large mosaic depicting a typical ancient Macedonian scroll mosaics which are found not only in ancient Macedonia, but also in all parts of the Macedonian Empire including Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor. The fountain also plays music.
For a picture gallery of the Alexander the Great fountain mosaic click here.
The Alexander the Great fountain was officially unveiled on 8 September 2011, on the 20-year anniversary of the Republic of Macedonia's independence, in the center of the capital Skopje. The fountain became an instant tourist attraction since the very moment it arrived to square "Macedonia" in downtown Skopje. Not only Macedonians, but also tourists from all of Macedonia's neighbors (including Greeks) have flocked to see the impressive monument. And the number of tourists visiting Skopje continue to break records every month. Organized large groups of tourists from European countries, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, etc roam the downtown of the Macedonian capital and take pictures of Alexander the Great and the many other new monumental classical buildings, bronze and marble sculptures that were erected as part of the government project "Skopje 2014".
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