The rising of the 12 m tall statue started yesterday on a central square in Skopje, the capital of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The figure, coated in bronze will be situated on a 10 meters high pedestal so the total height of the monument will be 22 meters (72 foot), making it the tallest monument to Alexander the Great in the world.
The Skopje 2014 project
A fountain is planned to be built around the pedestal as part of the “Skopje 2014” project, according to which the square and it’s surroundings will be adorned with about twenty other monuments. Several Macedonian ministry buildings and institutions will be built around it.
Here is a preview of how the entire square should look when completed:
This is how the fountain will probably look at night:
About the statue of Alexander the Great
Although this giant statue is officially named “Warrior on a Horse,” the face closely resembles ancient depictions of Alexander, the warrior king born in Pella, northern Greece, who carved out an empire that reached the Himalayas before his death at age 32 in 323 B.C.
This monument, designed by Valentina Stevkovska, will, as most other monuments from the Macedonian history, be crafted in the “Francesco Marinelli” foundry in Florence, Italy. It costs 5.3 million Euros, the largest sum spent for a monument in Macedonia.
The rising of the monument is expected to take ten days.
Via Mondo, Washington Post