15 interesting secrets about the Eiffel Tower

At night, about 20,000 lights and 336 projectors work every 5 minutes, creating a magnificent beauty for the Eiffel Tower - the symbol of the "light capital" of Paris.

1. The process of building the Eiffel tower takes place in two years, two months and 5 days.It was officially completed on March 31, 1889.

2. The Eiffel Tower is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution (1789-1889).

3. Including antenna, 324m high Eiffel tower and the highest building in France today.

4. Initially, the Paris logo had yellow paint.From 1953 to 1961, people used red brown color for this architectural work.Every 7 years, the whole tower will "coat" new paint to avoid rust and each time, Eiffel will "consume" about 60 tons of paint.

5. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Eiffel Tower became a billboard with its three sides being the plates of Citroën automobile.

6. Initially, the French were particularly upset by the presence of Eiffel. Even a group of architects and scholars signed a document protesting the construction of the tower. They call this project 'useless' and 'monstrous'.

7. The Eiffel Tower played an important role in World War I, especially during the Battle of Marne in 1914. Specifically, from the top of the tower, one could send a signal to direct the French army from the front.

8. In 1889, French newspaper Le Figaro displayed a printer on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.

9. In winter, the height of the tower decreases from 10 to 20cm due to the temperature drop causing steel to shrink.

10. The Eiffel Tower attracts about 7 million tourists a year and holds the position of the most attractive toll collection in the world.Among tourists, the French only accounted for 13%.The rest are foreigners, the highest percentage being Americans, British and Italian.

11. At night, every 5 minutes, the tower becomes more beautiful and sparkling by about 20,000 lights and 336 illuminated projectors.The ideal location for visitors to admire the Parisian symbol at night is Trocadéro Square.

12. The Eiffel Tower still retains the elevations of the 1889 period. From November 2011, only two of the 3 elevators are available for active travelers.This reduces the number of visitors to the tower.The modernization of the Eiffel Tower elevators is expected to be completed in 2 years but lasts up to 6 years.The hydraulic system alone cost 36 million euros.

13. Before Paris surrendered to Germany during World War II, France was forced to "destroy" the Eiffel Tower by breaking the elevator system to prevent enemies from enjoying the city view from above.

14. The Eiffel Tower is not the work of the architect Gustave Eiffel.Two senior engineers Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier created it.Gustave Eiffel did not pay too much attention to this project but he introduced Maurice and Emile to Stephen Sauvestre - the head of the company's architectural department headed by him.After Mr. Sauvestre fixed some points in the drawing, Effeil tower had the final design and he bought the patent for this work.

15. Many places in the world such as Las Vegas (USA), China, Romania, Copenhagen (Denmark), Varna (Bulgaria), Aktau (Kazakhstan) . have created copies from the Eiffel Tower.