The world is filled with amazing things. Some live in this world naturally, like humans and animals, and plants. But other great things have been built by us humans. Famous landmarks, to be specific, like Legoworld. Okay. Not Legoworld, so much. But other things. The Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Wall of China. The Parthenon. The Eiffel Tower. These constructions capture our imagination and give us a lasting collective inheritance from the past.
These buildings and structures may last for centuries on end. But they also have widely different construction times. Some of these took decades, and others took just a few years. If only we could keep people from carving graffiti on them.
Nonetheless. Here is a list of the world’s most famous landmarks, along with the time it took to complete them
The Colosseum in Rome — 7 to 8 years to build.
The project was initiated around 72 CE. It would involve enormous amounts of labor. We’re talking as many as 20,000-30,000 enslaved people were employed to quarry the stone and build the structure.
The Great Wall of China — A long dang time. Thousands of years to construct.
The project began with a series of fortifications created in the 7th century BCE by the Chu State. The last great wave of construction and maintenance occurred during the Ming Dynasty, between the 14th and 17th centuries. Sadly after that, the wall fell into disrepair.
The Great Pyramid of Giza — 20 years to build
This is the tomb of the pharaoh Khufu. It took the work of groups of up to 100,000 people. Construction began around 2550 BCE. The pyramid was the tallest human-made structure in the world. And this record lasted for more than 3,700 years until the completion of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London in 1221.
The Forbidden City in China — 14 years to build
This was an imperial residence for the Chinese emperor and his court. It was commissioned in 1406 CE by the emperor Yongle and completed in 1420.
The Eiffel Tower — 2 years to build
The tower went up for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.
The Parthenon — 9 years to build
Construction on the main building, a temple to Athena, began in 447 BCE.
Statue of Liberty — 10 years
The statue was assembled in Paris between 1881 and 1884, then disassembled and shipped to the US in 1885.
The Taj Mahal — 20 years
Located in Agra, India. This is a mausoleum commissioned in 1631 by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his wife Mumtaz Mahal. She died giving birth to their child. It took some 20,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants to build this huge marble edifice.
The Notre Dame de Paris — 90 years
Since the fire in recent years, the structure is currently being rebuilt.
Oh, I know I sing it a lot around here. But some things never tire for me. So.
“If I had a hammer…”
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Whatever good things we build end up building us.
— Jim Rohn
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If I am more fortunate than others I need to build a longer table not a taller fence.
— Tamlyn Tomita
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We build too many walls and not enough bridges.
— Isaac Newton
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The big building of those big buildings.
