The Lion of Belfort

Lion of Belfort
The face of the red sandstone lion.
Artist	Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Completion date	1880
Type	Sculpture
Medium	Sandstone
Location	Belfort, France

The Lion of Belfort is a monumental sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) in New York, located in Belfort, France.

It was finished in 1880 and is entirely made of red sandstone. The blocks it is made from were individually sculpted then moved under Belfort castle to be assembled. The colossal work is 22 meters long and 11 meters high and dominates the local landscape.

The lion symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, a 103-day Prussian assault (from December 1870 to February 1871). The city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau.

Instead of facing Prussia to the east as was intended, it was turned the other way because of German protests.

Smaller editions stand in the center of Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris, and in Downtown Montreal — Lion of Belfort (Montreal).

People standing in front of the sculpture, showing its enormous size.

The Lion beneath the Belfort citadel.

The Lion of Belfort

Bronze reduction of the sculpture in Place Denfert-Rochereau, Paris.

Stone reduction of the sculpture in Dorchester Square in Montréal.