Seven wonders of the world: list and description. Seven wonders of the world

Modern man has the power to do a lot: people conquer outer space, reveal more and more mysteries of nature - it’s impossible to list everything. It is increasingly difficult to capture the imagination of modern man, because before his eyes the most daring dreams ever created by uncontrollable human imagination are being realized.

However, what today seems like an extraordinary miracle and the pinnacle of creative thought, after a few decades will become as ordinary and familiar as, for example, television for you and me now. Nevertheless, there remain things that can surprise regardless of time, which in many generations will be looked at with admiration and, probably, awe, just as they are today. You probably guessed what I'm talking about "Wonders of the World".

As you know, there were seven wonders of the world, which are now commonly called “wonders of the ancient world.” Only one of them has survived to this day - the legendary pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Therefore, on the initiative of the Swiss Bernard Werber, a project was organized to determine which of the existing structures and attractions are worthy of being called “wonders of the world.”

The non-profit organization New Open World Corporation conducted a worldwide vote in which more than 90 million people around the world took part. From several dozen applicants for the title of one of the seven wonders of the world, winners were selected, and the results of the competition were announced in Lisbon on July 7, 2007, the “day of three sevens.”

So, we invite you to look at photos of the new seven wonders of the world, and also read their brief descriptions:

Location: China

This is the largest architectural structure in the world; the length of the wall is 8851.8 kilometers. was built to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from raids by nomads. Today the wall is rightfully considered one of the greatest structures ever built by man. It is the most visited attraction in the world - more than 40 million tourists a year come to the country to see the Great Wall of China with their own eyes. By the way, one of the sections of the wall runs near the capital of China - Beijing.

Location: Italy, Rome

This is the largest of the ancient Roman amphitheaters, a full-fledged symbol of the Eternal City, perhaps the most recognizable architectural monument in the world. Its second name - Flavian Amphitheater - was received in honor of the Flavian dynasty, which then ruled in Ancient Rome and organized the construction of the amphitheater. For a long time, the Colosseum hosted gladiator fights and other entertainment spectacles for guests and residents of Rome.

Location: Peru

The legendary ancient city of the Incas, located in the territory of modern Peru. Machu Picchu received the nickname “city among the clouds” due to its location - it is located on the top of one of the mountain ranges, at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level. The city was built by the Inca ruler Pachacutec as an imperial residence - a “sacred mountain refuge.”

Location: Jordan

The famous stone-hewn city of Petra, located in what is now Jordan. The city is located in the Arava Valley, in the Siq canyon, surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs. You can enter the valley only through narrow gorges, which are a kind of gateway to the city. Most of the city's buildings are carved out of red sandstone cliffs - even the city's name "Petra" translates as "rock". More than half a million tourists a year come to see the mysterious city made of stone. By the way, the final scenes of Steven Spielberg's famous film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed here in Petra.

Location: India

The Taj Mahal mausoleum-mosque made of white marble is located in the city of Agra in India, on the banks of the Jamna River. This is a real pearl of the Muslim world, the best example of architecture of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. The magnificent mausoleum was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his wife who died in childbirth.

According to one legend, an absolutely identical building made of black marble was to be built on the opposite bank of the river, and a bridge made of gray marble was to connect them. Today, the Taj Mahal is visited by millions of tourists a year, it undoubtedly deservedly took its place on the list of the new seven wonders of the world.

Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

The next wonder of the world is the magnificent statue of Christ the Redeemer on top of Mount Corcovado in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro. The statue is considered a symbol of Rio and all of Brazil and is one of the tallest sculptures in the world. The height of the statue is 38 meters, the arm span is 30 meters, the weight of the statue is 1145 tons.

Location: Mexico, Yucatan

The ancient city of Chichen Itza is the political and cultural center of the Mayan state, located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. According to archaeologists, Chichen Itza was one of the religious centers, the so-called “places of power” of the Mayan culture.

Location: Egypt

Formally, the Pyramids of Giza are not among the seven new wonders of the world, but are present here as a non-competitive, honorary candidate. The Egyptian pyramids are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that have survived to this day. Excursions to the pyramids are regularly conducted from the capital of Egypt and are very popular among tourists.

Nowadays, it is customary to call unique artistic and technical creations a wonder of the world, which, due to their level of performance, evoke the admiration of most specialists. But in fairness, this erroneous approach should be corrected - the wonders of the world include specific objects created by people in ancient times.

Below is a list of 7 wonders of the ancient world...

1. Pyramids of Cheops (Giza)

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Khufu (in the Greek version of Cheops), or the Great Pyramid, is the greatest of the Egyptian pyramids, the oldest of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity and the only one of them that has survived to our time. For over four thousand years, the pyramid was the largest building in the world.

The Pyramid of Cheops is located in the far suburb of Cairo, Giza. Nearby there are two more pyramids of the pharaohs Khafre and Menkaure (Khefre and Mikerin), according to ancient historians, the sons and successors of Khufu. These are the three largest pyramids in Egypt.

Following ancient authors, most modern historians consider the pyramids to be funerary structures of ancient Egyptian monarchs. Some scientists believe that these were astronomical observatories. There is no direct evidence that pharaohs were buried in the pyramids, but other versions of their purpose are less convincing.

Based on ancient “royal lists”, it has been established that Cheops reigned around 2585-2566. BC. Construction of the "Sacred Height" lasted 20 years and ended after the death of Khufu, around 2560 BC.

Other versions of the construction dates, based on astronomical methods, give dates from 2720 to 2577. BC. Radiocarbon dating shows a scatter of 170 years, from 2850 to 2680. BC.

There are also exotic opinions expressed by supporters of theories of aliens visiting the Earth, the existence of ancient civilizations, or adherents of occult movements. They determine the age of the Cheops pyramid from 6-7 to tens of thousands of years.

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babylon)

The existence of one of the wonders of the world, many scientists question and argue that it is nothing more than a figment of the imagination of an ancient chronicler, whose idea was picked up by his colleagues and began to be carefully copied from chronicle to chronicle. They justify their assertion by the fact that the Gardens of Babylon are most carefully described by those who have never seen them, while historians who have visited ancient Babylon are silent about the miracle erected there.

Archaeological excavations have shown that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon still existed.

Naturally, they did not hang on ropes, but were a four-story building, built in the shape of a pyramid with a huge amount of vegetation, and were part of the palace building. This unique structure received its name due to an incorrect translation of the Greek word “kremastos”, which actually means “hanging” (for example, from a terrace).

The unique gardens were erected by order of the Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II, who lived in the 7th century. BC. He built them especially for his wife Amytis, daughter of Cyaxares, king of Media (it was with him that the Babylonian ruler entered into an alliance against the common enemy, Assyria, and won the final victory over this state).

Amitis, who grew up among the mountains of green and fertile Media, did not like dusty and noisy Babylon, located on a sandy plain. The Babylonian ruler was faced with a choice - to move the capital closer to his wife’s homeland or to make her stay in Babylon more comfortable. They decided to build hanging gardens that would remind the queen of her homeland. Where exactly they are located, history is silent, and therefore there are several hypotheses:

• The main version says that this wonder of the world is located near the modern city of Hilla, which is located on the Ephrat River in the center of Iraq.
• An alternative version, based on re-decipherment of cuneiform tablets, states that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are located in Nineveh, the capital of Assyria (located in the north of modern Iraq), which after its fall was transferred to the Babylonian state.

The very idea of ​​​​creating hanging gardens in the middle of a dry plain seemed simply fantastic at that time. The local architects and engineers of the ancient world were able to accomplish this task - and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were later included in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World, were built, became part of the palace and were located on its north-eastern side.

They say that the statue of Zeus at Olympia turned out to be so majestic that when Phidias, having created it, asked his creation: “Are you satisfied, Zeus?” - thunder struck, and the black marble floor at the god’s feet cracked. The Thunderer was pleased.

Despite the fact that only memories of one of the most majestic statues of this scale have reached us, the mere description of the monument, which was in its own way a real masterpiece of jewelry, cannot but shake the imagination. Both before and after the creation of the statue of Olympian Zeus, people have not created a monument of such a scale - and it is not a fact that they ever will: this wonder of the world turned out to be too expensive in cost and huge in scale.

The uniqueness of this monument also lies in the fact that the statue of Olympian Zeus, the only one of all the wonders of the ancient world, was located on the territory of continental Europe, in the Greek city of Olympia, which is located on the Balkan Peninsula.

The statue of Zeus in Olympia took quite a long time to create: Phidias spent about ten years on it. When she appeared before the residents and guests of Olympia in 435 BC, she was a real wonder of the world.

The exact dimensions of the statue have not yet been determined, but apparently its height ranged from 12 to 17 meters. Zeus, naked to the waist, sat on a throne, his feet were on a bench supported by two lions. The pedestal on which the throne was located was quite huge: its dimensions were 9.5 by 6.5 m. Ebony, gold, ivory and jewelry were used to make it.

The throne itself was decorated with images of scenes from the life of the Greek celestials, the goddesses of victory danced on its legs, and the battles of the Greeks with the Amazons were depicted on the crossbars and, naturally, the Olympic Games were not absent (Panen did the painting). The Thunderer was made from ebony wood, and his entire body was covered with plates of ivory of the highest quality. The master selected materials for his statue extremely meticulously.

On the head of the supreme god there was a wreath, and in one hand he held the golden Nike, the goddess of Victory, in the other - a scepter decorated with an eagle, symbolizing supreme power. The god's clothes were made of gold sheets (in total, about two hundred kilograms of gold were needed to make the sculpture). The Thunderer's cloak was decorated with images of representatives of the animal and plant world.

Nowadays, a marble copy of one of the wonders of the world can be seen in the Hermitage, where it was brought from Italy in 1861. Apparently, this statue of Zeus was created by a Roman author in the first century BC, and it was found during archaeological excavations in the vicinity of Rome at the end of the 18th century. It is notable for the fact that today it is one of the largest antique sculptures that are in museums in the world - the height of the monument is 3.5 meters and weighs 16 tons.

The sculpture was acquired at the beginning of the 19th century by one of the Italian collectors, Marquis D. Campana.

He did not have it for long, because after some time he went bankrupt, his property was confiscated and sold at auction. Before the auction, the director of the Hermitage managed to persuade the Italian authorities to give him the opportunity to purchase some things before the sale, thus, the best exhibits from the collection of the bankrupt marquis, including the statue of the Thunderer, ended up in the Hermitage.

4. Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (Ephesus)

According to ancient Greek belief, Artemis was the goddess of hunting and fertility, the patroness of all life on earth. She looked after the animals in the forest, herds of domestic animals, and plants. Artemis provided a happy marriage and assistance during childbirth.

In honor of Artemis, a temple was built in Ephesus on the site of the former sanctuary of the Carian goddess, also responsible for fertility. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was so large that it was immediately included in the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The construction was financed by the Lydian king Croesus, and the construction work was led by the architect from Knossos, Kharsifron. During his time they managed to erect walls and columns. After his death, his son Metagenes took over the post of chief architect. The last stage of construction was led by Peonitus and Demetrius.

The Temple of Artemis of Ephesus was completed in 550 BC. A delightful sight opened before the local residents; nothing like this had ever been built here. And although it is currently impossible to recreate the former decoration of the temple, you can be sure that the best craftsmen of their time, working here, could not have made a mistake. The statue of the culprit of the construction itself was made of ivory and gold.

It was possible to recreate the image of the former majestic temple of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus only after archaeological excavations. The temple measured 105 by 51 meters. The roof of the structure was supported by 127 columns, each 18 meters high. According to legend, each column was donated by one of the 127 Greek rulers.

In addition to religious services, the temple was in full swing with financial and business life. It was the center of Ephesus, independent from the authorities, subordinate to the local college of priests.

In 356 BC, when the famous Alexander the Great was born, the temple of Artemis was burned by the Ephesian resident Herostratus. The motive for this feat is to remain in history in memory of posterity. After being caught, the arsonist faced capital punishment. In addition to this, it was also decided to eradicate the name of this person from history. But what is forbidden sits even more firmly in people’s memories, and the name of Herostratus is now a household name.

By the 3rd century BC, the wonder of the world, the Temple of Artemis in Greece, was restored on the initiative of the aforementioned Alexander the Great, but with the arrival of the Goths, it was again destroyed. Later, with the ban on pagan cults, the Byzantine authorities closed the temple. Then they begin to gradually dismantle it for building materials, as a result of which the temple fades into oblivion. A Christian church was built in its place, but it also faced the fate of destruction.

On October 31, 1869, the English archaeologist Wood manages to find the location of the former Temple of Artemis in Turkey, and excavations begin. Now in its place stands one column restored from the rubble. Despite this, the place still attracts thousands of tourists.

5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Let's move to the ancient city of Halicarnassus. It was the capital of Caria and, as befits the capital of a state, it was famous for its beauty and grandeur. Temples, theaters, palaces, gardens, fountains, and a living harbor guaranteed the city honor and respect. But the tomb of King Mausolus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, occupied special attention here. So, the miracle of the world is the mausoleum in Halicarnassus.

King Mausolus, ruling Caria in the 4th century BC. (377-353), according to the experience of the Egyptian pharaohs, began the construction of his tomb during his lifetime. It was supposed to be a unique structure. Located in the center of the city, among palaces and temples, it symbolizes the power and wealth of the king. And to worship the late king, it must combine both a tomb and a temple. The best architects and sculptors were allocated for the construction - Pythias, Satyr, Leochares, Scopas, Briaxides, Timothy. After the death of the king, his wife, Queen Artemisia, approached the construction of an eternal monument to her great husband even more intensively.

The construction was completed in 350 BC. Its appearance combined several architectural styles of that time. The mausoleum had three levels with a total height of 46 meters. The first tier was a massive base made of brick, lined with marble. Next on it stood a temple with 36 columns. The columns supported the roof in the form of a pyramid with 24 steps. At the top of the roof there was a sculpture of King Mausolus and Artemisia in a chariot drawn by 4 horses. Around the building there were statues of horsemen and lions. The beauty of the structure was mesmerizing; it is no coincidence that the mausoleum in Halicarnassus quickly became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The tomb of Mausolus and his wife itself was located in the lower tier. An upper room with columns and a statue of Mausolus was built to worship the king. The statue has survived to this day, and fully reflects the image of the despot king. The sculptor subtly conveyed the character of Mavsol in his facial features - evil, cruel, capable of getting everything he needs. It is no coincidence that he was a very rich man. Next to the statue of Mausolus there was a statue of Queen Artemisia. The sculptor embellished it, presented it in a stately, soft image. The famous sculptor of that time, Skopas, worked on it. Both of these statues are now considered among the finest in Greek culture from the 4th century BC. Separately, it is worth mentioning the upper part of the mausoleum’s base. The sculptors decorated it with scenes from the Greek epic - the battle with the Amazons, hunting, the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs.

Mausoleum - a word derived from the name of King Mavsol, is currently a common noun among all peoples.

After 18 centuries, the mausoleum was destroyed by an earthquake. Later, its ruins were used to build St. Peter's Castle by the Knights of St. John. When the Turks arrived, the castle became the Budrun Fortress, currently called Bodrum. Excavations here were carried out in 1857. Relief slabs, statues of Mausolus and Artemisia, and a statue of a chariot were found. They are currently on display in the British Museum.

6. Colossus of Rhodes (Rhodes)

The Colossus of Rhodes is a huge statue that has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The grateful inhabitants of the island of Rhodes decided to build it in honor of the sun god Helios, who helped them survive the unequal struggle with the invaders. The siege of the beautiful island lasted almost a year and the likelihood of victory was negligible, but the patron helped the islanders win. For this, Helios was immortalized in the guise of a huge statue. For the people of Rhodes, the statue represented independence and freedom, just like the Statue of Liberty in New York for the Americans.

The island of Rhodes had an advantageous geographical location; its inhabitants traded freely with many countries, which ensured the wealth of the city as a whole and each citizen individually. From its foundation until the 3rd century. BC. Rhodes was ruled in turn by the famous king Mausolus, the Persian rulers and Alexander the Great. None of them oppressed the city or prevented it from developing. However, after the death of Alexander the Great, his heirs began to divide the inherited lands in a bloody struggle.

The island of Rhodes went to Ptolemy, but the other heir (Antigonus) considered this unfair and sent his son to destroy the city. This would help to equalize the power of Ptolemy. Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, assembled a huge army that outnumbered the islanders. Only impregnable walls prevented the soldiers from immediately entering the capital and destroying it. The enemies used siege towers - huge wooden catapults that were installed on ships. The inhabitants of Rhodes managed to delay their enemies until the arrival of Ptolemy's army and defend their homeland.

Having sold the siege engines and the surviving ships of the invaders, the inhabitants of Rhodes decided to erect a huge statue of the god Helios, their patron. Until then, any statues were called colossi, but after the Colossus of Rhodes, only the largest of them began to be called that.

Construction of the Colossus began in 302 BC. and finished only after 12 years (according to other sources after 20 years). They installed the statue on an artificial embankment that blocked the entrance to the harbor. Behind this hill, for a long time, individual parts of the sculpture were hidden from prying eyes. The mound with the statue turned into a kind of gateway to the city. Some poets described the Colossus as standing on two hills. The ships had to sail between Helios' legs. However, this version is considered doubtful. The stability of such a sculpture would be too low, and large ships would not be able to dock in the port.

The statue has not survived to this day, but numerous descriptions from contemporaries indicate that the Colossus stood on one of the banks, and not at all in the form of an arch, as artists depict it. In the giant's hand was a bowl of blazing fire. At the base there were three pillars that served as support. The builders inlaid two of them with bronze parts to disguise Helios at the feet. The third pillar was in the place where the cloak or part of the sheet of the majestic Colossus fell.

Residents wanted the statue to point its hand into the distance, but the sculptor understood that this would reduce the stability of the structure, so the statue seemed to cover its eyes from the sun with its palm. The torso and main elements were made of sheets of iron and bronze. They were secured to support pillars. The space inside was filled with large stones and clay to increase stability. The free space was covered with earth so that workers could move freely along the surface and secure the following parts. In total, the production of the Colossus required 8 tons of iron and 13 tons of bronze. The resulting statue reached a height of 34 m.

The statue of the Colossus of Rhodes was so huge that it could be seen from ships sailing in the distance. According to the descriptions of contemporaries, she was a tall young man with a radiant crown on her head. One hand of the young man covered his eyes, and the other caught his falling robe.

Another poet, Philo, described the Colossus differently. He claimed that the statue was on a marble pedestal and was striking in the size of its feet. Each of them was the size of a small statue itself. There was a working torch at arm's length. It was lit at night to illuminate the way for sailors.

Scientists are still trying to discover where the Colossus of Rhodes is located or where exactly it was installed. At the end of the 20th century, huge boulders were discovered off the coast of the island of Rhodes, which resembled the fragments of a statue in shape. However, the theory that these are elements of an ancient sculpture was not confirmed. But researcher Ursula Vedder suggested that the Colossus did not stand near the shore at all, but on Monte Smith Hill. The ruins of the Temple of Helios remain here, and its foundations have a suitable platform on which the Colossus could have stood.

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos)

Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world had a practical purpose - the Lighthouse of Alexandria. It performed several functions at once: it allowed ships to approach the harbor without any problems, and the observation post located at the top of the unique structure made it possible to monitor the expanses of water and notice the enemy in time.

Locals claimed that the light of the Alexandria lighthouse burned enemy ships even before they approached the shore, and if they managed to approach the coast, the statue of Poseidon, located on the dome of an amazing design, uttered a piercing warning cry.

The height of the ancient lighthouse was 140 meters - much higher than the surrounding buildings. In ancient times, the buildings did not exceed three floors, and against their background the Faros Lighthouse seemed huge. Moreover, at the time of completion of construction it turned out to be the tallest building of the ancient world and remained so for an extremely long time.

The Alexandria Lighthouse was built on the east coast of the small island of Pharos, located near Alexandria - the main seaport of Egypt, built by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. It is also known in history as the Faros Lighthouse.

The great commander chose the location for the construction of the city extremely carefully: he initially planned to build a port in this region, which would be an important trading center.

It was extremely important that it be located at the intersection of both water and land routes of three parts of the world - Africa, Europe and Asia. For the same reason, it was necessary to build at least two harbors here: one for ships arriving from the Mediterranean Sea, and the other for those sailing along the Nile.

Therefore, Alexandria was not built in the Nile Delta, but a little to the side, twenty miles to the south. When choosing a location for the city, Alexander took into account the location of future harbors, paying special attention to their strengthening and protection: it was very important to do everything to ensure that the waters of the Nile did not clog them with sand and silt (a dam was subsequently built specifically for this purpose, connecting the continent with an island).

After the death of Alexander the Great (who, according to legend, was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus), after some time the city came under the rule of Ptolemy I Soter - and as a result of skillful management it turned into a successful and prosperous port city, and the construction of one of the seven wonders of the world was significant increased his wealth.

The Alexandria lighthouse made it possible for ships to sail into the port without any problems, successfully avoiding underwater rocks, shoals and other obstacles in the bay. Thanks to this, after the construction of one of the seven wonders, the volume of light trade increased sharply.

The lighthouse also served as an additional reference point for sailors: the landscape of the Egyptian coast is quite diverse - mostly just lowlands and plains. Therefore, signal lights before entering the harbor were very useful.

A lower structure could have successfully performed this role, so the engineers assigned another important function to the Lighthouse of Alexandria - the role of an observation post: enemies usually attacked from the sea, since the country was well defended on the land side by the desert.

It was also necessary to install such an observation post at the lighthouse because there were no natural hills near the city where this could be done.

The lighthouse of Alexandria has served since 283 BC. until the 15th century, when a fortress was erected instead. Thus, he experienced more than one dynasty of Egyptian rulers and saw Roman legionnaires. This did not particularly affect its fate: no matter who ruled Alexandria, everyone made sure that the unique structure stood for as long as possible - they restored parts of the building that had been destroyed due to frequent earthquakes, and updated the facade, which was negatively affected by wind and salty sea water.

Time has done its work: the lighthouse stopped working in 365, when one of the strongest earthquakes in the Mediterranean Sea caused a tsunami that flooded part of the city, and the number of dead Egyptians, according to chroniclers, exceeded 50 thousand inhabitants.

After this event, the lighthouse significantly decreased in size, but stood for quite a long time - until the 14th century, until another strong earthquake wiped it off the face of the earth (a hundred years later, Sultan Qait Bey built a fortress on its foundation, which can be seen Nowadays). After this, the pyramids at Giza remained the only ancient wonder of the world that has survived to this day.

In the mid-90s. the remains of the Alexandria lighthouse were discovered at the bottom of the bay with the help of a satellite, and after some time, scientists, using computer modeling, were able to more or less restore the image of the unique structure.

Album "From Wonders of the World to Wonders of Russia"

Pyramids of Giza
One of the most ancient and yet striking Wonders of the World are the Great Pyramids located in Giza (Egypt). The complex of Gisean buildings represents the greatest architectural monument ever created by man. In total, more than a hundred pyramidal structures were found in Egypt, but most of them did not stand the test of time.

The Pyramid of Cheops
The largest of the Gisean complex, the Pyramid of Cheops is the largest building structure in the world. Its base is a square with a side of as much as 227.5 meters. The original height of the structure is believed to have been 146 meters, but several of the top stones were destroyed, and today the pyramid is 9 meters lower.
Engineering studies have shown that the largest Gisea architectural monument consists of 2.3 million stone blocks, each of which weighs at least 2.5 tons. The total volume of the structure is 2.34 million cubic meters. The sides of the pyramid are turned to the cardinal directions, with the entrance to the inside being from the north.
A distinctive feature of the structure is that every single building block fits together so well that even now, after several thousand years, it is impossible to insert even the thinnest blade between them. In addition, the researchers discovered that the mortar used to hold the structural elements together was stronger than any modern material.
Purpose of the pyramids
There are no inscriptions, drawings or decorations in the Cheops pyramid. Inside the building there are three chambers, in the center of one of which there is a granite sarcophagus. At first it was assumed that the structure was a tomb. Many years of research have either confirmed or refuted this assumption.
But neither the remains of the pharaoh, nor any utensils or things that, according to the tradition of that time, were buried with the deceased, were found. True, there is a high probability that the pyramid was simply plundered. However, some details in the hypothesis about the purpose of the structure do not agree with the version about the tomb.
However, we will leave to historians and archaeologists questions about the origin and purpose of the construction of such an amazing complex of buildings, the entrance to which is protected by the Great Sphinx - the largest monolithic sculpture on the planet. For you and me, the Pyramids of Giza, with which many legends are associated, remain one of the most striking and unusual examples of the heights of engineering.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the second most important Wonder of the World. Unfortunately, this amazing architectural structure has not survived to this day, but the memory of it is still preserved.
The attraction is located not far from Baghdad, and today its stone ruins can only impress an ordinary tourist with its scale. However, history shows that the structure was one of the most beautiful creations of mankind.

Zeus statue in Olympia
The statue of Zeus at Olympia is the third most important Wonder of the World, the history of which began long before its creation - in 776 BC. Then, for the first time, participants of the next Olympic Games arrived at the temple, which was built in honor of the father of the gods.
Representatives of Asia Minor, Syria and Sicily, Egypt and, of course, Great Hellas were present at the opening of the greatest event in history. The first sanctuary of Zeus was built 150 km from Athens. But over time, the Games gained more and more political weight, so the rulers of Greece decided to build a new Temple.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Ancient Greek Ephesus saw a period of unprecedented prosperity. Founded in the 12th century BC, the city was a major center of trade and radiated wealth and prosperity. Artemis patronized him. She is known to be the goddess of fertility and the patroness of animals, the guardian of women in labor and hunters. Piously revering her, the townspeople decided to build a majestic temple in honor of Artemis, which, moreover, was supposed to significantly increase the income of the city.

mausoleum in Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus is the same age as the second Temple of Artemis. The same people who restored the shrine after the fire started by Herostratus took part in its construction. The building is a ziggurat, that is, at the same time a tomb, a sanctuary, and a monument. It should be noted that the name “mausoleum” comes from the name of the powerful and cruel ruler of Caria – Mausolus.

Alexandrian lighthouse
The history of the seventh Wonder of the World - the Lighthouse of Alexandria - is associated with its foundation in 332 BC. Alexandria, a city that was named after the great Roman commander Alexander the Great. It should be noted that throughout his career, the conqueror founded about 17 cities with similar names, but only the Egyptian project managed to survive to this day.

New 7 wonders of the world

The classic list of 7 wonders of the world appeared in the 3rd century BC. It included the greatest architectural, historical and cultural monuments of the ancient world. But the years passed, and more and more new wonders appeared in the world, which today can also rightfully be considered Wonders of the World, that is, the most outstanding creations of man.
And so 2001 marked the beginning of the New Open World Corporation project. Its main purpose was to select modern Wonders of the World worthy of going down in history forever. So, the winners of the competition on July 7, 2007 were:
1. The Great Wall of China
2. Taj Mahal
3. Colosseum
4. Machu Picchu
5. Petra
6. Chichen Itza
7. Christ the Redeemer Statue

The great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is one of the oldest structures that has survived to this day, which in its grandeur and grandeur has no analogues even in the modern world. Its history goes back to the 5th century BC, a time that was marked by the collapse of the Zhou state.
In its place, many small kingdoms were formed, which immediately began a bloody internecine struggle with each other for the legacy of the great empire. It was during this period of “warring kingdoms” that the first pits were dug and earthen ramparts were erected in order to strengthen the borders against aggressive neighbors.

Taj Mahal Mausoleum
It is not for nothing that the Taj Mahal is called the architectural pearl of India. You will not find a more majestic and magnificent building in the whole country. This mausoleum represents the memory of the tender love of the Muslim ruler Shah Jahan for his wife, a fabulously beautiful woman named Mumtaz Mahal. The future king of the Great Mughals was still a young prince when, at the beginning of the 17th century, he took a nineteen-year-old beauty as his wife. The newlyweds loved each other dearly and, despite the fact that the king had a huge harem, he simply did not pay attention to other women.

Coliseum
The Colosseum is one of the most majestic amphitheaters ever built by man. This famous ancient Roman monument still stands among the modern buildings of the Italian capital. For a very long time, the Colosseum played a very important cultural role in the lives of the citizens and guests of Rome. A huge number of people gathered in its stands, yearning for one thing - bright and exciting spectacles. It was here that gladiator fights and animal persecution, sports competitions and naumachia took place.

City of Machu Picchu
On the territory of modern Peru there is one old mountain peak, which the Indians called Machu Picchu. It is located at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level, offering amazingly beautiful views of the Urumamba River valley. It is here, at the foot of Mount Machu Picchu, that one of the oldest cities is located, which is often called the “city among the clouds.”

Rock City of Petra
The ancient city of Petra is one of the most amazing architectural monuments. It is carved from solid rock, and a huge number of secrets and omissions hover around its origin. It is believed that the city was founded by the Nabataeans - nomadic tribes who, in the 6th-4th centuries BC. managed to subjugate the vast territory in which Jordan, Syria and Israel are located today.

City of Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza, the sacred Mayan city, is located 75 miles east of Merida, the capital of Yucatan. Archaeologists consider the ancient settlement, covering an area of ​​about 6 square miles, one of the world's greatest architectural monuments. Previously, there were several hundred buildings here, but most of them have not survived to this day. The surviving buildings, of which there are about 30, are of great interest to archaeologists, scientists and researchers.

Statue of Christ the Redeemer
The statue of Christ the Redeemer is installed on the top of Mount Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro. The monument is a symbol of the city and Brazil. Every year millions of travelers and tourists come here to see with their own eyes the majestic statue of Christ, as if taking the entire modern world into his arms.

7 wonders of Russia: the greatness and beauty of the country

Everyone knows the Seven Wonders of the World. Their history is studied by scientists all over the planet, many scientific works have been written about them, presentations, messages, reports, chapters in textbooks are devoted to them. Each of the unusual world heritage sites of Russia and UNESCO is associated with secrets and legends; there are many facts and unconfirmed information. On June 12, 2008, the world learned that the 7 Wonders of Russia had been published - it was quite difficult to choose these objects from the huge number of ancient, mysterious, mystical and simply very beautiful places that abound in corners of the country. The project, aimed at identifying the most beautiful places in Russia, was initiated by the Izvestia newspaper in collaboration with the Mayak radio station and the Rossiya TV channel in 2007. In 2008, as a result of a popular vote, the most iconic and amazing sights of the country were chosen - the 7 Wonders of Russia.
The list of 7 wonders of Russia includes: 1. Man-Pupu-ner weathering pillars in the Komi Republic. 2. Elbrus peak in Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria. 3. Lake Baikal in Buryatia. 4. Valley of Geysers on the Kamchatka Peninsula. 5. Mamayev Kurgan, “Motherland” monument. 6. Monument to palace and park art “Peterhof”, St. Petersburg. 7. St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow.
Of the seven wonders of the world in Russia, 4 belong to the class of natural objects, three – to architectural monuments and park art.

Lake Baikal, Buryatia
In Buryatia, where Lake Baikal is located, it is called Baigal Dalai or Baigal Nuur. The deepest lake in the world is of tectonic origin and is a UNESCO protected site. Baikal, one of the 7 Wonders of Russia, is often called the sea - its dimensions are truly impressive: width from 24 to 80 km, length 632 km. The very shape of the majestic and very beautiful reservoir is also interesting - in the form of a crescent.

Valley of Geysers, Kamchatka Territory
The Valley of Geysers is hidden in one of the volcanic gorges of the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, and can only be reached by helicopter. 250 kilometers on the road over the tundra, ridges, hills, taiga gorges and acidic lakes - and a person finds himself in another world, filled with fountains of swirling vapors, light smells of sulfur and rain splashes, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. Walking along a pedestrian path with wooden decks, you can observe 30 large geysers and many small springs, throwing jets of boiling water (+95 °C) tens of meters into the air. Hot mud pots have also been preserved. Due to the well-warmed soil, the slopes of the valley are overgrown with lush green herbs and trees. The Geysernaya River flows along the bottom of the gorge, which never freezes.

Mamayev Kurgan and Motherland, Volgograd region

Peterhof, St. Petersburg

Founded in the 1710s by Emperor Peter I, Peterhof became a luxurious royal residence and a kind of triumphal monument, symbolizing Russia's successful access to the Baltic Sea. A single ensemble combines palaces, alleys, elegant sculptures and greenhouses with strange plants. But the main pride of Peterhof is its fountains. 176 fountains and 4 cascades operate without a single pump. Hydraulic engineer V. Tuvolkov created a unique fountain conduit: 20 km from here there are springs from which water, due to the difference in height, flows through canals and sluices into pools, and from there through underground pipes it rushes to the fountains and cascades of Peterhof.

St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

Weathering pillars, Komi

Elbrus, Caucasus

The beautiful creations of nature and humanity in different centuries were considered the most amazing. But another era has come and today “I and the World” will show you the wonders of the world of our time.

At the beginning of the 21st century, they decided to update the list of the Seven Wonders of the World. To achieve this, almost 100 million people around the world voted for the beautiful creations of the planet. And in 2007, the results of a survey were announced, where the modern beauties of the Earth were presented.

How many and what curiosities have survived to this day? Let's start in order.

Colosseum (Italy)

Of all the buildings of that time, the Colosseum is the most grandiose and almost preserved to this day. Here, hundreds of slave gladiators, as well as many exotic animals, fought and died for the amusement of the citizens of Rome.

The amphitheater is 57 meters high and 527 meters in circumference. A huge canopy was attached at the top, and everything inside was covered with marble. 36 elevators were raised manually by slaves, each with 10 people.

Eight years later, when the amphitheater was completed, a festival was held that lasted for 100 days, and thousands of animals and hundreds of gladiators were killed in the arena. Entrance was free, so everyone could watch the bloody spectacles, especially many women. The battles always began at dawn and ended when the last rays of the sun touched the horizon. And on holidays everything lasted for several days.

Great Wall (China)

The wall stretches across northern China for 8,851.9 km. Construction began in the 3rd century BC. e., where more than 1,000,000 people took part. Construction lasted 10 years, but there were too many problems: there were no roads, not enough water and food for the builders, and epidemics were raging. As a result, the local population rebelled against further construction and the ruling dynasty.

The next government that came to power continued construction. But this drained the people and the treasury, and the wall itself did not provide the protection that the authorities hoped for. Enemies could easily penetrate weakly fortified places, or simply bribe the guards.

Ancient city in Peru

Machu Picchu is an old “lost city of the Incas” built high in the mountains. This city, one of the world's wonders, was built in the 15th century at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level. The architecture of the stone buildings harmoniously fits into the beauty of the mountain landscapes.

In the city, astronomical structures were invented that made it possible to observe the celestial bodies - this is a water mirror 0.92 by 0.62 m, a gnomon monolith and a temple resembling an observatory.

Fruits and vegetables, medicinal plants, and coca (cocaine) were grown here. And higher in the mountains there were pastures for domestic animals and useful metals were mined here.

During the entire existence of the city, the Spaniards and other conquerors never managed to reach it. After the collapse of the Inca Empire, the inhabitants left the city and it was abandoned for 400 years.

Nabataean city

The ruins of ancient Petra were located at the intersection of trade routes of the Red and Mediterranean seas. In the city you could admire more than 800 attractions. The structure was considered an artificial oasis, built among rocks and sand, and consists almost entirely of stone buildings.

At one time, Petra was conquered by the Roman Empire, but after the fall of Rome, the city was forgotten for almost 2,000 years. And only at the beginning of the 19th century it was discovered by a Swiss traveler.

Tomb in India

One of the most beautiful wonders of the world is. The architecture seamlessly intertwines Persian, Islamic and Indian styles. Construction lasted 21 years, day and night. The temple was built in honor of the emperor's beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth.

To build the tomb, building materials were brought to India from all over Asia, and the temple was built by more than 20,000 workers. The building rises 74 meters. At one time, British soldiers and officials plundered the Taj Mahal, picking out precious stones from the walls of the temple. At the end of the 19th century, the tomb was reconstructed and modified, and the garden was given an English look.

The beautiful snow-white mausoleum with five domes and four minarets seems to hover over an artificial reservoir, reflected on the water surface.

Statue of Christ (Brazil)

The famous 38-meter statue of Christ the Redeemer. It is regularly struck by lightning and therefore there are always stones nearby for restoration.

Every year, almost 2,000,000 tourists visit the huge monument to see not only it, but also the picturesque picture that opens at the foot of the statue. You can get to the top by highway or by rail with a miniature train. Funds were collected “from the whole world” for the construction of the statue and the work lasted about 9 years.

In the initial version, the pedestal was supposed to have the shape of a globe of the earth, but then they settled on a statue of Christ with outstretched arms in the form of a cross.

Holy Mayan City (Mexico)

Chichen Itza is the sacred city of the Mayans. People came to these places in the 4th century, and in the 10th century it was captured by the Toltecs and turned into the most powerful city of that time. In the 12th century the city began to decline and gradually collapse. But it is still unknown why the inhabitants left the great city.

Beautiful buildings have survived to this day: the Kukulkan pyramid, dedicated to the God of winds and rains, the “Temple of Time”, grounds for ball games (it is believed that the losing team was beheaded), the Temple of Warriors, the observatory, the Sacred Cenote for sacrifices.

The wonderful creations of mankind still amaze us with their beauty and uniqueness. Maybe in many years there will be a new list of the seven wonders of the world, but for now we are admiring the photos and reading the descriptions of these beautiful structures.

See also video:

The New Seven Wonders of the World is a project whose goal was to find the modern seven wonders of the world. It was organized by the non-profit organization New Open World Corporation (NOWC) on the initiative of the Swiss Bernard Weber. The selection of the new seven “wonders of the world” from the famous architectural structures of the world took place via SMS, telephone or Internet. The result was announced on July 7, 2007.

The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater is an amphitheater, an architectural monument of Ancient Rome, the most famous and one of the most grandiose buildings of the Ancient World that have survived to this day. Located in Rome, in the hollow between the Esquiline, Palatine and Caelian hills.

In ancient Rome, many historical monuments have been preserved, but the most extraordinary of them is the Colosseum, in which people doomed to death desperately fought and died for the entertainment of free citizens of Rome. It became the largest and most famous of all Roman amphitheatres, and one of the greatest masterpieces of Roman engineering and architecture that has survived to this day. The grandiose Colosseum amazed everyone who came to the capital of the empire for the first time. This is a symbol of Rome and its centuries-old history, the largest and most beautiful stadium of the ancient world.

The amphitheater is a Roman invention. It consisted of an elliptical-shaped arena, surrounded by tiers of rows of seated stands, from which a large public, without putting themselves at risk, could watch exciting bloody spectacles. Gladiator fights were held here and wild exotic animals were paraded, then pitted against each other in mortal combat in front of a captivated crowd.

Even before the construction of the Colosseum, Rome had several amphitheaters, but after a great fire in 64 AD. e. a new building was needed. Roman Emperor Vespasian, who reigned from 69 AD. e., wanting to further spread the bloody sport of gladiators, he ordered to begin in 72 AD. e. construction of an amphitheater, which was to bear the name of the new imperial dynasty and surpass all previous ones in unprecedented size and beauty. The amphitheater was initially called Flavian (Amphiteatrum Flavium).

It was erected at the bottom of an artificial reservoir dug under Vespasian's predecessor, Emperor Nero, for his famous luxurious Golden House. Such a choice of location was very advantageous not only from a technical, but also from a political point of view, as if demonstrating a break with the previous decadent luxury. Vespasian developed construction plans on a scale no less than Nero, but this was construction for public needs, and not at all to satisfy the personal whims of the emperor.

The Colosseum's circumference reaches 527 meters; it has the shape of an ellipse with diagonals of 188 and 156 meters. The height of the undestroyed part is 57 meters. The four floors of the building could accommodate 80 thousand people. A giant canopy was attached to the columns of the upper tier, protecting spectators from the scorching sun. The inside of the building was paved with marble, and the façade was paved with travertine (a porous rock widely used in ancient times as a building material), the slabs of which were held together with iron brackets. Under the sand-covered wooden floor of the arena, numerous underground passages began. During performances, decorations, animals, gladiators and their weapons were raised along these passages using special mechanisms. The audience was separated from the arena by a metal grill. You could get inside the building through one of the 80 arches on the first tier.

It was solemnly consecrated in 80 AD. e. already Vespasian's heir, Emperor Titus. On this occasion, a holiday was held that lasted exactly 100 days. During that period of time, 5 thousand predators brought from northern Africa and hundreds of gladiators were killed in the Colosseum arena. But even then, despite the official opening, construction was not yet completely finished. The last, upper platform for spectators was completed only under Titus' successor, Emperor Domitian.

A distinctive feature of this structure is the large number of tiers. Its architecture shows how ingeniously it is possible to simply organize and direct the movement of countless crowds of people. A complex system of staircases and passages provided unobstructed and easy access to the stands and seats. Four main entrances made it possible to quickly enter the arena, and through 80 arches in just 10 minutes you could be in numbered spectator seats. Spectators often spent several days in a row here, so they brought food with them from home. All this speaks of a high engineering and architectural level of the design. But it should also be noted that there were no toilets there, with all the attendant circumstances.

Seats in the Colosseum were distributed according to the social status of the spectators. The lower ones were intended for representatives of the upper strata of society - government officials, priests, vestals. Commoners sat on the upper tiers. The imperial box - a podium with a spacious terrace - was located right next to the arena. The rows closest to her were reserved for wealthy patricians and honored guests. The amphitheater was divided into sectors, each of which had a serial number.

The name of the architect who designed the amphitheater is unknown, but it is assumed that he was Rabirius, who later became the author of Domitian’s palace. The outside of the amphitheater is entirely covered with travertine and has four tiers. The three lower ones represent arched propets running along the entire profile, cut by pilasters and semi-columns in the canonical sequence: on the first tier - Doric, on the second - Ionic, and on the third - Corinthian. The fourth, upper tier, completed a little later, is a solid wall, dissected by Corinthian pilasters and cut through by small windows. The crowning cornice still has holes where supports were inserted to stretch a bright awning, protecting spectators from the heat. Each arched flight of the first tier corresponded to an entrance to the seats for spectators: 76 of these entrances were numbered (Roman numerals can still be seen on the arches); four main entrances were intended: one for the imperial retinue, another for the Vestals, the third for judges and the last for honored guests.

The Colosseum operated 36 elevators, manually operated by slaves. Each elevator could be lifted by up to 10 slaves. They also transported wild animals. In 523 AD e., after long popular protests, a decree was passed in Rome prohibiting the killing of predators. In this ancient stadium, the display of gladiator fights continued until the 5th century AD. e.

In the center of the Roman Colosseum there was an arena surrounded by archers who protected spectators from attacks by predators. A terrace was built around the arena, where the imperial box and the boxes of prominent senators, judges and popes were located. The remaining spectator seats were divided into three tiers. The lower tier is for noble nobles and wealthy businessmen, the second is for the free citizens of Rome of the middle class, the last is for the common people. In the very top rows sat slaves operating the elevators. And even higher than the slaves were the sailors of the imperial navy, Classis Miseniensis. What were they doing there? They controlled the huge linen canvas that covered the top of the Colosseum so that the arena remained always open. For this purpose, a complex structure was built here, consisting of 240 pillars, supporting a giant substance. And since the sailors were excellent masters in sail control, they were the ones responsible for this sector. Under the arena there were special passages that were used for performances, as well as cages with wild animals. The creators of the Colosseum designed a complex system of passages and lifts through which angry animals released from their cages in the dungeon fell directly into the arena. There were 2 special exits in the Colosseum: the exit of life and the exit of death. The winners or pardoned gladiators came out into one, and the dead were carried out through the other.

Entry to the Colosseum was free. Many emperors cared about the amusement of their people, in this way they could be more easily kept under control. For the same purpose, before entering the stadium, flour for baking bread was distributed free of charge. Among the spectators there were many women who were ardent fans of these bloody spectacles.

Gladiatorial fights began at dawn and ended at dusk, and some festive performances lasted for several days. The performance usually opened with the performance of festively dressed gladiators, under their feet there was a wooden floor sprinkled with sand to absorb the blood.

The first number on the program was cripples and clowns: these also fought, but not seriously and without blood. Sometimes women also appeared and competed in archery. And only then came the turn of the gladiators and animals. First, trained animals performed, and then wild ones were released into the arena, which were set against each other or against armed people. The Romans' love for such spectacles led to the mass extermination of animals. But much more brutal were the battles of the gladiators who fought for life and death. They were recruited from slaves, convicted criminals, or prisoners of war. The main weapon of gladiators was a short double-edged sword - a gladius. When mortally wounded soldiers fell, a man dressed as Charon (a character from Greek mythology - the carrier of the dead to the afterlife) entered the arena. The body was taken out, the bloody stain was covered with sand, and the place of the dead gladiator was taken by the next one. Anyone who was seriously wounded could lie on the floor and beg the audience for mercy. If the crowd thought he had fought valiantly, they would chant “Mitte!” (“Free him!”). But if the fighter failed to win the sympathy of the public, the inexorable “Ingula!” followed. ("Kill him!"). In the Colosseum, the all-powerful Caesar did not contradict the wishes of his subjects: at the request of “Mitte!” he raised his thumb up, granting the gladiator life, and sometimes freedom, while after shouts of “ingula!” put his finger down, condemning the fighter to death.

The use of wild animals in the arena has become so diverse and complex that specially trained people - bestiaries - began to be brought in to perform performances with them. The Roman mob especially loved shows with animals. The highest nobility preferred gladiator fights. Bestiaries were trained in a special school. They had their own traditions, their own uniforms and their own professional jargon. During the magnificent celebrations on the occasion of the opening of the Colosseum in 80 AD. e. gladiators killed about 5 thousand lions, hippos, elephants, and zebras. A huge number of animals died in 248, during the festivities in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Rome.

Bloody gladiator fights were banned only in 404 AD. e. In 523 AD BC, after long popular protests, a decree was passed in Rome prohibiting the killing of predators.

The barbarian invasions left the Flavian Amphitheater desolate and marked the beginning of its destruction. From the 11th century until 1132, it served as a fortress for noble Roman families who competed with each other for influence and power over their fellow citizens, especially for the families of Frangipani and Annibaldi. The latter, however, were forced to cede the Colosseum to Emperor Henry VII, who presented it to the Roman Senate and people. Back in 1332, the local aristocracy organized bullfights here, but from that time on the systematic destruction of the Colosseum began. They began to look at it as a source of obtaining building material, and not only the stones that had fallen off, but also the stones deliberately broken out of it began to be used for new structures. So, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Pope Paul II took material from it to build the so-called Venetian palace, Cardinal Riario - the palace of the chancellery, Paul III - the Palazzo Farnese. However, a significant part of the amphitheater survived, although the building as a whole remained disfigured. Sixtus V intended to use it to set up a cloth factory, and Clement IX actually turned the Colosseum into a plant for the extraction of saltpeter.

The removal of the stone, which threatened to completely destroy the ancient monument, was stopped only in the middle of the 18th century by Pope Benedict XIV, who installed a cross on the building, and around it a number of altars in memory of the torture, the procession to Calvary and the death of the Savior on the cross, and consecrated it as a place of martyrdom of many Christians. This cross and altars were removed from the Colosseum only in 1874. The popes who followed Benedict XIV, especially Pius VII and Leo XII, continued to take care of the safety of the surviving parts of the building and reinforced the parts of the walls that were in danger of falling with buttresses, and Pius IX corrected some of the internal stairs in it.

The current appearance of the amphitheater is almost a triumph of minimalism: a strict ellipse, three tiers made in three orders, a precisely calculated arch shape. Initially, each arch was accompanied by a statue, and the giant opening between the walls was covered with canvas using a special mechanism.