Seeing a monumental statue up close makes you feel small. Seeing one from space makes you feel even smaller - because the statue that dwarfs you is itself just a speck on the vastness of the earth. But they're specks that seem disproportionately large next to the roads and fields around them, like petrified giants. The overall effect is somewhat disorienting.
It's interesting to see what (or whom) we deem worthy of such gigantic portraits. In Asia there are quite a few Buddhas, but also legendary Chinese emperors and a surprisingly humble-looking Indian founding father. There are some Jesuses - famously in Brazil, but also in Indonesia. There are personifications of nations or national ideals, like Lady Liberty in New York, and the Motherland in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). And then there are the equine water spirits in Scotland.
Join us for a quick tour around the world as, with the magic of Google Maps, we look down upon the largest statues ever built.
- Photo: Google Maps21018New angle on a monument?
Statue Of Unity, Narmada District, IndiaPhoto: Google Maps
Completed in 2018, the Statue of Unity depicts Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, a founder of modern India. At 597 feet tall, it is the tallest statue in the world. It is located in the Narmada Valley in Gujarat.27042New angle on a monument?
Spring Temple Buddha, Lushan County, ChinaPhoto: Google Maps14421New angle on a monument?
- Photo: Google Maps15027New angle on a monument?