20 Must-See Statues Around the World

Statues represent some of the greatest and oldest artifacts of the world. Statues date back to as early as 30,000-26,000 BC, when the Lion Man statue was believed to have been carved by Neanderthals or modern humans. These magnificent wonders of the world have educated, inspired and moved us for centuries and continue to influence our understanding of the world. There are countless statues around the world that all deserve to be seen, but for starters, here are 20 awe-inspiring statues you have to see:

1. Statue of Liberty: The magnificent Statue of Liberty, located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, is one of the most widely recognized statues in America and one of the tallest, standing 305 feet, 6 inches from the torch to the foundation of the pedestal. Lady Liberty was a gift to the United States from France in 1886, as a sign of the friendship between the two countries during the American Revolution. Since its creation, the Statue of Liberty has become an iconic symbol of freedom and democracy in America.
2. God of Longevity: The God of Longevity is a towering statue nestled in the Meng Shan mountains near Pingyl, Shandong, China. It depicts the God of Longevity, also called the Old Man Star, who is one of the three gods in Chinese fable.
3. The Motherland Calls: The Motherland Calls is a massive sculpture in Volgograd, Russia, that commemorates the Battle of Stalingrad, in which the Soviet Union fought Germany and gained control of the city the statue now rests in. The Motherland Calls was once the tallest sculpture in the world, standing 279-feet-tall from the tip of her sword to the top of the base.
4. Christ the Redeemer: Christ the Redeemer is an iconic statue of Jesus Christ who stands 130-feet-tall atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with his arms wide open and head tilted down, overlooking the harbor. This 1931 statue is a symbol of Christianity and is consider the largest Art Deco statue in the world.
5. Ushiku Daibutsu: The Ushiku Daibutsu depicts the Amitabha Buddha and is one of the world’s tallest statues, standing approximately 394-feet-tall. This statue is located in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, and commemorates the birth of monk Shinran, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu, a school of Pure Land Buddhism known as Shin Buddhism.
6. Moai: The Moai statues are monolithic human figures on the Polynesian island of Easter Island, Chile, that are believed to date back between AD 1400 and 1600. About 900 giant moai statues made from hardened volcanic ash line the island’s coast, and are thought to represent the spirits of ancestors, chiefs and other high-ranking men among the indigenous people of the island.
7. David: Michelangelo’s David is one of the most famous statues in the world. This 17-foot-tall Renaissance marble sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504 and is on display outside the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence, Italy. The statue of David depicts the Biblical hero David, whose pose and expression have lead to several different interpretations and theories about the naked man so many people love to see.
8. Statue of Zeus: The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was created by Greek sculptor Phidias in 432 BC, and is displayed in The Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. The magnificent statue of the god of sky and thunder stands 43-feet-tall and is made of ivory and gold-plated bronze.
9. Colossus of Barletta: The Colossus of Barletta is a tall bronze statue of an emperor, who is dressed in military clothing with a cross in his right hand and a sphere in the other. Although the identity of the emperor is unknown, scholars believe it could possibly be Valentinian I or Theodosius II. The 5-meter-tall Colossus located in Barletta, Italy, is likely from the late 4th and 5th centuries AD.
10. The Thinker: The Thinker is a bronze and marble sculpture by Auguste Rodin at the Musee Rodin in Paris, which depicts a man in deep meditation who is battling an internal struggle. The Thinker is used as a symbol for philosophy. However, the statue was originally named The Poet, and Rodin’s intention was to depict Dante in front of the Gates of Hell as he pondered his poem.
11. The Pieta: The Pieta is a Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo that depicts the body of Jesus cradled in his mother Mary’s lap after the Crucifixion. The sculpture dates back to 1499 and can be seen in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
12. Hermes and the Infant Dionysos: The statue of Hermes and the Infant Dionysus is an ancient Greek sculpture that was discovered in 1877 among the ruins of the Temple of Hera at Olympia, Greece, but it is now displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. When the sculpture was discovered, there were some missing pieces like Hermes’ forearms, some fingers and left foot, as well as part of the tree trunk. According to tradition, Praxiteles was the artist behind the statue and it may date back to 4th century BC.
13. Discobolus: The Discobolus of Myron is one of the most famous statues depicting an athlete, specifically a discus thrower, from the Severe period, circa 460-450. The Greek bronze original is lost, but the statue is known through many Roman copies that can be seen all over the world, including The National Museum of Rome, the Capitoline Museums in Rome and the British Museum.
14. The Little Mermaid: The Little Mermaid statue of a young mermaid sits on a rock in the harbor of Copenhagen. The Little Mermaid was designed after a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about a young mermaid who falls in love with a prince and goes up to the edge of the water to look for him. Despite its small stature at a mere 1.25 meters tall, this 1913 statue continues to be a major tourist attraction in Copenhagen and a target for vandalism.
15. The Venus de Milo: The Venus de Milo is a famous ancient Greek sculpture of who experts believe to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. This marble sculpture was created between 130 and 100 BC, and is believed to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch, according to an inscription on its plinth. The Venus de Milo stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall and is well known for her missing arms and lost plinth. Much interpretation and mystery surrounds this fascinating statue that is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
16. Spring Temple Buddha: The Spring Temple Buddha is located in Henan, China, and portrays Vairocana Buddha, a celestial Buddha who is the most prominent of the Five Wisdom Buddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism. Unlike many of the listed statues here, the Spring Temple Buddha was completed less than a decade ago, in 2002, but this fairly new piece of work stands 420-feet-tall or 502-feet-tall, when the pedestal is added, making it the tallest statue in the world.
17. Abraham Lincoln: The colossal statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, is seated at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The 30-foot-tall marble statue was built in 1920 by sculptor Daniel Chester French. Lincoln’s figure is seated in a large armchair, gazing ahead and slightly tilting his head down, with a serious expression on his face. There is even some folklore surrounding the famous statue, such as Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s face is carved onto the back of Lincoln’s head and blended into his hair.
18. Great Sphinx of Giza: The Great Sphinx of Giza, also called the Sphinx, reclines on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The Sphinx represents a mythical creature with a feline or lion’s body and a human head and is believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of pharaoh Khafra, circa 2558 to 2532 BC. The 241-foot-long and 66.34-foot-tall statue is the largest monolith statue in the world and the oldest known monumental sculpture.
19. Dying Gaul: The Dying Gaul is an ancient Roman copy of the lost Hellenistic sculpture from approximately 230 and 220 BC. The statue depicts a dying Celt who was defeated in battle against the Romans. The intricate details of the statue, particularly in the face, show strong emotion and expressive pathos that have made the statue a classic model even to this day. The original was thought to be bronze, but the original sculptor remains unknown. The famous copy is on display in the Capitoline Museums in Rome.
20. Lion of Belfort: The Lion of Belfort is a colossal sculpture of a lion that represents the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, in which the city was protected from 40,000 Prussians by only 17,000 Frenchman. The original statue was built in 1880 by Fr?d?ric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and it stands guard in Belfort. His lion is made of red sandstone and is 22 meters long and 11 meters high.