Gigantic monuments and memorials exhibit awe-inspiring sculpture and artwork while paying a tribute to extraordinary lives or special events.
Though you shall find a number of monuments throughout the world, here are 15 odd and unusual monuments for you to explore.
- Weird Pat Tillman Statue
Image Credit: bleacherreport.comThis is a statue of Pat Tillman, former football player who left the NFL and joined the US Army after the 9/11 attacks.
He tragically died from friendly fire in April 2004. It shows him screaming and running while his head is aflame. It is located at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
- Monument to first photographers, St. Petersburg
Image Credit: www.saint-petersburg.com - Carhenage Replica of England’s Stonehenge
Image Credit: lifeat55mph.blogspot.comAs you can see, this remarkable monument located near the town of Alliance, Nebraska cleverly mimics the prehistoric Stonehenge monument.
In fact, it is accurately proportional to the English monument. The idea of creating this strange monument was conceived by Jim Reinders. Thus, he got it built in 1987 as a memorial to his father.
- Le Passe-Muraille (The Passer-through-Walls), Paris, France
Image Credit: www.coolstuffinparis.com - Crazy Horse Memorial Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota
Image Credit: www.travelblog.orgThis memorial, depicting Crazy Horse (a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota ) riding a horse and pointing to a distance, has been under construction for more than 60 years (construction began in 1948) now and still its date of completion is not clear.
It is planned to be about 641 feet wide and 563 feet high. This complex monument is being carved out of the sacred Thunderhead Mountain.
- Giant Steve Jobs Memorial Monument in St. Petersburg
Image Credit: izifunny.comThis six-foot-tall unusual iPhone-shaped monument to honor the memory of Steve Jobs has a video screen that plays the highlights of key moments of his life and inspirational quotes taken from his speeches. Moreover, there is a QR code at the back of the monument.
- Monument Depicting an Ogre Devouring a Naked Child
Image Credit: WikipediaThis is a disturbing monument in the Swiss city of Bern was built in 1546. It is known as the Kindlifresserbrunnen, meaning Child Eater Fountain.
It depicts Kronos, a character from Greek mythology who used to eat his own children so that they could not take this throne.
- Statue of Chimney Sweep Bertalon Tovt with a Cat in Ukraine
Image Credit: www.panoramio.comThis sculpture is located in the center of Mukachevo city, Ukraine. Interestingly, it is believed that meeting a chimney sweep by chance is lucky.
- Bronze Statue of the Czech Republic’s greatest author, Franz Kafka in Prague
Image Credit: www.visitingprague.orgThis unusual yet entertaining monument is located just outside the historic Jewish Quarter in Prague.
- Unique Albert Einstein Memorial
Image Credit: www.welovedc.comThis interesting memorial showing Albert Einstein seated on a three-step bench of Mount Airy (North Carolina) is present at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington DC. The bronze statue is shown holding a paper with mathematical calculations.
Plus, there is a star map at the statue’s base embedded with several metal studs representing the sun, moon, stars, planets, and other celestial objects. Interestingly, the astronomers from the U.S. Naval Observatory helped position all these objects accurately.
- 15-foot Statue of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, outside the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport
Image Credit: www.panoramio.com - Upside-Down Monument to Charles La Trobe
It was earlier located in central Melbourne but shifted to the La Trobe University Bundoora campus in 2006.
Image Credit: www.sinbadesign.com - Statue of St. Wenceslas Riding a Dead Horse in Prague
This strange statue is located in the Lucerna Palace. It was created by Czech sculptor, David Cerny.
Image Credit: blog.adampaul.com - Memento Park, Budapest, Hungary
Image Credit: abjourney.comMemento Park (Bela Kun Memorial) is an open museum dedicated to the monumental statues of Hungarian Communist leaders.
- Jumbo, the Dead Elephant
Image Credit: railwaycitybrewing.comThe life-size Jumbo Statue at St. Thomas, Ontario is a tribute to Jumbo, the circus elephant who was killed in the town in a railroad accident in the year 1885.
