ALEXANDER THE GREAT STATUE TO BE FINISHED BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR
National.
The planned monument of Alexander the Great in the centre of Skopje will be accompanied by music, as well as light, sound and water effects, mayor of the Skopje municipality Centar, Vladimir Todorovic, announced recently.
The monument of Alexander the Great – the thorny figure in the side of Greek-Macedonian relations, will be created and installed in the centre of Skopje by the end of next year as part of the grandiose Skopje 2014 project, which envisions the construction and renovation of dozens of monuments and buildings in the capital’s downtown area, with the aim of enhancing its appeal and administrative functionality.
The Alexander the Great statue, together with the statues of eight lions, costs 4.5 million euro and the fountain – 3 million euro, Todorovic explained, cited by the Utrinski Vesnik newspaper. The publication commented that if the salaries of the commission members who selected the monument’s maker and her fees are included, its cost would reach 10 million euro.
This, according to the publication, automatically disproves previous reports that 10 million euro will be used for the construction not only of the Alexander the Great monument, but those of four lions, the horse-riding statues of nineteenth-century revolutionary figures Gotse Delchev and Dame Gruev and three more statues.
“Whether the monument is too expensive is a relative thing. I can only assure you that it will be very beautiful, which you will see at the end of next year when we expect it to be completed,” Todorovic said, cited by the publication.
“According to our recent information, more than half of it has already been moulded. The fountain, on the other hand, will be produced for nine months. There are already preparations on the ground for the construction activities. The fountain will have a beautiful marble massive staircase and a mini promenade around the pillar of the monument,” Todorovic added.
MD: Check out the video below to see how it should look like and to see the rest of this Skopje 2014 project. The project was received with many critics. People saying the government should spend these millions on health, hospitals, education instead of placing 100 fancy monuments around the city.
[Balkantravellers.com]
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