NEW  YORK CITY   

                             by  Tsitziloni  Irene ,Class A-Advanced

New  York, the former  ‘New  Amsterdam’ ,is  located on the east coast of the USA and  is  the most populous  city of the country,where  the true population exceeds 8 million  and the area reaches  780  square klm.

The modern  name was  taken in honour  of  the Duke  of   York,the historical town of  England.It  is one of the country’s  main  financial  centers .In  New  York  ,you can see the  famous  Wall Street,the Statue of Liberty and the Empire  State  Building.New York is famous for its skyscrapers  and  its neighbourhoods,including  the famous Greek one:Astoria.

The  Statue of Liberty is a large sculpture ,which depicts  freedom as a female figure,holding a  torch in  her  raised right hand and  in the left a  plate,on which a date is indicated:July 4 ,1776: the  Independence  Day of the United  States.

The statue dominates  Liberty Island ,at the entrance of  New York   harbour.

The  idea of the statue belongs to the  French historian  Edouard Rene’ de Laboulaye ,who  proposed to build a monument in honour of the French-American friendship.In 1874,Frederic Bartholdi ,an experienced sculptor ,began working in Paris for its construction.The colossal  statue  was dismantled into 350  pieces and moved to the USA  in 1885,where it was assembled again.

The statue weighs 205 tonnes and its height is 46 metres. 146  steps lead to the top(the crown ),where there are 24  windows .

The  United  States Congress  decided to place the statue on this island,where it is visible to anyone who enters or leaves the port of new York.It was inaugurated  in 1886.The base of the statue hosts the Immigration Museum .

The Statue of Liberty has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site .