
Along with the Grand-Place, the Atomium is one of Brussels’ many tourist attractions. One of the city’s symbols, the Atomium was built for the 1958 Universal Exhibition and continues to impress with its magnified representation of an elemental iron crystal. Located in Laeken, the Atomium is full of surprising anecdotes, some of which we’d like to share with you.
165 billion
That’s the rate of enlargement of the elementary iron crystal that the Atomium represents: enlarged no less than 165 billion times! Looking at the size of the monument, there’s no doubt about it: it’s 102 metres high! Its nine 18-meter-diameter spheres (only six spheres are accessible to the public) are interconnected by 20 different tubes and were originally covered in aluminum! Quite a feat for its time!
A lightning-fast elevator
At the time, the elevator inside the central tube was one of the fastest in the world! In just 23 seconds, it could lift some twenty people to the top of the building! As for the monument’s escalators, they are still among the longest in Europe: the longest measures 35 metres! Beware of vertigo…
We almost destroyed it
Like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Atomium was never meant to survive its own World’s Fair. All in all, the monument should have remained in its original location for six months. However, in view of its growing success, the demolition project was postponed year after year (notably in 1990, when renovation appeared more than necessary) before finally being abandoned.
The Atomium on our currency
And with good reason: to celebrate the renovation of its structure in 2006, a commemorative two-euro coin was created bearing the features of the monument! Collectors beware…
A “bizarre” monument
CNN International said it all! In 2013, the American news channel ranked the Atomium as one of Europe’s “weirdest” monuments, ahead of Lithuania’s Banknote Building and Barcelona’s Casa Milà. Do you think the Atomium is weird?