National Monument (Indonesia) - The Observation Deck and Flame of Independence

The Observation Deck and Flame of Independence

A lift on the southern side carries visitors to the viewing platform at a height of 115 metres above ground level. The capacity of the elevator is about 11 people. The top platform can accommodate about 50 people. There is also a staircase for use in emergencies. The total height of the monument is 132 metres. The distance from the viewing platform to the tip of the flame is 17 metres. The ticket to observation deck is Rp.7,500 (adults, mid 2012).

Monas is topped by a 14.5 ton bronze Flame of Independence containing the lift engine. The base of the flame, in the shape of a goblet, is 3 metres high. The bronze flame structure measures 14 metres in height and 6 metres in diameter, It consists of 77 sections. Originally the bronze flame structure was covered with 35 kg of gold foil. However during the 50th anniversary of Indonesian independence in 1995, the gold foil was recoated and increased to 50 kg gold foil. The obelisk and flame symbolize the Indonesia people's struggle for independence.

Read more about this topic:  National Monument (Indonesia)

Famous quotes containing the words observation, deck, flame and/or independence:

    “There are three principal means of acquiring knowledge available to us: observation of nature, reflection, and experimentation. Observation collects facts; reflection combines them; experimentation verifies the result of that combination. Our observation of nature must be diligent, our reflection profound, and our experiments exact. We rarely see these three means combined; and for this reason, creative geniuses are not common.”
    —Denis Diderot (1713–1784)

    “Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them
    Printing their proud hooves i’ the receiving earth;
    For ‘tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “I would that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea!
    We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can fade and flee;
    And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,
    Has awaked in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that may not die.”
    —William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    “In a famous Middletown study of Muncie, Indiana, in 1924, mothers were asked to rank the qualities they most desire in their children. At the top of the list were conformity and strict obedience. More than fifty years later, when the Middletown survey was replicated, mothers placed autonomy and independence first. The healthiest parenting probably promotes a balance of these qualities in children.”
    —Richard Louv (20th century)