Elia (sculpture)
Elia is a sculpture created by Ingvar Cronhammar (1947–2021) in Herning, Denmark. It is a large, spherical dome with four columns reaching 32 meters (105 ft). The dome itself has a diameter of 60 meters (200 ft). A large tube located in the center of the sculpture randomly blasts flames 8 meters (26 ft) into the air, for about 25 seconds at a time. These random bursts can occur anytime in periods of about two months and will not occur if it is too windy or if people are too close. The work was inaugurated in September 2001 and cost 23 million Danish krone.[1]
Accidents
On 30 October 2016 a 21-year-old man died by falling down the center.[2] 2 months later, on 29 December 2016, a woman died the same way, purportedly committing suicide by jumping into the centre chamber.[3] This ultimately resulted in the sculpture getting a safety net installed. In connection with the installation of the net, an installer fell several meters down and subsequently had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.[4] On 23 March 2021, a 46-year-old man died in one of the four steel pipes while performing maintenance on the sculpture.[5]
Dimensions and materials
The sculpture has the following dimensions and material use:[6]
| Measure | Meter |
|---|---|
| Diameter at ground level | 60.00 |
| Height above ground level (pillars) | 32.00 |
| Height to upper platform | 11.22 |
| Radius in the steel dome | 42.00 |
| Radius at bottom | 110.8 |
| Staircase width | 10.00 |
| Step height | 0.34 |
| Materials | Amount |
|---|---|
| Steel sheeting | 270 t |
| Structural steel | 80 t |
| Steel pillars | 30 t |
| Concrete | 250 m³ |
| Asphalt | 300 t |
| Reinforcement steel | 15 t |
| Volume of earth excavated | 7,000 m³ |
| Terrain regulation | 20,000 m³ earth |
Notes
- Since the last recorded "eruption" on 22nd October 2022, the random jets of flame have been turned off. This desicion was made "in connection with the ongoing energy crisis".
References
- Lund Lysgaard, Alexandra (2016-10-30). "Cronhammar om dødsulykke på Elia: Jeg begyndte at tude". TV Midtvest (in Danish). Retrieved 31 January 2017.
- "Ung mand faldt i døden efter kapløb med vennerne". Berlingske (in Danish). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- "Kvinde fundet livløs på bunden af Elia". Herning Folkeblad (in Danish). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- "Nu bliver Elia sikret med et net". TV Midtvest (in Danish). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- "46-årig mand død efter at være fanget i 30 meter høj gigantskulptur". tv2 (in Danish). 24 March 2021.
- "Behind Elia". Retrieved 2018-07-30.
