Statues and Sculptures by Drone

AirVuz contributor and pilot My Travels used an Autel Evo 2 drone to create this stunning drone video of the Statue of Liberty, one of the USA's most iconic sites.  Located in New York City's harbor, the copper statue depicting the Roman goddess Libertas was a gift of friendship from France to the United States.  Dedicated in 1886, it has a height (measured to the top of the torch) of 93 meters, or a bit over 300 ft.  It sits atop Liberty Island, and is accessible by ferry from Lower Manhattan.  

The most prominent landmark in the Ukrainian capital Kiev is the Rodina Mat, a giant steel monument overlooking the Dneiper River.  The statue commemorates the USSR's victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 against Nazi Germany.  While recent laws have required many Soviet era monuments to be destroyed, World War II monuments are exempted.  Here is Tempostudio's drone video of the immense statue, which is now seen as recognition of Ukraine's immense contribution to the Soviet victory.

The Christ the Redeemer Statue (Cristo Redentor) sits atop Corcavado Mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The view of this landmark situated above the city's harbor is one of the most iconic sights in Brazil, and it's been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site.  In this memorable video, contributor and pilot Droneaventura flew a drone over the famous edifice, creating a spectacular view of the 1930's era Art Deco masterpiece and the amazing coastal city lying beneath it.

New contributor elmandakrisna brings us this phenomenal 60 second piece from the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.  Bookending some great skyscraper footage, the video begins and ends with aerial shots of the city's beating heart: its Selamat Datang Monument.  The landmark sits in the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, the intersection for several important Jakarta thoroughfares.   Completed in 1962 in connection with the Pan-Asian Games, the monument's two bronze statues depict a man and a woman in a welcoming stance.  

After World War II ended in 1945, the victorious Soviet Union wanted a monument to the Red Army's defeat of Nazi Germany built in its occupied sector of East Berlin.  The result was the Soviet Memorial at Treptower Park, an area on the River Spee just southeast of the central district.  Contributor DP Pictures created a beautiful aerial video of this landmark, which is testament to the massive suffering by the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War (as the conflict is still known in Russia).  

Content creator and drone pilot Droneland created this epic aerial video of the famous Po Lin Monastery on Lantau, one of the outlying islands of Hong Kong.  The Buddhist monastery was founded by monks from the Chinese mainland in 1906, and was known initially as the "Big Hut" (it took its current name in 1924).  In 1993, the complex was significantly expanded with the construction of the Big Buddha statue.   Standing 34 meters tall (over 100 ft), it's one of the largest Buddha statues in China.  

Located in Sendai, Japan on the island of Honshu, the Sendai Daikannon is the tallest statue that features a goddess in the country. In fact, it is believed to be one of the top five  tallest statues in the world as of 2018. Featuing the gem-bearing Nyoirin Kannon (如意輪 観音) it is around 330 feet tall and has an elevator that takes visitors to the top of the statue. In this excellent video, experienced cinematographer and drone pilot Fujiabra Films does a fantastic job showcasing her impressive might.

The Monumen Bajra Shandhi is a monument on the Indonesian island of Bali, whose native population is a relatively small but distinct ethnic group within the archipelago.  Contributor and pilot Paulusandry flew a drone over this giant landmark, which was built in 1987 and dedicated to memorializing the struggles of the Balinese people, who practice a brand of Hinduism in an overwhelmingly Muslim majority country.  It is situated in the town of Denpasar, Bali's provincial capital, near the south end of the island.  

Here's an amazing aerial view of a historical monument in the Netherlands, compliments of contributor rengervanesveld.  The Pyramid of Austerlitz is situated on the Utrecht Ridge, in the province of the same name.  It was constructed by Napoleon's soldiers in 1804.  It was shortly thereafter renamed in honor of the Battle of Austerlitz, the great 1805 battle which is considered Napoleon's greatest victory.  The pyramid shape of the base was inspired by Napoleon's earlier conquests in Egypt.  

Located in Norway's capital city Oslo, the Vigeland sculpture park is dedicated to the cycle of life. Each of the over 200 statues in Vigeland park is a moment frozen in time.  The sculpture park is part of Frogner Park, which is situated in the western part of the city.  It is one of the top tourist destinations in Norway's capital, the third-largest of the Scandinavian cities.  Contributor Mohri Films used a drone to create a memorable aerial perspective of the sculptures which populate this impressive Scandinavian park.

Thimphu is the principal city of the Himlayan Kingdom of Bhutan.  The city is situated in the Himalayan foothills at an altitude of 2.2k meters (7.4k ft) above sea level.  The city, and the country of Bhutan, are remote enough that Thimphu does not have its own airport.  AirVuz contributor and pilot Enrico Pescantini used a drone to create this amazing aerial video of the city's giant Buddha statue.  Only completed in 2015, it's already one of the most recognized sites in this ancient and distant city.  

The southern Russian city of Volgograd was once known as Stalingrad.  In the late 1942 and early 1943, the city on the Volga River was the site of a terrible battle between Nazi Germany and the Red Army which marked the turning point of World War II.  The most prominent site in the city is the statue of Mother Russia, erected to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers and civilians who died there.  This drone video captures the immensity of the statue and the losses that led to its construction.

Malaysia's Batu Caves is the most important site in the country for the roughly 6% of Malaysians who practice Hinduism.  Located in the western state of Selangor, the site is a complex of temples and statues built in and around a series of caves.  In this drone video by DroneEyePerspective, you'll get an aerial tour of the complex.  The video includes great footage of the site's most recognizable landmark: the giant Lord Murugan Statue, which stands 43 meters tall (143 ft.) and is the world's third-highest Hindu statue.

This video by top AirVūz contributor and drone pilot Omer Gokcen gives us spectacular aerial views of Turkey's "Time and Space" sculpture park by artist Andrew Rogers. The one and a half mile-long project took the Australian artist four years to complete. The twelve sculptures he created for the park are a part of his "Rhythms of Life" project of fourteen other stone sculpture, or geoglyphs, sites around the world. This one, located on the plain of Central Anatolia, Turkey, is something to behold.

Among the more recent additions to the landscape of Scotland are the Kelpies - a set of two giant horsehead statues in the Lowlands' Falkirk Council.  Seen in this excellent drone video by JAybee2786, the statues are the symbolic heart of a land redevelopment project known as the Helix  which involves redeveloping the eastern end of the Forth and Clyde Canal.  "Kelpies" are mythological horses which can transform themselves into a human, said to exist in Scotland's Lochs.  The video was shot with a DJI Mavic Pro 3 drone.  

AirVuz contributor 187video brings us this excellent drone video of one of the most recognized modern landmarks of Thailand: the Great Buddha of Phuket.  The seated Maravija Buddha statue is located near the town of Chalong, on the island's southeastern shore along the Andaman Sea.  Constructed beginning in 2004, the Gautama depicting structure stands 148 ft. (45 m) tall and is made with concrete and covered with Burmese white marble.  Funded with private donations, it's the country's third-tallest statue as of 2023.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Finalist TravelPenguin brings us this excellent drone video of the giant Christ the King Statue near Lisbon, Portugal.  Completed in 1959, the statue is situated near the southern terminus of the 25 de Abril Bridge in Almada, just across the Tagus River from the Portuguese capital city.  Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Portuguese landmark celebrates Portugal's escape (via neutrality) from the horrors of World War II.  

AirVuz contributor ContemporAd brings us this excellent drone video of one of the most famous statues in South America.  It's called the Virgin of El Panecillo, and it's located atop its namesake hill in the heart of the Ecuadorean capital city.  Standing 41 meters (about 135 ft.), it's one of the continent's tallest statue and is also the world's tallest statues made of aluminum.  Completed in the 1970's, it's a (much) larger replica of a wooden structure by Bernardo de Legarda which dates to the first half of the 18th century.  

Former Drone Video of the Week Winner davetke2002 brings us this excellent drone video of a famous statue in the Caucasus republic of Georgia.  It's called the Mother of Georgia (Kartlis Deda), and it's located atop a hill in the Georgian capital city of Tbilisi.  The statue was built in 1958 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of Tbilisi, one of the world's oldest cities, which sat astride the ancient Silk Road.  The statue, which depicts a Georgian woman in traditional dress, stands 95 ft tall or just under 30 m.  

Contributor JPG Drone brings us this excellent drone video of Tropaeum Traiani, a famous statue in the town of  Adamclisi, Romania.  The town is situated in Constanta County, in the eastern region of Dobrogea.  The monument was built in 1977, and it's a reconstruction of a Roman monument to the Emperor Trajan which was built in the second century AD.  It's testament to the age of this area; some of Romania's (and indeed, Europe's) oldest settlements are in the Dobrogea region. 

Check out this remarkable drone video of a famous sculpture built into the shores of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, compliments of contributor and pilot Dewey_Drone.  The Spiral Jetty was built by an American sculptor named Robert Smithson.  Completed in 1970, the unusual landmark spans a length of over 450 meters (about 1.5k ft.).  Its construction was documented in a film produced by the Smithsonian.  The Spiral Jetty is situated on the shore of the lake, the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere.  

Check out this stunning drone video of a modern statue in central Turkey, compliments of contributor and pilot Denizvisual.  It's called the Mehmetçik Monument, and it's located near the town of Polatlı in the Ankara Region of Central Anatolia.  The steel statue, which depicts an anonymous Turkish soldier, commemorates the country's victory over Greece in the Battle of Sakarya in 1921; the victory marked a turning point in the Turkish War of Independence which erupted after World War I.  

Among the cultural wonders of the Indonesian province of Bali is the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park.  Located just a few minutes' drive from the Ngurah Rai International Airport, it's devoted to the great Hindu God Vishnu and the bird Garuda.  The centerpiece of the park is a giant (and nearly brand-new) statue of the god mounted atop the flying bird; the statue measures over 120 meters tall (almost 400 ft.). Get an aerial view of the great monument in this excellent drone video by AirVuz contributor yuri parinduri.

Contributor and pilot Oszibusz created this remarkable drone video of Walhalla, a museum of sorts to honor the great Germans of history.  It's located on a hill overlooking the Danube River near the city of Regensburg, in the southern German state of Bavaria.  Walhalla was conceived in the early 19th century.  Its core collection consists of over 200 busts and plaques commemorating key German historical figures, including Albert Einstein, Otto von Bismarck, Martin Luther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and many more. 

Contributor and pilot Philip Chow created this drone video of one of the world's tallest statues.  It's a rendering of the Buddhist goddess Guanyin, and it's located in the Tsz Shan Monastery in Hong Kong's Tai Po District.  The bronze figure stands 76 meters tall (around 250 ft.) and is the tallest of its kind.  The monastery complex opened in 2015, and only 400 people a day are permitted to visit.  Much of the construction cost was funded by Hong Kong billionaire and shipping magnate Li Ka-shing.

Check out this drone video of a modern-era landmark of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, compliments of contributor Memories Catcher.  It's a statue called the Alyosha Monument, and it's located in the city of Plovdiv.  The statue was erected during the Communist era as a tribute to the losses sustained by the Soviet Union during its occupation of Bulgaria during World War II.  Although Bulgaria did not actively participate in the hostilities, it was aligned with the Axis powers and was invaded and occupied by the USSR in 1944.  

One of the most well-known landmarks of the Colombian city of Cali is the Christ the King (Cristo Rey) statue atop a hill overlooking the city.  It's located in the town of Los Andes, which is situated just to the west of Colombia's third-largest city and the largest in the western part of the country.  Standing 26 meters (around 85 ft.), the statue was completed in 1953.  Seen here in this drone video by la.drones, the statue was erected to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civil conflict known as the War of a Thousand Days.

AirVuz contributor Amith brings us this stunning drone video of a famous statue of the Hindu deity Shiva on the coast of India.  The 123 ft. tall (38 m) figure, the tallest Shiva statue in India as of 2023, is located in the town of Murdeshwar in the southern state of Karnataka, on the Arabian Sea.  The statue is part of the Murudeshwara Temple complex on Kanduka Hill, which includes the 20 story adjacent gopuram (monumental entrance tower), also seen in the video.  The complex was completed in 2008.  

Top AirVuz contributor Amith brings us this excellent drone video of a famous and very old statue in the southern part of India.  The Gommateshwara statue was built in the 10th century AD atop Vindhyagiri Hill in the town of Shravanabelagola, which is located in the southwestern state of Karnataka.  Made of solid granite, the statue is dedicated to Bahubali, an important figure in Jainism, one of the world's oldest religions.  In 2007, Gommateshwara was voted as one of the Seven Wonders of India in a Times of India survey.  

The Kailashnath Mahadev Statue is a new but important Hindu landmark in Nepal.  Completed in 2013, the statue is located near the town of Sanga, just a short distance from Kathmandu.  The statue stands almost 44 meters (about 144 ft.) tall, and is constructed from concrete, steel, copper, and zinc.  It commemorates the Hindu God Lord Shiva, one of the most important deities in the religion.  Seen here in this drone video by Biju Sudarshan, the statue sees about 5,000 visitors every day, many of them there for religious reasons. 

The Liberty Statue of Freedom Statue is a monument on the Gallert Hill in Budapest, Hungary. Opened in 1947 it was created to honor those who sacrificed their lives for the independence and prosperity of the country.  Erected at the end of World War II after the Soviet liberation of the country from Nazi Germany (which invaded Hungary following its attempt to switch sides), the statue used to have verbiage in Russian that has since been removed. Tiny Whoop pilot atthefpvs flew the statue in this video.

Founded less than three decades ago, Amazon is amongst the 2-3 most valuable companies on the planet.  Its meteoric rise has been instrumental in propelling its hometown of Seattle, Washington into the ranks of the country's most prosperous cities.  Perhaps the most visible symbol of the company's presence is the Amazon Spheres, three globe-shaped domes located on the headquarters campus in the North Denny neighborhood.  See them from above in this drone video by CineFlight.    

Contributor iOleg brings us this excellent drone video of an important World War II memorial in Central Russia.  It's called the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier, and it's located in the oblast (province) of Tver, northwest of Moscow.  Completed in 2020, the momument is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers killed in the Battles of Rzhev, a series of bloody clashes which ran for 14 months beginning in January, 1942 as Soviet forces attacked a salient formed by the late 1941 German retreat from the gates of Moscow.

AirVuz contributor RIK Fotos brings us this excellent drone view of the Lion's Head Monument on the battlefield of Waterloo in Belgium.  The 4.5 meter (15 ft.) lion statue sits atop an artificial hill.  The monument commemorates the great battle which took place here in June, 1815 between the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte and those of the Seventh Coalition led by the British general the Duke of Wellington and the Prussian general von Blücher.  The smashing Coalition victory led to the final downfall and exile of the French Emperor.  

The Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier is an important landmark commemorating one of the great battles of the Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in Russia.  Located in the oblast (province) of Tver northwest of Moscow, the statue was completed in 2020.  It's dedicated to the memory of the hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers killed in the Battles of Rzhev, a series of bloody clashes which ran for 14 months beginning in January, 1942.  See it from above in this fantastic drone video by AirVuz contributor Supasanya.  

AirVuz contributor and pilot Memories Catcher brings us this excellent drone video of an important landmark in the mountains of Romania.  It's called the Heroes' Cross on Caraiman Peak, and it's located in the Bucegi Mountains, which are part of the Southern Carpathians.  Situated at an elevation of about 7.5k ft. above sea level (around 2.3k m), the 129 ft. structure (around 30 m) is dedicated to the Romanian railway workers who were killed during the First World War, when Romania fought on the side of the Allied powers.