Coral castle - a unique structure made of stone. If you love riddles and secrets - this post is for you.
North of Homestead, Florida, USA, there is a unique structure that can rightfully be called the eighth wonder of the world (see Seven Wonders of the World). This is Coral Castle, built by a mysterious man named Edward Leedskalnin.
Coral Castle is a complex of numerous megaliths, weighing up to thirty tons. And everything would be fine if it were not for the secret of a man whose height was a little more than one and a half meters, who built all this alone.
Scientists from all over the world still do not understand how he managed to build a complex with a total weight of more than 1000 tons, in connection with which many of the most fantastic versions and assumptions arose.
It is reliably known that Lidskalnin carried out its construction at night, when no prying eye could observe it. At the same time, he used elementary tools, most of which were homemade.
Neighbors claimed that they saw that the mysterious builder literally carried multi-ton boulders through the air at night. In this regard, rumors appeared that he was able to overcome gravity.
Lidskalnin himself, to the question of one of his contemporaries, "How did he manage to build such a grandiose structure on his own?" replied that he knew the secret of the construction of the Egyptian pyramids.
One way or another, but the mystery of the Coral Castle still remains unsolved.
In this article, you will discover who Edward Leedskalnin was and also see the most notable features of his unique complex.
By the way, you may be interested in the biographies of such great people as Leonardo da Vinci, Mikhail Lomonosov and Nikola Tesla.
Biography of Leedskalnin
Edward Lidskalnin was born on January 12, 1887 in the Livonian province of the Russian Empire (now Latvia). Almost nothing is known about his childhood. He lived in a poor family and finished his studies at school only until the fourth grade, after which he became interested in masonry and stone cutting.
Many of Leedskalnin's relatives were involved in violent peasant unrest in the early 20th century.
In 1910, Lidskalnin left Latvia. As he later said, this happened after he became engaged to a sixteen-year-old girl named Agnes Skouff, who broke off the engagement the night before their wedding. It is assumed that the bride's father prevented the wedding without receiving the promised money from the groom.
An interesting fact is that red roses are still planted on the territory of the Coral Castle, supposedly the favorite flowers of that very Agnes.
Initially Leedskalnin settled in London, but a year later he moved to Canadian Halifax, and from 1912 he lived in the United States, moving from Oregon to California, and from there to Texas, working in timber camps.
In 1919, after an exacerbation of tuberculosis, Lidskalnin moved to Florida, where a warmer climate helped him to more easily tolerate the progressive form of the disease.
During his wanderings around the world, Lidskalnin was fond of the study of sciences, paying particular attention to astronomy and the history of Ancient Egypt.
In the next 20 years of his life in Florida, Leedskalnin built a unique structure, which he called "Stone Gate Park", dedicated to his girlfriend, who rejected him many years ago.
Coral Castle Construction
The construction of the castle began when Lidskalnin bought a small plot of land for $ 12 in 1920. This happened in the town of Florida City with a population of 8 thousand people.
Construction was carried out in the strictest confidence. To avoid prying eyes and not give away his secrets, Edward worked alone and only after sunset.
Until now, it remains unknown how he single-handedly delivered huge limestone blocks (weighing several tens of tons) from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, moved them, processed them, stacked them on top of each other and fastened them without using cement or other mortar.
It should be noted that Edward Lidskalnin was a small man (no more than 152 cm), and his weight never exceeded 55 kg.
In 1936, it was planned to build a multi-storey residential building on the site adjacent to Lidskalnin. In this regard, Edward decides to move his structure to another location.
He buys a new plot 16 kilometers north of Florida City in Homestead, hires a truck, with which he transports his creation to a new location. At the same time, he loads and unloads the truck himself again, without witnesses. According to the driver, he brought the car and, at the request of the owner, left, and when he returned by the appointed time, the car was already fully loaded.
It took Lidskalnin 3 years to completely move all the buildings and erect them in a new place. At Homestead, Edward continued to work on the construction of the castle until his death in 1951.
Scientists estimate that Lidskalnin ultimately mined and processed more than 1,100 tons of limestone, turning them into fantastic structures.
The Mystery of the Coral Castle
Despite the fact that the castle is called "coral", in fact it is made of oolite or oolite limestone. This material is common in southeastern Florida. (By the way, these stones have a very sharp surface and cut your hands like a knife.)
The Coral Castle complex includes a large number of buildings and structures. The main one is a two-story square tower weighing 243 tons.
Edward used the first floor of the tower for workshops, the second for living quarters. A pavilion with a bathtub and a well is built next to the tower.
The territory of the castle is decorated with various stone sculptures, including a stone map of Florida, the planets Mars and Saturn (weighing 18 tons), a 23-ton month, a sundial, which can be used to determine the time to the nearest minute, a huge table in the shape of a heart, chairs -Rocking, fountain and much more.
The tallest structure of the Coral Castle is a 12-meter obelisk weighing 28.5 tons. On the obelisk, Edward carved several dates: the year of his birth, as well as the years when construction and moving of the castle began. One of the few photos of Lidskalnin himself posing against the backdrop of this obelisk, you can see below.
The heaviest monolith, weighing over 30 tons, serves as one of the blocks of the northern wall. By the way, the weight of this stone block is greater than the average weight of stones in the famous Stonehenge and in the Pyramid of Cheops.
The so-called telescope also weighs about 30 tons, the tube of which reaches a height of 7 meters and is directed to the North Star.
Goal
The only gate leads to the castle. This is perhaps the most amazing building in the building. With a 2-meter sash width and a weight of 9 tons, it is so balanced that a small child can open it.
A huge number of TV reports and articles in the print press have been devoted to the gate and its construction. Engineers were trying to understand how Leedskalnin was able to find the perfect center of gravity to open the gate with minimal effort, with just one finger.
In 1986 the gate stopped opening. It took a dozen strong men and a 50-ton crane to dismantle them.
After dismantling the gate, it turned out that there was a shaft and a simple bearing from a truck under them. As it turned out, Leedskalnin, without using any electrical tools, drilled a perfect round hole in the limestone mass. Over the decades of turning the gate, the old bearing was covered with rust, which caused them to break.
After replacing the bearing and shaft, the gate was put back in place. An interesting fact is that after that they lost their former smoothness and ease of movement.
Construction versions
The uniqueness of the building, the secrecy during its construction and the fact that the huge castle was built by only one person 152 cm tall and weighing 45 kg gave rise to a huge number of theories and versions regarding the technologies used by Edward Leedskalnin.
According to one version, Edward punched holes in the limestone slabs, into which he then inserted old automobile shock absorbers, heated to high temperatures. Then he allegedly poured cold water on them, and the shock absorbers split the stone.
According to another version, Leedskalnin used electromagnetic resonance. A strange device found on the territory of the castle allegedly speaks in favor of this version. It has been suggested that with the help of it, Edward could obtain an electromagnetic field, reducing the weight of huge stones to almost zero.
Another version, "explaining" the secret of the construction of the structure, was expressed by Ray Stoner in his book "The Mystery of the Coral Castle". He believes that Edward Leedskalnin possessed the secret of anti-gravity control. According to his theory, our planet is covered with a kind of energy grid and at the intersection of its "lines of force" there is a concentration of energy that allows you to easily move even very heavy objects. According to Stoner, it is in South Florida, where Ed built his castle, that a powerful diamagnetic pole is located, thanks to which Ed was able to overcome the forces of gravity, creating the effect of levitation.
There are many other versions according to which Edward used torsion fields, sound waves, etc., etc.
Lidskalnin himself never revealed his secret, and answered all questions: "I discovered the secret of the builders of the pyramids!" Only once did he answer in more detail: "I learned how the Egyptians and ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan and Asia, using primitive tools, raised and installed multi-ton stone blocks!"
Over the years of his life, Lidskalnin published 5 brochures, including: "The life of minerals, plants and animals", "Magnetic flux" and "Magnetic base". These works are carefully studied by researchers in the hope that the eccentric architect could leave in them at least some hint of revealing his secrets.
For example, in his work "Magnetic flux" he wrote:
A magnet is a substance that constantly circulates in metals. But every particle in this substance is itself a tiny magnet. They are so small that there are no barriers for them. It is even easier for them to pass through metal than through air. The magnets are in constant motion. If this movement is directed in the right direction, you can get a source of enormous energy ...
On November 9, 1951, Edward Leedskalnin suffered a stroke and was admitted to Jackson Hospital in Miami. Twenty-eight days later, he died of a kidney infection at the age of 64.
After the death of Leedskalnin, the castle became the property of his closest relative, a nephew from Michigan named Harry. In 1953, Harry sold the plot to a jeweler, who in 1981 resold it to the company for $ 175,000. It is this company that owns the castle today, turning it into a museum and tourist attraction in Florida.
In 1984, by decision of the US government, Coral Castle was included in the country's National Register of Historic Landmarks. More than 100,000 tourists visit it annually.
