A piece of the original 1889 Eiffel Tower staircase was sold at France's "Artcurial Paris" auction house for over 450,000 euros.
Oxu.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The 2.7-meter-high, 1.4-ton historical fragment's final sale price exceeded the initial estimate of 150,000 euros by more than three times. It is noted that the absolute record in this field was set in 2008, when another piece of the staircase sold for 550,000 euros.
This unique segment is part of the ancient spiral staircase that allowed access from the second floor to the summit. During renovation work on the tower in 1983, the structure was dismantled into 24 pieces, 20 of which were sold at auctions. The fragment put up for auction now belonged to the personal collection of a French businessman who acquired it in 1983.
Recall that the Eiffel Tower was designed by the brilliant engineer Gustave Eiffel and built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris.
