Suicide has always been a great problem, not only in Europe but all over the world. What makes people kill themselves? Nobody can really answer this question conclusively because even the age, social status, or gender does not define a reason for committing suicide. Every year about 1,000,000 suicides occur worldwide. Europe, both east and west, has about 163,000 instances annually. Most people decide to end their lives at home or work, but some of them choose a special place to visit before death.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe has the world’s highest suicide rate and if it used to be the over-75 age group, today the cases are rising among young people. Women attempt suicide 3 times more than men, though men 3 times more actually succeed. It is known that women are more likely to chose “romantic” ways of killing themselves like poisoning or jumping off high buildings and bridges while men use much more violent methods such as gunshot to the head or mouth or a intentional crash injury. All the scientists and researchers firmly insist that Europe needs to reduce its shameful record of 17.5 suicides per 100,000 people. Among the top ten suicidal countries worldwide are the UK, Sweden, Germany, France, Hungary, and Belgium.

Today not only the number but also the types of suicides have changed. A current trend has people coming from different countries to big cities and famous places of interest to end their lives by jumping off a cliff, a bridge, or a tower. This kind of suicide is referred to as “tourists-suicides”, and the popular places where the act takes place – “suicide sites”. These destinations have a certain reputation and some magic aura that attracts people who have decided to take their own life. Psychologists say those who attempt suicide in a well-known place are trying to draw other people’s attention that they sought while alive.

Among such suicide sites – Clifton Bridge and Humber Bridge located in the UK, Göltzschtalbrücke – the railway bridge in Germany, Cliffs of Moher – the spectacular seaside cliffs located in Ireland, Nusle Bridge (or Nuselsky Most) in Prague, and of course Eiffel Tower in Paris are the most well-known.

A lot of people kill themselves in Paris, and jumping off the “Iron Lady” (which is 1,063 feet high) is the third most popular method of suicide after poisoning and hanging in France. Actually only about 68% of the suicides are known by the Official Statistic in the Paris region and 26% of them in the city of Paris proper. After AIDS, suicide is the second most frequent cause of death in Paris.

The first suicide at the Eiffel Tower was committed by a 23-year-old man, who hanged himself from one of the beams on July, 15th 1898. The most recent case of suicide, according the media, happened on June, 26th this year. A young woman threw herself from half way up the Eiffel Tower, crashing onto a restaurant patio on the first floor of the Paris monument. For 120 years since the monument’s construction about 400 people killed themselves there, of which two survived the 171 feet drop from the first floor, one was blown onto a rafter by the wind and one young woman landed on the roof of a car. A bit of good news from that potentially tragic attempt – after recovering from her injuries this woman married the owner of the car.

Several years ago 6 feet high barriers were constructed on the tower perimeter in order to reduce the number of incidents. Apparently the barriers have had a positive effect. The Police Préfecture claims that suicide attempts from the tower have become very rare. Even so, there are still a lot of people who desire to jump off a famous Paris site. At least 4-5 cases of suicide a year happen in the capital city. That is the reason why the Eiffel Tower is named one of the most popular suicide sites in Europe. Parisians would prefer it just be known as a nice place to visit…

Ask 100 different people what reminds them of Paris and you will most likely hear – Eiffel Tower. We all know that this “Iron Lady” has always been the symbol of Paris. We also know why – this huge 1,063 ft high tower (which is equal to an 81-story building) can be seen from almost any point in the city. And from the top of the Eiffel Tower, the entire city of Paris and beyond can be seen. More than 200,000,000 people have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. On March 31st this year this incredible structure has turned 122 years old.

But ask yourself what interesting facts you know about Eiffel Tower and you may draw a blank.

To begin with this tower should not have even been there back in 1889. When French engineer Gustave Eiffel first decided to raise this structure in 1887 he met with much criticism from the public. Most famous cultural workers of that time even signed the document which said: “And during next years we shall see, stretching over the entire city, still thrilling with the genius of so many centuries, we shall see stretching out like a black blot the odious shadow of the odious column built up of riveted iron plates.”

One of the biggest Eiffel Tower “haters”, novelist Guy de Maupassant, even used to have lunch in the Tower’s restaurant – that was the only place in Paris where he couldn’t see this “disgusting” structure, he explained.

But time passed and the Eiffel Tower, instead of being the object of irritation, soon became an object of admiration.

Later on during the Second World War, just before Hitler came to Paris in 1940, Frenchmen disabled the lift drive which couldn’t be fixed because of the war. So Nazi soldiers were not able to climb to the top of the tower and raise their banner there. From that moment people began to say that Hitler conquered France but didn’t manage to conquer the Eiffel Tower.

The “Iron Lady” can also count about a dozen of interesting and unbelievable facts in its history.

Thus on February 4th 1912 an Austrian tailor named Franz Reichelt jumped from the first level of Eiffel Tower having self-made wings on his back and died of a sudden heart attack on his way down.

In 1925 a conman named Victor Lustig managed to “sell” the great tower for scrap metal twice. He persuaded two different powerful men to take part in financial support of the structure which was supposedly exposed to danger from the government.

From 1925 to 1935 illuminated signs of Citroën decorated three of the tower’s four sides. That became the highest advertising space in the word at that time.

In January of 1956 a sudden fire destroyed the top of the structure which was later reconstructed.

On July22, 2003 the top of the tower was on fire again. The fire could be put down only by night.

In winter of 2004 the first floor of the “Iron Lady” was reconfigured into an ice skating rink. This was some sort of an advertising of Paris as a 2012 winter Olympic candidate.

Until now, the Eiffel Tower has remained the same as it was 120 years ago due to 57 tons of paint used every 7 years to protect it from rust.

This huge tower doesn’t suffer from the wind too much. Even the strongest storm can give it only a 3.5 inch sway. And the sun can make the top of the tower shift away up to 7 inches.

The last suicide was committed from the tower in April 2008.

Today, the Eiffel Tower is used for TV and radio transmission, and cellular communication. It is not only the symbol of Paris now, but really its heart and fountain of life. Life full of opportunities and wonderful adventures. And a lot of people all over the world dream of coming to Paris just to see this wondrous creation.

Well, 7th district is known by even those people who have never been to France. It is exactly Eiffel Tower that brings such a big popularity to this area.

But, unfortunately, only less of tourists really know that this district is full of other historical buildings and sights. For example, the Trocadero panorama with beautiful gardens and a long pool that decorated with stone statues and unique illuminated fountains. Also former train station that was rebuilt into a big impressionist gallery named Musée d’Orsay where you can see the artworks of modern painters and also masters such as Degas, Lautrec and Van Gogh. L’Hotel des Invalides that now is a Napoleon’s burial site and museum shelter placed here as well. And finally, let’s finish with the French National Assembly, and the Palais de Chaillot which figures in such films as “28 Weeks Later” and “Rush Hour 3”.