10 World Famous Landmarks That Were Almost Destroyed

Before burning down the White House, the British enjoyed some dinner

White House Exploding Gif Every nation is renowned for certain things - be that food, people, or indeed landmarks. If someone is asked to name three things about France, their likely response would be: "Cheese, baguettes, and the Eiffel Tower". The Eiffel Tower may be eternally linked to perceptions of France, but other countries and cities are also known for their famous landmarks or buildings: Rome for the Colosseum, Washington DC for the White House, and Rio de Janeiro for Christ the Redeemer, to name but three further examples. Yet some of the iconic and world-famous buildings that are around today and are synonymous with the countries in which they are situated have endured troubled pasts. In a lot of cases it is amazing to think that they still remain standing to this very day. Various natural phenomena - including lightning strikes, earthquakes, hurricanes and other extreme weather conditions - have severely damaged, and in many cases completely destroyed, iconic buildings. But damage to world-famous landmarks has not always been as a result of natural causes - often human error, or even more regularly warfare, threatens the existence of these iconic buildings. Here are 10 world-famous landmarks that have come close to being destroyed at various points in history.
 
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Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.