**Le Mystère du Château de Corail**2 photos

Un amateur sculptor who built alone the Coral Castle in Florida, a complex of enormous statues and megaliths weighing a total of 1,100 tons. Edward claimed to have deciphered the mystery of the Egyptian pyramids and asserted that it was based on this very principle that he constructed his Coral Castle as well.

Edward Leedskalnin was born in 1887 in what is now Latvia. Little is known about his childhood; some sources claim he came from a poor family and did not attend school beyond the fourth grade. Nevertheless, he was a very intelligent boy who loved reading and spent much of his time immersed in books. At the age of 26, he became engaged to Agnes Scuffs, a girl ten years younger than him, but the wedding never took place—just one day before the ceremony, Agnes broke off the engagement.

Heartbroken, Edward moved to North America, where he worked in logging camps in Canada, California, and Texas. Around 1919, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and went to Florida in hopes of recovering. There, he purchased a small plot of land and spent the next two decades working on his eccentric project: the Coral Castle.

He named his property Rock Gate Park, meaning “Park of Stone Gates,” and dedicated it to Agnes. Working night after night under the light of a lamp, Edward, despite having no particular physical strength, managed to craft over 1,100 tons of coral by hand—using nothing but old automobile parts and other materials at hand. Later, he acquired an even larger plot of land and was able to relocate his coral structures.

He began by building a house made of coral and wood, and later constructed the entire monument complex we now know as the Coral Castle, which has become a famous attraction in Florida. Although Edward was initially reticent about allowing visitors to see his work, he eventually decided to share this marvel with the world.

To this day, people wonder how such a frail-looking individual as Edward Leedskalnin was able to handle such massive stones. The mystery surrounding the construction of the Coral Castle remains unsolved.

In November 1951, Edward was hospitalized due to a stroke and passed away 28 days later on December 7, 1951. The Coral Castle was subsequently completed and improved, and it continues to attract millions of tourists every year.