Poland unveils Europe’s tallest Virgin Mary statue

A 55.6-metre statue of the Virgin Mary, believed to be the tallest of its kind in Europe, was inaugurated on Saturday, August 15, in the small Polish village of Konotopie, with the project financed by one of the country’s wealthiest business couples.

The monument towers over the central Polish village, which has fewer than 150 residents. Its total height includes a 15-metre, crown-shaped pedestal, which also contains a viewing platform.

The statue is taller than Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, which stands about 38 metres high including its pedestal, although the Polish monument lacks the dramatic mountainside setting of the Brazilian landmark.

It also exceeds the height of Poland’s Christ the King statue in the western town of Swiebodzin. Unveiled in 2010, the monument stands about 52 metres above ground level when the mound on which it was built is included.

The Polish statue is not the tallest Virgin Mary monument in the world. A statue in the Philippines stands at about 98 metres. However, the new monument in Konotopie is believed to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The project was commissioned by local millionaires Roman and Grażyna Karkosik, who live in a small palace several miles from Konotopie.

Roman Karkosik, an entrepreneur whose business ventures included plastic-bottle manufacturing in the 1990s, built his fortune through investments on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and became one of Poland’s wealthiest individuals.

The couple have said the monument is an expression of their gratitude to God. Its construction followed an illness suffered by Roman Karkosik.

The monument comes amid a gradual decline in the influence of religion in Polish public life, particularly among younger people and urban residents. Nevertheless, Catholicism remains deeply influential, especially in rural communities and among older generations.

The vast majority of Poles identify as Catholic. The Catholic Church played a particularly prominent role in public life after the fall of communism in 1989, benefiting from the prestige it had gained through its support for the anti-communist opposition.

Poland is also the birthplace of St John Paul II, who served as pope from 1978 until his death in 2005. A large statue of the former pope, though considerably smaller than the new Virgin Mary monument, was unveiled more than a decade ago in the city of Czestochowa.

Local authorities hope the new statue will become both a major pilgrimage destination and a tourist attraction.

By Tamilla Hasanova