A giant statue of the Virgin Mary was consecrated in Poland on Saturday, becoming Europe’s tallest monument to the religious figure at 55 metres.
The monument stands in the village of Konotopie, about 190km north-west of the capital, Warsaw.
The statue itself measures 40.6 metres and stands on a 15-metre pedestal shaped like a crown.
It was funded by donations from 75-year-old businessman Roman Karkosik, one of Poland’s wealthiest men.
Karkosik built his fortune in the automotive equipment sector and is also known as one of the country’s most prominent stock market investors.
The multimillionaire said he had commissioned the statue “as a sign of gratitude to Mary.”
Architecture portal Architektura Murator estimated the cost of the monument at the equivalent of €23 million.
Poland is already home to another giant religious statue near the German border: a 36-metre figure of Jesus in the town of Świebodzin.
That monument was inspired by the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
