At 55 metres (180 feet) high, the concrete and steel figure is the tallest Marian statue in Europe, and second in the world behind the 98.15 metre Mother of All Asia effigy in the Philippines. Set to officially open after a blessing ceremony on Assumption Day on August 15 -- the Catholic holiday devoted to the Virgin Mary -- the Konotopie statue is not yet finished, with concrete blocks and debris scattered across a muddy parking lot.But Poland is a Catholic stronghold and people are already flocking to the unfinished site -- whether out of faith or sheer curiousity.
A 55 metre high statue of the Virgin Mary dominates the Polish village of Konotopie © Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP
"There was scaffolding (and) you could not see anything, but there were coach buses coming," Andrzej, a security guard at the statue, said of the fervour in Konoptopie. The Konotopie Virgin Mary cost an estimated 100 million zlotys ($26 million), according to local media. That is being paid by billionaire Roman Karkosik, a 75-year-old who is regularly listed as one of Poland's richest tycoons. Financing devotionMany devotees are not concerned by the cost. "People come here ... in search of faith," visitor Marek Gizinski told AFP, calling it "something monumental". "And just like with any miracle... you just can't forget about it, because it's simply impossible to forget," he added, gazing up at the Virgin.But some residents say the giant statue is not the best way to represent the Catholic faith, in a country already peppered with religious monuments, including numerous memorials to Polish pope John Paul II.
