All articles tagged with #konotopie
In Konotopie, Poland, a 55.6-meter Virgin Mary statue (including a crown-like 15-meter pedestal) was inaugurated, reportedly Europe’s tallest of its kind and taller than Rio’s Christ the Redeemer. Funded by local billionaire Roman and Grażyna Karkosik, the project includes a pedestal viewing platform and aims to attract pilgrims and tourists to the tiny village of under 150 residents.
A 55-metre concrete-and-steel Virgin Mary statue in Konotopie has been crowned Europe’s tallest Marian monument (second in the world after the Philippines’ Mother of All Asia). Funded by billionaire Roman Karkosik at about 100 million zlotys ($26m), the monument will be blessed on Aug 15, though the site remains unfinished. Officials hope the project will draw pilgrims and create jobs, while some locals question the allocation of funds for a hospital or orphanage. Poland’s Catholic identity persists but is shrinking, with 71% identifying as Roman Catholic in 2021, down from 88% a decade earlier.