Europe's largest Virgin Mary statue rises in Poland

Poland is getting ready to inaugurate Europe's largest statue of the Virgin Mary, and while the official opening is still some two weeks away the monument was already drawing curious onlookers on Wednesday (July 29).

Standing around 54.5 metres tall, the statue was funded by billionaire couple Grazyna and Roman Karkosik and locals in the village of Konotopie, near Torun in central Poland.

"This is the tallest statue of the Virgin Mary in Europe. There may be one that is a few meters taller somewhere in Asia, but it is measured differently because it stands on an embankment on top of a hill," said Tomasz Dziurny, CEO of Wysowa Mosty, the monument's general contractor. 

"Here, we are dealing with an entire reinforced-concrete structure, including both the figure of Mary and the crown, which also serves as an observation terrace... The views are spectacular."

Marianna Gałczynska, a 63-year-old pensioner from nearby Wloclawek, came with her grandchildren to see the monument. "I'm so moved that I'm at a loss for words," she said. "The grounds are beautiful, and the statue is absolutely stunning!”

Dutch tourist Peter, who declined to give his surname, was taken aback when he first spotted the statue from his campervan. "At first I thought, is there a Buddha standing, but I don't suppose there was a Buddha statue in Poland... I know you're very Catholic," he said. "So then I saw it was the Virgin Mary and we said, oh, we have to stop."

Camera, Editing: Kuba Stezycki, Production: Laura Urraca-Makuch/Reuters