Polish billionaire Roman Karkosik is funding the construction of a massive 55-meter Virgin Mary statue in the rural village of Konotopie, out-sizing both the \u015awiebodzin Christ and Rio’s Redeemer. <\/p>\n
An unusual construction site has emerged a few hundred meters from the sanctuary in Konotopie, near Toru\u0144, where a gigantic figure of the Virgin Mary is rising in the center of the village. Designed to reach over 55 meters, the monument will surpass the famous Jesus statue in \u015awiebodzin, while Christ in Rio de Janeiro will look diminutive by comparison. Funded by a well-known Polish millionaire, the project is currently drawing coverage from major international media outlets.<\/p>\n
The history of the sanctuary dates back to the second half of the 19th century, when estate owner Szmakteter funded a roadside brick chapel in 1885 following the miraculous healing of his daughter. Although destroyed by German forces during World War II, the original folk sculpture was hidden and preserved. A new chapter began in 2011 when Roman Karkosik and his wife funded a new chapel as an expression of gratitude for the beatification of John Paul II.<\/p>\n
The new monument will dwarf previous record-holders, as the Christ the King statue in \u015awiebodzin measures 53 meters with its mound, and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro stands at 38 meters. Set upon a 15-meter crown-shaped pedestal that will also function as a viewing terrace, the structure is built from special decorative concrete designed by Holcim to ensure high weather resistance and uniform coloring.<\/p>\n
The monumental project has attracted international interest, with the Financial Times describing it as a massive, almost pharaonic project in a rural setting. Local villagers admit the sudden construction was a shock, though community members and visiting pilgrims are already flocking to view the site, hoping it will bring economic benefits and global recognition to the region.<\/p>\n
With a fortune estimated at over 3 billion PLN, Toru\u0144-based businessman Roman Karkosik has largely avoided the public spotlight, gaining his primary recognition through companies such as Alchemia, Boryszew, and Impexmetal. Beyond its religious function, the Konotopie monument is intended to serve as a gathering space for pilgrims, cultural events, and a tourist attraction ahead of its planned consecration on August 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Polish billionaire Roman Karkosik is funding the construction of a massive 55-meter Virgin Mary statue in the rural village of Konotopie, out-sizing both the \u015awiebodzin Christ and Rio’s Redeemer. A Giant Construction in the Polish Countryside An unusual construction site has emerged a few hundred meters from the sanctuary in Konotopie, near Toru\u0144, where a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bizonews.com\/pl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}