Many associate Ferragosto with a mandatory barbecue among friends and a midnight plunge in the sea, yet August 15 is also a religious occasion, namely the day when the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven is celebrated.
This year a new monumental presence has entered the landscape of central Poland: it is the Madonna of Konotopie, a colossal statue of the Virgin Mary standing 55.6 meters tall, inaugurated precisely on 15 August 2026 for the religious feast. A work destined to become a new reference point for religious tourism and for travelers passing through this part of Poland, thanks to its dimensions that make it taller than both the famous Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro and the Christ the King of the Universe in Świebodzin.
Already at the ceremony, hundreds of worshippers and religious authorities attended, with the presence of former Polish president Lech Wałęsa. The program included the recital of the rosary, a Mass presided by the bishop of Włocławek Krzysztof Wętkowski, and the subsequent blessing of the monument, with two helicopters circling the statue and showering the sky with petals of red roses.
The New Madonna of Konotopie
To surpass the Brazilian Christ the Redeemer (about 38 meters) in height and majesty, the new Madonna of Mercy must have impressive dimensions: designed by sculptor Adam Jakub Matejkowski, in reinforced concrete and steel, the statue itself exceeds 40 meters in height but is also set on a base about 15 meters tall, fashioned in the shape of a crown.
The base also houses a panoramic terrace, reachable by stairs or by an elevator. The monument was commissioned and funded by Polish entrepreneurs Roman and Grażyna Karkosik, who conceived it as a personal vow of gratitude. The statue symbolically echoes the figure venerated in the nearby sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows: with arms open and palms facing the visitors, it embodies welcome, mercy, and openness to a spiritual encounter.
From a tourist perspective, the work thus aims to be more than a religious symbol for Poland. The possibility of entering the structure and ascending to the terrace transforms the colossal statue into a genuine panoramic attraction, set within a complex designed to welcome both pilgrims and curious visitors eager to see up close one of the country’s most unusual monumental works.
Where the Madonna of Konotopie is located and how to reach it
The gigantic statue stands in Konotopie, a small village in the municipality of Kikół, in Lipno County, in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship of central-northern Poland. The village counts a little over a hundred inhabitants and is located not far from Toruń, one of the region’s most important historic cities.
The monument rises in a highly visible position, near the DK10 national road, the artery that connects Warsaw and Szczecin and also passes through the Toruń area. For this reason, the white silhouette of the Madonna is recognizable from afar during travel. Konotopie is also along the road connection between Toruń and Lipno: along this route the DK10 passes through towns such as Kikół and Konotopie before reaching Lipno.
The road distance between Toruń and Lipno is about 51 kilometers, and the location next to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows in Konotopie is no accident. The sanctuary has long existed in the locality and forms the spiritual core around which the new monument project was developed, with the aim of turning a small village in central Poland into a new stop for religious and cultural tourism.
