Swiebodzin:
Workers have completed a giant statue of Jesus Christ in a small town in western Poland, whose creators claim it's now the tallest in the world.
Hundreds of local residents gathered to watch a towering crane lift the crowned head onto the top of the statue in the town of Swiebodzin on Saturday.
The statue is the creation of a retired local priest, Reverend Sylwester Zawadzki.
Rev. Zawadzki came up with his idea several years ago, though he imagined something much smaller at first.
With time, ambition grew for the man known around town as 'the builder priest' thanks to churches and other projects he has carried out.
The statue, called "Christ the King", rises a total of 51 metres (167 feet), including a mound it sits on and a golden king's crown on the head, according to organisers.
By comparison, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, which the Polish version resembles closely, is 38 metres (125 feet) tall.
Many local residents and business people in Swiebodzin say they hope it will put their town of 22-thousand on the map for Roman Catholic pilgrims and bring in money to their community.
They also hope that many Germans, who tend to be more secular than Poles, will visit out of curiosity, since the border with Germany is only 70 kilometres (45 miles) away.
Polish media say the project cost 4 (m) million zlotys (1.45 (m) million US dollars and just over 1(m) Euros), with donations coming from across the social spectrum.
Work on the statue began in 2008.
Some Poles are embarrassed by the project and accuse the Rev. Zawadzki of megalomania.
Polish media have carried many reports about the priest and problems with the project, which have allegedly included a bishop trying to halt the project, officials threatening to withdraw building permission because of its size, insufficiently powerful cranes, inclement weather and even a heart attack suffered by the elderly Rev. Zawadzki.
Hundreds of local residents gathered to watch a towering crane lift the crowned head onto the top of the statue in the town of Swiebodzin on Saturday.
The statue is the creation of a retired local priest, Reverend Sylwester Zawadzki.
Rev. Zawadzki came up with his idea several years ago, though he imagined something much smaller at first.
With time, ambition grew for the man known around town as 'the builder priest' thanks to churches and other projects he has carried out.
The statue, called "Christ the King", rises a total of 51 metres (167 feet), including a mound it sits on and a golden king's crown on the head, according to organisers.
By comparison, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, which the Polish version resembles closely, is 38 metres (125 feet) tall.
Many local residents and business people in Swiebodzin say they hope it will put their town of 22-thousand on the map for Roman Catholic pilgrims and bring in money to their community.
They also hope that many Germans, who tend to be more secular than Poles, will visit out of curiosity, since the border with Germany is only 70 kilometres (45 miles) away.
Polish media say the project cost 4 (m) million zlotys (1.45 (m) million US dollars and just over 1(m) Euros), with donations coming from across the social spectrum.
Work on the statue began in 2008.
Some Poles are embarrassed by the project and accuse the Rev. Zawadzki of megalomania.
Polish media have carried many reports about the priest and problems with the project, which have allegedly included a bishop trying to halt the project, officials threatening to withdraw building permission because of its size, insufficiently powerful cranes, inclement weather and even a heart attack suffered by the elderly Rev. Zawadzki.
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