Christ the King Statue

In November 2010, the people of Świebodzin - a relatively small town about 110km west of Poznań - welcomed a new resident: a giant statue of Jesus Christ, dubbed “Christ the King.” What makes another statue of Christ notable? Well, weighing 440 tonnes and standing 33 metres tall, the Polish Christ statue was quickly certified by the Guinness World Records folks as the tallest statue of Jesus in the world, though that claim immediately incited protest from the world's many other imposing Saviour sculptures. Świebodzin’s Christ himself is technically shorter than the previous World Record holder - Rio’s famed Christ the Redeemer statue (39.6m tall) - but factor in his crown, and the mound and pedestal he stands on, and he easily dwarfs Rio’s Redeemer, with a total height of 51 metres. Fortunately this innocuous debate was quickly put to rest when Indonesia's Jesus Buntu Burake statue (52.55m) was completed in 2015. Though such silly debates only go to show the vanity of such projects, it’s still a fairly impressive accomplishment for a town such as Świebodzin, which - like their enormous Jesus with the golden crown - is evidently welcoming tourists and pilgrims with outstretched arms.
Ironically, you won’t find JC in the town’s centre, but instead on the southeastern outskirts. While this King of Poland's nearest neighbour is a large Tesco, he has his gaze fixed and arms outstretched towards the centre of Świebodzin. Made of plaster and fibreglass, the undertaking was the brainchild of retired local priest Sylwester Zawadzki, and funded with donations from the town's residents. The controversial project took five years to complete and wasn't without its bad omens: Zawadzki suffered a heart attack, and the head fell during the installation, crushing a worker’s foot. And we won't even raise the question of how much this must have cost and what other good use that money could have been put towards (oops). Regardless, here it now stands and the only real debate left is whether or not this is something you need to see....

If yes, the best way to get to Świebodzin is by car. In fact you can get a good look at Christ's backside from the E65/S3 highway running north-south between Gorzów Wielkopolska and Zielona Góra, making Świebodzin's Jesus the literal definition of a roadside attraction (albeit a very, very Polish one). Make the stop in Świebodzin and you can climb onto the pedestal for luke-warm views of Świebodzin, but there is no higher viewing platform (in fact Christ's crown was controversially used to hold satellite antennae until the locals found out and had a fit). Around the base of the statue you'll find a sanctuary/hotel for pilgrims, stations of the cross and plenty of free parking.