These statues are the greatest

In March 1521, Magellan's discovery fleet reached the Philippines on behalf of the Spanish king, and on the 31st of the same month the first Catholic mass was held on the soil of the Southeast Asian archipelago. 500 years later, this was celebrated as an anniversary, as the beginning of Christianization - among other things with the Mother of all Asia, the largest statue of Mary in the world, which was completed in 2021 after seven years of construction.

It is no coincidence that the image, also known as the Tower of Peace, stands on the soil of today's Republic of the Philippines; With a population of over 80 percent Catholics, it is the largest Catholic country in Asia. Mother of all Asia measures 98.15 meters from the base to the top of the crown - more than 50 meters taller than the previous leader, the Virgen de la Paz statue in La Paz, Venezuela.

The official website also promotes the 33-story concrete and steel statue of Mary near Batangas City as "the only habitable statue in the world." It forms the center of a center for pilgrims, tourists and residents of new settlements. In Marias Krone, accessible via lifts or 420 steps, a panoramic platform with views of the Isla Verde Strait, which is known for its biodiversity, beckons.

(http://montemaria.com.ph/index.php)

Lined with 500 life-size statues of monks, each with a different facial expression: Even the footpath to the stairs leading to the head of the giant Buddha is impressive. The largest reclining Buddha statue in the world, which then spreads out in front of you, is simply breathtaking. The Buddha reclining relaxed on its side at Win Sein Taw Ya Monastery, found outside the town of Mawlamyaing in Myanmar, is 180 meters long and 30 meters high.

While other large Buddha statues in the world have been attracting pilgrims for centuries, construction at Win Sein Taw Ya only began in the 1990s. Largely completed on the outside, you can see from the inside that the walk-in giant is progressing slowly with the construction, which is also financed by donations. A labyrinth of levels and corridors awaits visitors there. In various chambers, dioramas tell of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Other areas are closed: "still under construction".

Also on the grounds of the Win-Sein-Taw-Ya Monastery is a second gigantic Buddha statue, which is still under construction. The most convenient way to reach the giant versions of the Enlightened One is by tuk-tuk taxi from Mawlamyaing, 20 kilometers away.

(https://tourisminmyanmar.com.mm/highlights/mesmerising-sites/win-sein-tawya-monastery/)

Many believers, for whom Christ is the greatest anyway, would also like to represent this structurally. And so a kind of country competition seems to have flared up. In 2010, Poland broke all records. The 36-meter high statue of Christ the King was erected in the Lubusz Voivodeship. Not only did it tower over the world-famous Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro from 1931, but also the colossi of Jesus in Bolivia, Mexico and Vietnam.

Brazil has been in the lead again since spring 2022: the Cristo Protetor de Encantando was completed on a hill near Encantado in the federal state of Rio Grande do Sul. The "Protector" statue is 37.5 meters high, including the base 43.5 meters.

Inside the colossus of concrete and steel, elevators whisk visitors up to a chest-high viewing platform. From the large heart-shaped opening one looks down into the valley that Cristo Protetor, with his 39 meter wingspan, almost seems to embrace.

(https://www.cristoencantado.com.br)

The founder of the Mongolian empire is commemorated in many places in Mongolia. The largest equestrian statue of Genghis Khan is around 50 kilometers from the capital Ulan Bator. The statue is around 40 meters high, including the 10 meter base. Its 36 pillars represent the great Mongolian khans from the famous Genghis to Ligdan Khan, who died in 1634.

The equestrian statue on the banks of the Tuul River in Tsonjin Boldog was constructed of stainless steel and inaugurated in September 2008. You can also enter it. A lift takes you into the horse's body, you climb the stairs on the head of the riding Dschingis Kahn and look out over the steppe. An adjoining museum documents the time of the khanate in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The fact that the largest equestrian statue in the world is in Mongolia may fit the history of the equestrian nomads there. But the record is in jeopardy. An even larger equestrian statue is currently being built on an artificial island off Mumbai in honor of Shivaji Maharaj, Hindu leader and first monarch of the mighty Maratha Empire.

She should be spared the fate that befell the colossus of Rhodes in ancient Greece. While it fell in an earthquake in the third century BC, the statue of unity in the Indian state of Gujarat is built to withstand all conditions.

It shows the independence fighter and politician Vallabhbhai Patel, who died in 1950 and is still praised in his homeland for his services to Indian unity. His likeness, a bronze-plated steel skeleton, was inaugurated in 2018 and is currently believed to be the largest statue in the world.

It is 182 meters high and stands on a peninsula in a river near the town of Rajpipla. It is also increased by a 58 meter base. At the statue's chest height, 153 meters in this case, is a viewing platform for visitors.

(https://statueofunity.in)

North Korea still seems a long way from reunification with the South. But that idea has embodied a monumental monument in its capital, Pyongyang, since 2001, when it was erected. It shows two Korean women in traditional dress, facing each other, holding a map of the united Korea high above the Kaesong expressway.

The 30 meter high and 61.5 meter wide double statue was erected to commemorate the efforts of Kim Il-sung, grandfather of today's ruler Kim Jong-un and from 1948 the first Stalinist dictator of the then newly proclaimed state of North Korea. Of course, he would only have agreed to a reunification of Korea on North Korean terms; that still applies today.

Kim Il-sung, who ruled until 1994, immortalized himself in 1972 with another mega-monument: His 20-meter-high image stands above gigantic stairways on Mansu Hill in the center of Pyongyang. For Kim Il-sung's 100th birthday, the statue was replaced by a new one with a business dress instead of a Mao suit, and a similarly tall figure of Kim Jong-il was added. Since then, his son, who took over as head of state in 1994, has stood beside him as a rigid giant.

Not the Statue of Liberty (46 meters), the famous Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, holds the record in North and Central America. No, it's called Birth of the New World (Spanish: Nacimiento del Nuevo Mundo), is 110 meters tall and stands on the Atlantic coast near Arecibo in Puerto Rico. It is supposed to commemorate Columbus' first sea voyage, shows him standing on board a sailing ship and is also called the Columbus statue for short: La Estatua de Colón.

Original plans envisaged setting it up in the USA in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of the so-called discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. But after long quarrels - including about its aesthetics or financing - the work of the Georgian-Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli was only inaugurated in 2016.

New York had rejected the monument because it would have changed the skyline. Columbus, Ohio's capital, declined, among other things, because native people had protested. The embarrassingly long search for a location for the work, which was also derided as ugly, earned him nicknames such as "Chris Kong". Puerto Rico initially feared that the giant would disrupt air traffic at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, so they eventually settled on the more remote location in Arecibo.

Since then, Birth of the New World has been promoted there as a tourist attraction. The Puerto Rican Tourist Office advertises the "delicious food" of the newly created food stands and restaurants on the access road. The statue itself is "not yet" accessible, but can be admired from afar. She's big enough for that.

(https://www.discoverpuertorico.com/profile/birth-new-world-statue/12526