Heavens Above – A Statue of Christ in the Landscape

The monuments of Christ erected from 1920s onwards in many places throughout the world are a specific group of dominants associated with sacrum. Their effect on the perception of the landscape is very strong because of the artistic form and, above all, the symbolic dimension they have. The aim of the work is to demonstrate that land development projects around sacred landscape dominants in the form of statues of Christ should be subject to careful consideration, both in terms of functionality and composition. The adjustment of the environment to the scale and rank of the object - so as to emphasise its special role in the landscape, but also the symbolism associated with the sphere of sacrum - plays a crucial role in this case. Comparative analyses were made for ten highest statues of Christ in the world. The research was also supplemented with a presentation of the concept of land development around the statue of Christ in Świebodzin.