Łysa Góra (''Bald Mountain''; also known as Łysiec or Święty Krzyż) is a well-known hill in

Świętokrzyskie Mountains The Świętokrzyskie Mountains ( pl, Góry Świętokrzyskie, ), often anglicized to Holy Cross Mountains, are a mountain range in central Poland, near the city of Kielce. The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in Europ ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. With a height of 595 metres (1,952 ft), it is the second highest point in that range (after Łysica at 612 meters or 2,008 ft). On its slopes and atop its summit are several hiking trails, the ruins of a pagan wall from 9th century, the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

''Święty Krzyż'' from the 11th century (destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, now partially restored), and a Święty Krzyż TV Tower. The mountain also features prominently in a local legend about witches' sabbaths.

Location

Łysa Góra, composed primarily of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

and Cambrian slates, lies in the eastern part of the Łysogóry range, and is the second largest peak of the larger

(after Łysica). A notable summit within the Świętokrzyski National Park, it is a vital point in many sightseeing trails of the region. The blue path to Pętkowice begins here, and the red path from Gołoszyce to Kuźniaki passes through here.

Notable landmarks

During the times of prehistory of Poland, Łysa Góra was likely a

sacred mountain Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

and a site of a pagan- cult

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

of three gods, mentioned in the ''Annals'' of

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...

. There are remains of a quartzite U-shaped wall surrounding the higher part of the hill, with length of about 1.5 km and height of 2m from 8th-10th centuries. The temple was abandoned after the

baptism of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( pl, chrystianizacja Polski) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( pl, chrzest Polski), the personal baptism of Mieszk ...

. The legend about witches' sabbaths is likely related to the old cult. Święty Krzyż 02 ssj 20060108

On the site of the pagan temple the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery of Holy Cross (''Święty Krzyż'') was founded (according to a legend, in 1006, by king of Poland, Bolesław Chrobry, but most sources give the 11th century). The monastery was named after a fragment from Christ' Cross which was supposedly enshrined there, and was a site of frequent pilgrimages. The monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout its history, with the most significant destruction taking place in the 19th and 20th centuries. After partitions of Poland, the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

took over the building in 1819 and converted it into a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

. Partially restored during the interwar period after Poland regained independence, it was taken over by the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and used as a prison and execution site of

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

prisoners of war (about 6000 perished here). Afterwards, the Polish communist government transferred the building to the Świętokrzyski National Park, which renovated parts of them. Currently the National Park has a museum in some of the former buildings, while a part has been taken over by another religious institute (

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...

). The abbey, although now past its

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

, has given its names to the

range as well as the

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship The Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, also known as the Świętokrzyskie Province, and the Holy Cross Voivodeship ( pl, województwo świętokrzyskie ) is a voivodeship (province) of Poland situated in southeastern part of the country, in the histo ...

itself. The abbey also holds some

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

bodies; one of them is rumored (but not confirmed) to belong to Prince

Jeremi Wiśniowiecki Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki ( uk, Ярема Вишневецький – Yarema Vyshnevetsky; 1612 – 20 August 1651) nicknamed ''Hammer on the Cossacks'' ( pl, Młot na Kozaków), was a notable member of the aristocracy of the Polish–Lith ...

Another notable building found on the hill is the Święty Krzyż TV Tower; the tallest free-standing

TV tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

in Poland. Built in 1966, it is a 157 metre tall concrete tower. The Soviet prisoners executed by the Nazis are buried in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

near the peak. At the bottom of the hill, there is a monument to Poles who died in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...

References

*
Łysa Góra
entry in PWN Encyklopedia

External links

*
Święty Krzyż - Sanktuarium Relikwii Drzewa Krzyża Świętego
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lysa Gora Mountains of Poland Landforms of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship

Location

Notable landmarks

See also

References

External links