The Świętokrzyskie Mountains (, ), often anglicized to Holy Cross Mountains, are a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

in central

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, near the city of

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

. The mountain range comprises several lesser ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry (literally "Bald Mountains"). The two highest peaks are Łysica, 614 m (2014.44 ft), and Łysa Góra, 594 m (1948.81 ft). Together with the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska and some other regions, the mountains form a region called the Lesser-Poland Upland (''Wyżyna Małopolska''). Geologically speaking, the Holy Cross Mountains possess also a margin which extends further than the mountains themselves; the Owadów–Brzezinki palaeontological site is situated in the margin of the Holy Cross Mountains, but not in the mountains themselves. They cover an area of 1684 km² (650 mi²). The approximate location is .

Prehistory

The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe. They were formed during the Caledonian orogeny of the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...

period and then rejuvenated in the Hercynian orogeny of the Late

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

period. The region was once on the southern coast of the ancient

supercontinent In geology, a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth's continent, continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass. However, some geologists use a different definition, "a grouping of formerly dispersed continents", ...

Laurasia Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around ( Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pa ...

. The oldest known evidence of

tetrapods A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four- limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetrapoda (). Tetrapods include all extant and extinct amphibians and amniotes, with the lat ...

comes from 395-million-year old fossil footprints found in Zachełmie. The rocks were formed from a marine tidal flat or lagoon. The mountains have also yielded the oldest evidence of

Dinosauromorpha Dinosauromorpha is a clade of avemetatarsalians ( archosaurs closer to birds than to crocodilians) that includes the Dinosauria (dinosaurs) and some of their close relatives. It was originally defined to include dinosauriforms and lagerpetids ...

, pushing back the evolution of dinosaurs to small, four-legged animals living during the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which ...

period. The fossil footprints date to some 250 million years ago, only a couple of million years after the

Permian–Triassic extinction event The Permian–Triassic extinction event (also known as the P–T extinction event, the Late Permian extinction event, the Latest Permian extinction event, the End-Permian extinction event, and colloquially as the Great Dying,) was an extinction ...

, during a time when the environment was still destabilized. Footprints of early

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' ...

dinosaurs known as ''Sphingopus'', from 246 million years ago, have also been found.

History

From the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

the mountains were a place of extensive

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

. Later they were also a significant site of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

and red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

extraction. The central part of the mountains now contains the Świętokrzyski National Park. The name "''Holy Cross'' Mountains" refers to a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

relic from a nearby

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery on Łysa Góra, said to be a small piece of wood from the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

on which

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

was crucified. The region saw some significant partisan activity during World War II (see Detached Unit of the Polish Army, Holy Cross Mountains Brigade).

Climate

The climate of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains differs from the surrounding regions. The average annual temperature is 6–7 °C. The yearly rainfall ranges from 650 to 900mm. The highest peaks are covered in snow from November to April. The ice sheet persist on average 50–90 days a year. The vegetation period of the highest parts of the mountains is two weeks shorter than in Warsaw and is about 200 days. Temperature inversion occurs – the temperature on the heated slopes can be up to 5 °C higher than in the bottoms of the valleys, located several dozen meters below.

Nature conservation

In order to protect unique values of Świętokrzyskie Mountains Świętokrzyski National Park was established in 1950. Moreover, many areas are protected by several nature parks, reserves and Natura 2000 areas. Nature parks in Świętokrzyskie mountains: * Jeleniowska Landscape Park * Cisów-Orłowiny Landscape Park * Suchedniów-Oblęgorek Landscape Park * Sieradowice Landscape Park * Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park

References

External links