Góra Świętej Anny ( meaning " Saint Anne's Mountain") is a village in the

Opole Voivodeship Opole Voivodeship ( , , ), is the smallest and least populated voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province's name derives from that of the region's capital and largest city, Opole. It is part of Silesia. A relatively lar ...

, in southern

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 ...

. The village is located on the hill from which its name derives. A popular sanctuary, with a statue of Saint Anne and a calvary, is located on its top. The settlement lies within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

called Góra Świętej Anny Landscape Park. This is also one of the official Polish Historical Monuments ('' Pomnik historii'').

History

Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the re-emergence of the sovereign Poland, while still part of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, the hill was the site of the Battle of Annaberg in 1921 during the Silesian Uprisings. A museum dedicated to the uprising was opened in the village in 1961. In 1940, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Germans expelled the

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

from the village. The Germans established and operated a forced labour camp for

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and Soviet prisoners of war, another forced labour camp for Jewish women, and the E111 forced labour subcamp of the Stalag VIII-B/344

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in the village. The village was eventually restored to Poland after the war in 1945.

Main sights

* 15th-century church dedicated to Saint Anne * 17th-century

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

monastery and museum * Calvary from the 17th and 18th centuries with 33 chapels * Lourdes grotto and monument of John Paul II * Amphitheatre ('' Thingspiele'') built in the abandoned

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) ...

quarry in 1934-1938 *

Granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

monument of the Silesian Uprisings by Xawery Dunikowski, 1955 * Lime

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

, middle of the 19th century *

Geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

natural reserve in the abandoned nephelinite and limestone quarry * Museum of the Silesian Uprisings

Gallery

File:Pomnik Czynu Powstańczego.jpg, Silesian Uprisings monument File:Rajski plac i bazylika św. Anny.jpg, Saint Anne church File:Góra Świętej Anny 005.jpg, Monastery File:Góra św. Anny, kaplica Koronacji Matki Boskiej, xxkazik.jpg, Chapel of the Coronation of Mary File:Góra św. Anny, kaplica św. Rafała, xxkazik.jpg, Chapel of St. Raphael File:Gmina Leśnica, Poland - panoramio (6).jpg, Landscape

References

External links

Jewish Community in Góra Świętej Anny
on Virtual Shtetl
Sanctuary of St. Anne
{{Authority control Villages in Strzelce County