- Świętokrzyskie Mountains
Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), (Polish, IPAudio|Swietokrzyskie.ogg|Góry Świętokrzyskie) are a
mountain range in centralPoland , in the vicinity of the city ofKielce . In most part the chain consists of a number of separate ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry (lit. "bald mountains"). The two highest peaks areŁysica at 612 meters (2008 ft) andŁysa Góra at 593 meters (1946 ft). Together with theJura Krakowsko-Częstochowska the mountains form a region called theLesser Poland Upland ("Wyżyna Małopolska"). Their area is 1684 km² (650 mi²).Approximate location is coord|50|53|N|20|55|E.The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are one of the oldest mountain ranges in
Europe . They were formed during the Caledonianorogeny of theSilurian period and then rejuvenated in theHercynian orogeny of the UpperCarboniferous period.From the early
Middle Ages the mountains were a place of extensivecopper andiron mining . Later they were also a significant site oflimestone and redsandstone extraction. At present, the center part of the mountains contains theŚwiętokrzyski National Park .The name, Holy Cross Mountains, refers to a Christian relic from a nearby
Benedictine monastery on Łysa Góra. It is a small piece of wood from the Holy Cross on whichJesus Christ was crucified.ee also
* Bartek the most famous tree in Poland
* Caledonian orogenesis
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