ABOUT THE GEOPARK
The Holy Cross Mountains Geopark
We are an Association of Communes that wants to nurture and promote the geological, cultural and natural heritage of the region! The Holy Cross Mountains Geopark covers the area of five communes: Kielce, Chęciny, Morawica, Sitkówka, Piekoszów.
- outcrops of interesting rock formations of the Middle and Upper Devonian in the form of limestones, dolomites and marls which are a geological reminder of shallow seas from 360 million years ago
- outcrop of tectonic formations (faults, folds) documenting Caledonian, Variscan and Alpine tectonic movements
- hydrothermal veins with calcite, barite and galena and copper ore deposits
- numerous remains of historical ore and rock mining, documenting the relationship between man and inanimate nature
- numerous karst formations representing the Permian-Triassic and Cenozoic eras in the geological history of the region
- clear links between the geological structure and the relief, the so-called structural relief
- rock formations, natural rock ridges
- the documented history of human habitation in the area within the borders of the Holy Cross Mountains Geopark dates back to about 60,000 years ago, i.e. to what archaeologists call the Palaeolithic or Old Stone Age, and geologists call the Pleistocene
- the history of settlement in the Geopark area is above all the history of the relationship between human beings and geology, as well as the history of the impact of various cultures. These oldest traces of settlement include finds of flint tools and ochre – a ritual red dye produced from iron ore (haematite), found in many places in the Holy Cross Mountains region
- the cultural heritage of the Holy Cross Mountains Geopark area, consisting of tangible and intangible elements, is a testimony to over 50,000 years of the history of settlement and development of the people who inhabited the area
- prehistoric times (Palaeolithic and Neolithic) are documented by numerous archaeological sites with finds of stone tools, ornaments, weapons and objects of everyday use.
- intangible cultural heritage consists mainly of local customs and rituals cultivated during religious holidays, legends and tales associated with folk beliefs and the history of ore and rock mining in the Geopark area
Natural heritage
The Holy Cross Mountains Geopark area, due to its unique geodiversity, is also an area of exceptional biodiversity. The most important feature of the area covered by the Geopark is the presence of various types of communities in a relatively small area. The richness of flora and fauna is particularly evident in the part of the Geopark which is protected within the Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park.
- ca. 1117 species of vascular plants (over 46% of the Polish flora), of which as many as 264 are particularly valuable – protected, rare and/or endangered
- particularly valuable and protected forest communities include: inland cladonia coniferous forests, thermophilous oak forests, inland moist coniferous forests, thermophilous orchid beech forests and xerothermic grasslands, thermophilous sand grasslands and mountain herb community meadows.
- the dominant species in tree stands are: Scots pine (Pinus silvestris), common oak (Quercus robur) and sessile oak(Quercus petrea), silver fir (Abies alba), silver birch (Betula pendula), common beech (Fagus sylvatica), common hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), maples: Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), and small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata).
- scientific research carried out by biologists in the area of the Geopark encompassed by the boundaries of the Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park has provided information on the occurrence of many valuable fauna species, including 20 species of beetles, 76 species of butterflies, 23 species of bumblebees, approx. 60 species of snails, 35 species of fish (including 7 species included in the Red List of Threatened Species), 14 species of amphibians (75% of the domestic fauna, all strictly protected), 6 species of reptiles (including the smooth snake included in the List of Endangered species in Poland – Fig. 10), over 104 species of birds and 25 species of mammals (of which 15 are under strict protection)