The Holy Cross Sanctuary (Święty Krzyż ) on the Łysiec mountain top is a spiritual and historic place. The relics of wood from the Christ’s Cross are objects of the greatest worship for the faithful. Every year, crowds of pilgrims, visitors and tourists want to see the Holy Cross.

Nowadays, the Oblates are the Holy Cross Sanctuary keepers. For ages, especially between the 12th and 17th C., the sanctuary on the Łysiec Mountain has been the most significant centre of the Holy Cross relic cult. Although, after the famous Battle of Częstochowa during the Swedish Deluge, Jasna Góra became the main pilgrimage destination. The Holy Cross (Święty Krzyż ) in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains has remained a legendary place.

After the Baptism of Poland in 966, a stone Christian temple was built at the top of the hill. The exact date of the Benedictine monastery’s foundation is disputable – traditionally, it is ascribed to king Bolesław Chrobry, yet the historians claim that it was actually the contribution of king Bolesław Krzywousty (Bolesław III the Wrymouth). Similar controversies concern the relic of the Holy Cross Wood. According to one of legends, St. Emeric, the son of king Stephen I of Hungary, offered it as a thanksgiving votive for finding way while hunting in the woods.

Every year, the Holy Cross Sanctuary is visited by crowds of pilgrims, visitors and tourists, who want to see this unique place. In the church on the Łysiec mountain you can see a valuable painting of Franciszek Smuglewicz, monastery porches, a sacristy, the Oleśnicki family’s chapel and the Missionary Museum of the Mary Immaculate Missionary Oblates. The church fair in the honour of the Holy Cross Exaltation take place on the 14th of September.