Karczówka – landscape reserve

The Karczówka hill, which belongs to the Kadzielnia Range, is located in the western part of the city, between the Bernardyńska, Podklasztorna and Krakowska streets. Covered with a dark green forest and built of late Devonian limestone, the Karczówka hill, on which the white walls of a monastery form a crest, is the cradle of Kielce mineral mining.

The whole area of Karczówka, as well as of the adjoining hills – Grabina, Dalnia and Brusznia is covered with “cracks” which are gradually being overgrown. These are the traces of prospecting and mining of nests of deposits of lead sulphide – i.e. the silver-bearing galena. Their discovery lead to the city's rapid development in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the church chapel at Karczówka one can see a unique statue made out of a single galena block. It depicts Saint Barbara – the patron saint of miners. Two other statues were made of similar mineral blocks – one of these depicts Saint Mary and can be seen in the Lesser Basilica in Kielce and the other, depicting Saint Anthony, is located in the parochial church in Borkowice near Przysucha.