Góra Świętej Anny or St. Anne Mountain (German: St.

Venue: Góra Świętej Anny (hill)
Town: Góra Świętej Anny, PL

Góra Świętej Anny or St. Anne Mountain (German: St. Annaberg; Silesian: Świyntŏ Anna) is an inselberg in Upper Silesia, Poland, next to the community of the same name. It is the location of the Franciscan monastery with the miraculous statue of St. Anne and the imposing calvary, which is an important destination for Roman Catholic pilgrimage. The Composed Cultural and Natural Landscape of Góra Świętej Anny was announced one of Poland's official Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii) by the National Heritage Board and the President of Poland. The Annaberg is a volcanic cone of Tertiary basalt, the easternmost end of the Silesian volcanic belt and the easternmost occurrence of basalt in Europe. It is 406 metres (1,332 ft) high. The hill was a pagan shrine in pre-Christian times. It was formerly known as the Chelmberg; around 1100 a wooden chapel to St. George was built on the hill, and it became known as the Georgenberg (St. George's hill). In 1516 the noble family of von Gaschin, who had moved to Silesia from Poland in the mid-15th century, erected a church dedicated to St. Anne on the Chelmberg. The hill became a popular pilgrimage destination, especially after the donation in 1560 of a wooden statue of St. Anne, containing relics, which is still in the church today. Count Melchior Ferdinand von Gaschin wanted to make the hill the seat of Franciscans, and during the Swedish-Polish War, the order decided to close its houses in Kraków and Lwów and move to Silesia for safety, and an agreement was made under which they would take over the church on the Annaberg. 22 Franciscans moved there on 1 November 1655. The count had a simple wooden monastery building built and replaced the church with a new stone building which was dedicated on 1 April 1673. The church attracted increasing numbers of pilgrims and led to the hill's becoming known as St. Anne's hill. In addition to pilgrims' hostels and other infrastructure, in the 19th century, three publishing firms were established