Tymoteusz Wróblewski (Kielce) Karczówka’s ores and their mines Karczówka – a limestone hill situated in the western part of the city of Kielce – is found in the marginal zone of Palaeozoic stem the Holy Cross Mountains. Numerous instances of ore mineralization, including old metal ores mines, are connected with rocks present here. One of the most important deposit area, where lead ores were mined, was Karczówka with the surrounding hills of Dalnia, Grabina, Brusznia and Stokowa and adjacent abatements of the land. The area between Karczówka and Stokowa hills was the richest in the Holy Cross Mountains. It is characterized with the presence of tectonically active Devonian carbonate rocks. Transversal recesses, cutting the limestone massifs, are filled with ore veins, 05. to 1.8 km long and 1 to 4m wide, composed of calcite with galena, sphalerite, barite as well as pyrite and chalcopyrite. Galena, the dominant ore, was the subject of mining interest as a lead ore and the source of silver. Ores were mined by means of shallow shafts and vertical, linear excavations, characteristic of ore mining in the region. Some of the excavations whose age was difficult to establish vanished in time and their slight traces are the remains of 3,220 old shafts, linearly sorted with a southerly aspect, registered more than 80 years ago. In the 17th century, in the area of Karczówka, a large lead ore deposit was discovered. The event was described in a mining legend. The remains of lead ores can still be admired as some lumps of galena were used for sacral sculptures of St. Barbara and St. Anthony, patron saints of miners, as well as a bas-relief of Mother of God. The last mining works were conducted in the region of Karczówka at the beginning of the 20th century. A project of making old mining sites open to tourists was realized in 2009 by the Environment Protection Department of the Kielce City hall. Research as well as ground and clean-up works were performed at some selected locations. Six points of an educational trail were arranged which, together with three stops, are described by specially designed boards. Further, an obelisk called Miners’ Chapel was built. The 3-kilometer -long geology-mineral-mining trail connects 9 objects. It starts on the south-west slope of Karczówka hill, runs over its top (340 meters above sea level) and then along the north-west slope to the Miners’ Chapel. From there, it follows the south slope of Grabina hill, across its top, to reach Mała Grabina hill. The trail continues along the south slope of Grabina to the remains of the last lead ore mine called Barbara and then to a large excavation of the former limestone quarry Czarnów, the end of the trail. Referring to the idea of preventive conservation of environment, it was proposed to develop a model (a project) of integrated protection and provision of historical mining sites in the entire area of Kielce - Chęciny, where ores were mined and processed from the Middle Ages. Monuments associated with the mining of metal ores on the western edge of the Świętokrzyski Palaeozoic stem could be regarded as a larger open-air museum located in a very attractive geological background.