The St. Anna Mountain is a place of religious cult where one can learn about St. Anna’s cult and the history of the Franciscan order. At the top of the mountain there is the Basilica Minor of St. Anna and the Franciscan monastery. In 1636 Melchior de Gaschin bought Por?ba with the St. Anna Mountain which was part of the property (it was alternatively called St. George Mountain or Che?m). The mountain was a place of pilgrimages mainly because of the reliquary of St. Anna Samotrze? from the 15th century which was famous for its miracles. Being the owner of such an important place of religious cult, de Gaschin decided to bring the Franciscan order. On November 1 1655, 22 monks came to the mountain and, in 1659, constructed a wooden monastery. It served the order for 92 years. The new monastery, still present, was built between 1733 and 1749. In 1810, Frederick William II of Prussia confiscated the monasteries on St. Anna Mountain under his secularisation decree and dissolved the order. In spite of this, the shrine still attracted pilgrims who were taken care of by diocese priests. 1859 saw the arrival of Westphalia Franciscans. They were chased out after 16 years during the period of the Kulturkampf, only to come back in 1887. In 1940, they were thrown out of the monastery for the third time to be replaced by volksdeutsch Romanians. After the Second World War, the Franciscans came back to where they belonged. The first official record mentioning of the church on the Che?m Mountain dates back to June 25 1516. It was on this day that the church was entrusted to the care of the parish priest from Le?nica. When St. Anna’s cult grew in strength, Count Melchior de Gaschin brought the Franciscan order that cared for the shrine from 1656. After a dozen years or so, the church was expanded and its wooden structure was replaced by a bricked one in mid 17th century. In 1980, it got the status of a basilica minor. Its high altar is decorated with the miraculous statue of St. Anna Samotrze? made of lime wood in mid 15th century. It was crowned in 1910. In front of the basilica there is a yard with galleries called Rajski Plac (Heavenly Square).Early 18th century was an important period in the history of the sanctuary. It was then that a complex of Calvary chapels was created (1700-09) to reflect the Way of the Cross in Jerusalem and to bring Christ’s Passion closer to believers. Services have been held there since 1764. The Calvary complex consists of 3 churches and 37 chapels including 3 chapels in the area of the sanctuary. Grota Lurdzka (Lourdes Grotto) was constructed in 1914 – 1918 in the former limestone and basalt quarry. The square in front of the grotto is surrounded by the Stations of the Cross built from limestone which abounds in the area. Next to the basilica there is a statue of St. Francis, patron of environmentalists. The park part of the Calvary complex consists of broad alleys of ancient trees, mainly the small-leaved lime. St. Anna’s cult is connected with the following legends: 1. A Spanish duke was coming back from a war expedition with cartfuls of spoils. In the place where today there is the statue of the Holy Trinity in Wysoka, the oxen pulling his carts stopped and would not continue in spite of different attempts to drive them on. So the duke asked God to intervene. When the oxen started pulling again he considered this to be a sign from above and decided to put a statue of St. Anna in a church he could see on top of the mountain. 2. One day, the owner of Por?ba went hunting with his dog. The two were making their way through thickets when the dog disappeared and did not come back in spite of its master’s calls. Time passed and the dog was nowhere near, so the master started looking for it. Somewhere in the deep woods he heard faint whimpering. He was sure that the dog got caught in a trap. When he came up to the source of the sound, he saw light shining through the branches and suddenly St. Anna revealed herself to him holding Virgin Mary. The man started praying. When he finished all he could see was the brightness fading away. After he came back to the castle, he told the story to the noblemen and it was decided that the event was a sign to consecrate the church to St. Anna.