Holy Cross

The flag of Holy Cross Voivodeship (Swietokrzyskie) features the regional coat of arms on a red field. The arms depict a set of mountains with a cross atop the highest peak, referencing the Holy Cross Mountains (Gory Swietokrzyskie) that give the voivodeship its name. According to tradition, a relic of the True Cross was brought to the Benedictine monastery on Lysica (now called Holy Cross Mountain) in the early medieval period. The landscape imagery on the flag is unusual among Polish voivodeship flags, most of which favor heraldic animals or symbols.