Rezerwat Kadzielnia, Kielce

Kadzielnia Nature Reserve - a strict inanimate nature reserve located within the city of Kielce in Świętokrzyskie Province. It includes the Geologists' Rock, the highest part of the Kadzielnia hill belonging to the Kadzielniański Range running south and west of Kielce.

Area: 0.60 ha, planned extension to 2.4 ha, Date of creation: 26 January 1962, Establishment document: Order of the Minister of Forestry and Wood Industry dated 26 January 1962, WKP registration number: 030, Nature of the reserve: strict, Goal of protection: preservation for scientific, didactic and landscape reasons of a group of limestone rocks with picturesque formation, with veins of calcite and a stand of rare plants, especially due to extremely valuable paleontological finds.

The rocky hill of Kadzielnia is made of Upper Devonian limestone, mainly Franu, and in its higher part also Famene. There are numerous fossils of corals, stromatoporoids, trilobites, boat fish and other marine animals dating back 350 million years. Among the more valuable paleontological finds are armored fish.

Numerous tectonic phenomena, mineralization and various karst forms can be observed here. Within the reserve, in the Geologists' Rock, there are a dozen small caves. The longest are: Jeleniowska Cave, Zawaliskowa Cave, Urwista Cave on Kadzielnia, Geologists' Chimney and Cave behind the Pillar. In the vicinity of the reserve there is an Underground Tourist Route, opened to the public in 2012, which consists of the connected Discoverers', Prochownia and Szczelina na Kadzielni caves.

The rocks are covered with characteristic rock vegetation, including hornbeam.

The reserve together with the rest of the former quarry is part of Geopark Kielce and lies within the Kielce Protected Landscape Area.

Through the reserve there passes the red municipal trail leading through the historic and interesting places of Kielce. You can also get here by taking the blue and green city walking trails, which start at the Artists' Square.

The "Kadzielnia" reserve was also entered in the register of immovable monuments.