Łysa Góra, composed primarily of quartzite and Cambrian slates, lies in the eastern part of the Łysogóry range, and is the second largest peak of the larger Świętokrzyskie Mountains (after Łysica).

During the times of prehistory of Poland, Łysa Góra was likely a sacred mountain and a site of a pagan temple of three gods, mentioned in the Annals of medieval chronicler Jan Długosz.

There are remains of a quartzite U-shaped wall surrounding the higher part of the hill, with length of about 1.5 km and height of 2m from 8th-10th centuries.

On the site of the pagan temple the Benedictine monastery of Holy Cross (Święty Krzyż) was founded (according to a legend, in 1006, by king of Poland, Bolesław I the Brave, but most sources give the 11th century).

During World War II, the German occupiers murdered the abbot of the monastery during a massacre of Poles committed on 12 June 1940 in Kielce (Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland).

After the war, the Polish communist government transferred the building to the Świętokrzyski National Park, which renovated parts of them.