Poland: Wieliczka Salt Mine
Poland: Wieliczka Salt Mine
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St. Kingas Chapel |
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The Wieliczka Salt Mine, near the
Polish town of Krakow, is a salt mine that has been in continuous
operation since the 13th century, and still is producing table salt today.
The mine stretches to a depth of 327 meters and is more than 300 km long.
In addition to its ancient purpose as a mine, Wieliczka features a 3.5 km tourist route lined with statues of historical and mythical figures, all of them sculptured out of salt by miners. The tourist route also features beautifully carved chambers, chapels, underground lakes, and exhibits showing the history of salt-mining, earning it the nickname of "the underground salt cathedral of Poland". About 800,000 visitors view the mine every year. The mine is located 10km to the south-east of Krakow. |
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| Salt Mine Building and Map: Exterior of the main building and map of the mine. | |||
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| Mine Shaft: The mine tour starts by descending directly down the steps to a depth of 90 meters. Photo is looking straight down from the top of the staircase. | |||
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| Various Sculptures: The are many different chambers throughout the mine, each containing various salt sculptures. These are some of the statues. It is very dark and without professional lightening, it is hard to capture quality photos of the sculptures. | |||
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Kopernika: The Nicholas Copernicus
Chamber was named after Nicholas Copernicus, the great Polish astronomer,
who most probably visited the mine in 1493, when he was a student at the
Krakow Academy, now the Jagiellonian University.
In the central part of the chamber is a monument to the astronomer, erected to mark five hundred years from his birth. It was carved in a block of green salt by Wladyslaw Hapek in 1973. |
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| Salt: This is one of the chambers showing pure salt on the ceiling. The chandler is made from pure clear salt crystals. | |||
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| Holy Cross Chapel: A crucifix located in one of the chambers. | |||
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| Joseph Pilukski Chamber: At one time, tourists were able to take boat rides in this area. | |||
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| Various Mine Tunnels | |||
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| St. Kingas Chapel: This is the most impressive and opulent underground temple. It was laid out in 1896, in a space created after the excavation of a huge green salt block. It is over 54 meters long, 15-18 meters wide and 10-12 meters high. The sculptures, steps and even the floor are made entirely of salt. | |||
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| Witold Budryk Chambers: This is the large reception room located 123 meters below the surface. There is a restaurant where you can purchase food before your journey up in the elevator. | |||
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