Wieliczka Salt Mine (Polish: Kopalnia soli Wieliczka) had been one of my "must-visit" destinations until this summer in 2017, although it's not so far from where I currently live (Olomouc, Czech Republic). It is located in Wieliczka within the Kraków metropolitan area.
The salt mine, run by the Żupy krakowskie Salt Mines company, was one of the oldest mines that history dated back to the 13th century and kept producing table salt until 2007. Commercial mining was discontinued in 1996, because of salt prices going down and also mine flooding. The mine is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomniki historii), as designated in the first round, on 16 September 1994. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually!!!
In Krakow, millions of tourist offices offer guide tours. The guide tour price varies according to the service - the more expensive tour tends to include a pick-up service in front of your hotel - No need to take public transportation, and no need to buy a tour guide when you get there.
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Chapel of Saint Kinga
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Joining a guided tour means you are obliged to follow your guide as a group of around 30 visitors. You are not allowed to be alone there. In another word, being alone in the mine means you are likely to get lost in humongous underground salt world!
After setting up the radio headphone, the following action visitors make in the tour is to come down the everlasting stairs to a depth of 64 meters. By following a guide's voice through the radio-headphone over walking almost 3 km (which is still less than 2% of the length of the mine's passages!!!) of meandering corridors, you encounter stunning beauty of chapels, statues, and reception room that are all made of salt, as well as underground lake located at 135 meters in depth.
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Underground lake in Wiemar Chamber
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If you haven't been to, I strongly recommend visiting there to indulge yourself in the crystal beauty of past industrial technologies and the faith among hardworking miners.
From time to time during the tour, you encounter well-carved statues. The bust of Casimir III the Great (1310-1370) can be found in a more than 100-meter underground corridor. Of course, he is made of salt rock carved by miners. He is called "the Great" because he was deemed a peaceful ruler, a “peasant king,” and a skilled diplomat. He reformed the Polish army and doubled the size of the kingdom. He reformed the judicial system and introduced a legal code, gaining the title "the Polish Justinian". He was the founder of the University of Kraków, the oldest Polish university. He also confirmed privileges and protections previously granted to Jews and encouraged them to settle in Poland in great numbers.
He is portrayed in 50 Złoty.
The Chapel of St. John, a symbol of Wieliczka miners' faith and worship, is considered to be the most beautiful chapel with wooden furnishings. It is located 135 meters underground with a floor area of 153 square meters. It appears at the very end of the tour. Make sure your camera battery is still alive and still enough space in the memory card...
There is no doubt that the Chapel of St. Kinga, located 101 meters underground with 31 x 15 m dimensions/ 465 square meters, is the biggest highlight of the tour. When you search for images of Wieliczka Salt Mine, you are very likely to find images of this chapel. Due to the tour, I could only stay around 12 min.... Way too short!
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All made of salt!!!
There is a legend about Saint Kinga of Poland (1224-1292). Well, she was a Hungarian princess born in Esztergom in the Kingdom of Hungary. When She was betrothed to Bolesław V the Chaste, the Prince of Kraków in the 1200s, she persuaded her father, Béla IV of Hungary, for a lump of salt because Krakow had lots of gold but hardly any salts then. Before Kinga headed for Kraków, her father King Béla took her to a salt mine in Máramaros county in Hungary where she threw her engagement ring given by her fiancé, Bolesław, in one of the shafts. Upon arriving in Kraków, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit until they come upon a rock. The people found a lump of salt in there and when they split it in two, discovered the princess's ring. Kinga had thus become the patron saint of salt miners in and around the Polish capital. Her discovery of a salt mine had brought Kraków 700 years of wealth through salt export.
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| Michalowice Chamber |
Michalowice Chamber is another breathtaking timber-made structure built by mimers you encounter. jaw-dropping view!!!
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| Souvenir shop |
I am not sure if the "embedded" souvenir shop was also made by miners... but so cool!
In 1978 it was placed on the first UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
