Salt mine in Wieliczka

Salt Mine in Wieliczka

Wieliczka are several deep 700-year-old mines about 15 km south of Krakow, where you can make an unusual journey underground. The mines are up to 327 meters deep and have up to nine underground levels. Visitors descend 378 steps to the first level at a depth of 64 meters and walk 3 km through tunnels through 20 chambers and chapels carved by miners in the salt strata. The Chapel of St. Anthony dates back to 1698. The largest and most impressive is the Chapel of St. Kinga. Everything in it is carved out of salt.

General information

The lamps, altar and the remarkable bas-relief (with stunning perspective) of “The Last Supper” were created over 70 years, starting in the 19th century by just three miners, who were no doubt talented sculptors with a passion for their work (like all chambers and chapels, this spacious hall was carved in “spare time”). Sometimes marriage ceremonies are performed in St. Kinga’s Chapel, and Mass is served three times a year. During a tour of other chambers, statues carved out of green salt can be seen, including Copernicus and even, oddly enough, the seven dwarfs.

The mines, protected by UNESCO and included in the list of World Heritage of Humanity, belonged to the Polish royal family until the partition of Poland in 1772 (revenues from salt, which was called “gray gold”, reached a third of all royal revenues), and then passed to Austria. Salt mining continued here until 1996, and nowadays the mines are visited only by sightseers and those suffering from lung diseases, such as asthma, who are treated in a sanatorium located underground at a depth of 200 meters.

During World War II, the Nazis used the highest (36 m from floor to ceiling) chamber as a secret workshop for the production of airplane parts, where Jewish prisoners worked. A few years ago, two adventurers made a jump with an elastic rope in this cell, and others made the world’s first underground balloon flight, both of which made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. In July and August, a mining orchestra plays in one of the chambers with an underground lake, maintaining a 170-year tradition and entertaining visitors.

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At the end of the two-hour tour of the mine, you can visit the museum, where mining equipment and geological specimens are on display (admission by separate ticket), or go up to the surface in a wooden elevator.

Mine tours are guided tours only. Individual tourists can join a tour in Polish or English (if there is no tour in English, you can pay for an English-speaking guide and follow the Polish group). Getting to Wieliczka is most convenient and cheapest by bus Krakow – Wieliczka, which leaves from Krakow bus station. In summer, when the mine is crowded with tourists, it is advisable to book a guide in advance.

ul. Danilowicza 10, Wieliczka;open: daily 07.30-19.30 from April to October, 08.00-17.00 from November to March;admission for adults/discount 64/49zt;www.kopalnia.plwww.muzeum.wieliczka.pl