You would not believe how hard it is to describe a mine. For years, I have been asked why someone should visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine and have not had the words to describe the wonder that I experience to this day when wandering its halls.
Diving underground to a depth of 327 meters, with chambers covering around 180 miles, “Full of light and splendor,” “shining lamps of crystal,” and underground lakes, quoting JRR Tolkien’s of the realm of dwarfs seemed the only way to describe this beauty below ground.
The mines have been in operation continuously since the 13th century until 1996, producing rock salt and salt from brine. The trade in salt brought great wealth to the Kings of Poland and financed the development of Krakow in particular.
A mix of fact and fiction
The traditional tale tells of Kinga, and her preparations for her marriage to Bolesław V. Klinga, Knowing how salt was valuable in the Poland, asked her father for a lump of salt as part of her dowry. Her father took her to one of his salt mines in Hungary where she proceeded to throw her engagement ring into the shaft.
When she arrived in Poland, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit and they found the ring in a lump of salt. The ring had traveled through the salt from Hungary. This miracle led to Kinga becoming the patron of miners in the region and later the patron saint of miners.
In fact, in 1239, Kinga, the then 15-year-old daughter of Béla IV of Hungary, married Bolesław V, the Chaste. When she came to Krakow, in her entourage were Hungarian miners. It is during this period that recent research suggests that western mining techniques were introduced to the area around Bochnia and Wieliczka.
History of The Mine
Although neolithic man first used the briny water coming to the surface in the area to produce salt, it is since the early 13th century that, salty water or brine found at the surface was processed for salt on an industrial scale. It did not take long until wells and the first shafts were dug to allow more salt to be found.
The Wieliczka salt mines were established by royal decree and the growing supply of labor and salt to pay for it meant that by the end of the 13th Century, the Saltworks Castle was built. The Żupy krakowskie – Krakow Salt Mine Company was responsible for the management of salt in the royal mines of Wieliczka and the nearby Bochnia Salt Mine.
Casimir the III is said to have found a Poland made of wood and left a Poland made of stone. A large part of this development was underpinned with income from the mining operations of the royal mines. It is estimated that the mines contributed around a third of the royal income. The growing flow of cash from the mining operations allowed Casimir to build his new Poland.
It was under King Casimir III that the development of the mine started in earnest. He passed laws to support the mine and the miners and granted them special privileges. It was Casimir that set up a hospital for their care, although from around 1290, saline baths were already in operation where barbers offered basic medical treatments.
The mines have produced salt continuously ever since, but as early as 1500, the mines started to attract interest from visitors. One of the earliest being Nicolas Copernicus, who visited the mines circa 1493. Since then, a steady flow of tourists, with special permission of the king, visited the mine.
During the historic partition of Poland, from 1772 to 1918, the mine became a focus of the Polish independence movement. For many Poles of the time, it was an act of patriotism to visit the mines.
In 1964, mining of rock salt in Wieliczka was stopped in favor of a wet process that was better for large scale production. Through the following years, both salt production and tourism grew quickly. In 1978, the mine was put on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List and 1994, saw the mine declared a national Historic Monument by the President of Poland. Industrial production of salt was halted in 1996.
Salt Carving
There is no record who was first to carve the salt. Throughout the history of Wieliczka, miners have carved figures from this difficult and brittle material. Often these carvings had religious connections, a testament to the faith of the miners. It was common practice for miners to pray before starting work, and the most likely explanation is that, miners wanted to beautify the places they prayed.
When the royal commissions banned the use of wood in the mine due to frequent fires. Miners could no longer build their chapels from wood. This is thought to be the reason miners started to carve whole chapels from the salt. In the 17th century, St Anthony’s chapel was carved out of the salt. The unknown artist included passion scenes, statues of saints and royal imagery.
St Kinga’s Chapel
One of the most striking chapel is St Kinga’s Chapel. This underground church is the work of three men. The brothers Józef and Tomasz Markowski, and their friend Antoni Wyrodek. At the end of the 19th century, these self-taught artists created a work of art illuminated with salt chandeliers. Of note, are the Last Supper in salt and countless other scenes from the Bible.
The Mine stopped producing salt in 1996. Wieliczka still does produce a small amount of salt but the that is a byproduct of maintaining the Mine. Included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1978, today the Mine is a major tourist attraction. Presently, the miners help to preserve this unique monument of Polish history and culture.
Visiting the Mine
The Mine today, houses a health spa, including accommodation to overnight in the salt air environment. You can get married in the church and celebrate your wedding in the underground facilities. In addition, special pilgrimage tours of the chapels can be arranged. Or you can take part in a mining ‘expedition,’ using a lamp to explore this underground world.
Just like Copernicus in his day, the largest part of visitors come to see the tourist route. During the tour you visit around 3.5 km or around 2.2 miles of passages. In the process you descend 135 meters (450 feet) into the oldest three levels of the nine-level Mine.
While seeing the most famous chambers and chapels of the Mine, you learn about the history of the mine and the historic techniques used to excavate the salt from the depths.
My Tips
Going underground holds its own unique challenges. When you visit the Mine, there are a few things to keep in mind.
The temperature underground is around 17 Celsius, or 63 Fahrenheit which, while comfortable for an Irishman like me, may be a bit cool for some visitors.
There are many steps. Depending on how your tour is organized, there can be over 800 steps during your visit. This can be roughly halved through the use of the mine elevator system.
If you suffer from severe claustrophobia, have a chat with your tour director about the options available.
Pictures are permitted to be taken in the Mine but do be aware that It is very difficult to take pictures underground due to the difficult lighting conditions.
For more information see: https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/
Before you let this put you off, several years ago I had the pleasure of bringing the oldest visitor in the history of Wieliczka Mines for a tour. Frank Albert was 99 years old and enjoyed every minute! After our visit, the mine kindly sent Frank a certificate to commemorate the event.
Mary Jo Leamer says
Amazing experience !! Highly recommend. Loved it and the great tour guide!! Thanks pieter!!
Mae Mulheran says
Great article, Pieter. I doubt I’ll be able to go to some of the places you have blogged about and this is a good replacement.
Pieter Reynolds says
glad you like it!