The Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland,
lies within the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine, built in the 13th
century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the
world's oldest salt mines still in operation. Throughout its existence, the
Royal mine was run by the Żupy krakowskie Salt Mines. Commercial mining
was discontinued in 1996 due to low salt prices and mine flooding.
The mine's attractions include dozens of statues and four chapels that have been
carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The oldest sculptures are
augmented by the new carvings by contemporary artists. About 1.2 million
people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually.
The mine is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments, as
designated in the first round, September 16, 1994. Its listing is maintained by
the National Heritage Board of Poland. History
The Wieliczka salt mine reaches a depth of 327 metres and is over 287 kilometres
long. The rock salt is naturally grey in various shades, resembling unpolished
granite rather than the white or crystalline look that many visitors may
expect. During World War II, the shafts were used by the occupying Germans as an
ad-hoc facility for various war-related industries. The mine features an
underground lake; and the new exhibits on the history of salt mining, as well
as a 3.5 kilometres touring route that includes historic statues and mythical
figures carved out of rock salt in distant past. More recent sculptures
have been fashioned by contemporary artists.
The Wieliczka mine is often referred to as "the Underground Salt Cathedral of
Poland." In 1978 it was placed on the original UNESCO list of the World
Heritage Sites. Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt that
has been dissolved and reconstituted to achieve a clear, glass-like appearance.
It also houses a private rehabilitation and wellness complex.
There is a legend about Princess Kinga, associated with the Wieliczka mine. The
Hungarian noblewoman was about to be married to Bolesław V the Chaste, the
Prince of Kraków. As part of her dowry, she asked her father for a lump of salt,
since salt was prizeworthy in Poland. Her father King Béla took her to a salt
mine in Máramaros. She threw her engagement ring from Bolesław in one of
the shafts before leaving for Poland. On 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.
In 2010 it was successfully proposed that the nearby historic Bochnia Salt
Mine be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. The two sister
salt mines now appear together in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites as
the "Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines". In 2013 the UNESCO World
Heritage Site was expanded by the addition of the Żupny Castle.
Tourism Notable visitors to this site have
included Nicolaus Copernicus, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von
Humboldt, Fryderyk Chopin, Dmitri Mendeleyev, Bolesław Prus, Ignacy
Paderewski, Robert Baden-Powell, Jacob Bronowski, the von Unrug family, Karol
Wojtyła, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and many others.
There is a chapel, and a reception room that is used for private functions,
including weddings. A chamber has walls carved by miners to resemble wood, as in
wooden churches built in early centuries.
A wooden staircase with 378 steps provides access to the mine's 64-metre
level. A 3-kilometre tour features corridors, chapels, statues, and
underground lake, 135 metres underground. An elevator returns
visitors to the surface; the elevator holds 36 persons and takes some 30
seconds to make the trip. In literature
The Wieliczka Salt Mine helped inspire the Labyrinth scenes in Bolesław Prus'
1895 historical novel, Pharaoh. Prus described his 1878 visit to the
salt mine in a remarkable series of three articles, "Kartki z podróży"
["Travel Notes"], in Kurier Warszawski, 1878, nos. 36–38.
The great Prus scholar Zygmunt Szweykowski writes: "The power of the
Labyrinth scenes stems, among other things, from the fact that they echo
Prus' own experiences when visiting Wieliczka."
Prus combined his powerful experiences of Wieliczka with the description of the
ancient Egyptian Labyrinth, in Book II of Herodotus' Histories, to produce the
remarkable scenes found in chapters 56 and 63 of his novel, Pharaoh.
In media In 1995, Preisner's Music, a compilation
of film music by Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner, was recorded by
Sinfonia Varsovia in the Wieliczka mine's chapel. The chapel is often said
to have the best acoustics in Europe. Virtual tour
Sister caves Frasassi Caves
See also Pharaoh: the Wieliczka Salt Mine
inspired scenes in the historical novel by Bolesław Prus
Bochnia Salt Mine, in southern Poland, Central Europe
Chełm Chalk Tunnels, in Poland, Central Europe
Kłodawa Salt Mine, in central Poland, Central Europe
Frasassi Caves, in Ancona, Italy, Southern Europe
Grand Roc, in Savoie, France, Southern Europe
Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá, in Zipaquirá, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South
America Kartchner Caverns State Park, in
Arizona, United States Notes
References Jerzy Grzesiowski, Wieliczka: kopalnia,
muzeum, zamek, 2nd ed., updated and augmented, Warsaw, Sport i Turystyka,
1987, ISBN 83-217-2637-2. Christopher Kasparek, "Prus' Pharaoh and
the Wieliczka Salt Mine," The Polish Review, 1997, no. 3, pp. 349–55.
Christopher Kasparek, "Prus' Pharaoh: the Creation of a Historical Novel", The
Polish Review, vol. XXXIX, no. 1, 1994, pp. 45–50.
Bolesław Prus, Wczoraj–dziś–jutro: wybór felietonów, Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut
Wydawniczy, 1973, pp. 34–49. Zygmunt Szweykowski, Twórczość Bolesława
Prusa, second edition, Warsaw, Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1972.
External links Wieliczka The salt of the Earth/
Wieliczka salt mine Video tour of mine
Cracow Salt-Works Museum in Wieliczka Wieliczka Salt Mine near Kraków in
Poland Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour
Air Pollution Intrusion into the Wieliczka Salt Mine
"A Piece of Salt that Weighs 200 Tons" fallen from Wieliczka chamber roof in
1916; Popular Science monthly, Feb 1916, page 179. Scanned by Google Books.