Poland: Wieliczka Salt Mine (Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka)
japra | Nov 18, 2008 | Comments 24
We were lucky with the weather during our time in Poland. It only rained once! And happily for us, it was the day we decided to visit the salt mines. What better place to spend a cold, drippy day?
“The Salt Mine Wieliczka is the oldest salt enterprise on Polish land dating back to the Middle Ages. For centuries it was the source of the country’s wealth and the material foundation of its culture. Today it is the most popular Polish tourist attraction.
Several hundreds of years of rock salt exploitation have shaped the spatial arrangement of its excavated structure. Lying on nine levels, concealed under the town, the mine reaches down to the depth of 327 metres (about 1,072 feet). Subterranean Wieliczka consists of nearly 300 kilometres (about 186 miles) of corridors and almost 3,000 chambers. The tourist route accessible to visitors includes a 3.5-kilometres section (about 2.1 miles) located from 64 to 135 metres (210-443 feet) below ground level.” –From the Wieliczka website.
From ground level, we descended 400 wooden steps. I was so relieved to find out they weren’t 400 “rickety” steps. They were actually quite sturdy. Just don’t look between the rails, unless you like that sort of thing (heights!).
And actually, there are quite a few places where we had to walk down.
And many hallways
in which it is best
We saw some really cool salt sculptures such as these in the Janowice Chamber, about 210 feet below the surface. This scene depicts the legend of the discovery of rock salt in Poland.
The Chapel of St. Kinga is located more than 300 feet below the surface. This chamber was created in the late 1800s when a huge block of green salt was mined. It is about 177 feet long by nearly 60 feet wide and almost 40 feet tall. Roxi really wanted to try the acoustics. Guess she should learn a couple of arias, just in case.
It took nearly 30 years for the artists to complete this chapel.
The salt crystal chandeliers were amazing!
Even the floor “tiles” were carved into the salt.
This is the Drozdowice Chamber. Like the chapel, it was created when a nearly vertical block of green salt was excavated in the late 17th century. Now the chamber is used for exhibitions, concerts, and events.
And so we have reached the interesting end of our 1.5 mile tour.
Filed Under: Blog • Destinations • Featured • Poland
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
Wow! I believe I was most impressed by salt crystal chandeliers! Amazing! Was it cold that far underground?
ty for sharing these.
Wow – I can’t beleive all of that is made out of salt! I loved the ‘floor tiles’ the most. I might get a little claustrophobic down there actually… but I would definitely give it a try.
Kathy–It was warmer down there than outside. I took my coat off after a while, since I warmed up during the hike.
BSR–You are welcome :-)
Emm–The key to not feeling claustrophobic is trying not to think about where you are. I know that kind of goes against the “be present” rule, but sometimes a girl has to do what girl has to do!
Fantastic. Thanks for tour and great photos.
There were a lot of Polish Airmen stationed near us during the war. They were all charming and well mannered and swept many local girls off their feet! Some married and settled here. They were lovely guys and proud of their heritage and their famliy names. We had a Kozikewitz, a Tlazchic and an Oleinic appearing in school many years on.
That’s so cool! I saw a program on tv about this mine and they showed an orchestra play down there. What a cool, crazy place! Thanks for showing us.
Thanks for the tour of the beautiful salt mine, so impressive.
I keep thinking of salt like the table salt we have, it’s hard rock that you can make things out of!
You got some great shots in the Salt Mine, much better than ours. That lift was a bit of a whoosh wasn’t it? LOL
Barbara–So glad you liked it! And thanks for sharing your tale of the Polish airmen :-)
Alyson–I bet the music sounded beautiful in that chamber.
Christine–What I couldn’t get over was that the salt was “green” (really more grey), because, well, I always think of salt as white. I read somewhere that rock salt (down in the mines) was formed by ancient lakes. Makes you wonder how old those lakes were! By the way, the guide invited us to have a lick of the walls. Um, no thank you!
Akelamalu–I have to say that I was in the second batch of folks to go up the elevator. As we waited for the first bunch to go up, I heard someone scream! That did NOT make me happy. However, I was pleased that the ride up was uneventful and over quickly ;-) And Happy Birthday to you, by the by!!
Amazing, as usual. Caves and things like that make me nervous, but I’d rather go down than up! Heights scare the h*ll out of me.
That was a brave little ”elevator” ride away! yikes! Mimsy
No no no–would not have been able to get in that little elevator in a million years so thanks for the pictures because I don’t think I’ll have the guts to get on down myself!
Laurie–I tried not to think about any of that!
Mimsy–I held my breath!
Audrey–It wasn’t so bad. There were some ladies from Spain in the elevator with me and I just tried to concentrate on trying to understand what they were saying. That being said, I cannot remember what they were talking about! Probably because I was also holding my breath and counting “1-Mississippi, 2-Mississippi, 3-Mississippi…”
WOW! Thanks so much for the pictures, not sure I could do the tour either. The rooms are amazing.
Did air feel and smell like salt?
Susan–Good question! No, the air didn’t seem very different. I guess they must have pretty good circulation down there. I did notice that my lips were awfully salty after our tour–like I had been eating a LOT of pretzels.
What a wonderful post! I feel like I’ve been down there now. You know, I think I would have licked the walls. Just to prove to myself that it really is all made out of salt!
Lucylucia–You don’t know how tempted I was!! ;-)
wow, i think this is one of the most impressive things i’ve ever seen! those carvings… and the chandeliers… i had no idea that this existed. thank you so much for the tour!
Lynne h–It was a bit surreal to be down there. It made me wonder when the miners found time to do all that sculpting! Thanks for stopping by and commenting :-)
Wow! Who knew that you could carve a chandelier out of rock salt? Or a pope? This was truly educational, in the best way.
Bee–I wanted one of those chandeliers. They were so cool!
WOW – fascinating!!! I’m going to send this to my husband to look at!!!
Joni–It was really amazing! The photos don’t really do it justice.
What great pictures!