The Wieliczka Salt Mine, together with the mine in Bochnia, are among the oldest rock salt mines in the world. They are the longest operating industrial plants and are still in operation today. In 1976, the mine was entered into the national register of monuments. Two years later, UNESCO listed it on the first World Heritage List. The Underground Tourist Route of the Wieliczka mine was established at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It consists of 20 chambers, located at depths of 64 to 135 meters (levels I - III), and there are about 800 steps to be climbed on the route.
An interesting fact is that the oldest part of the mine located today is the Goryszowki shaft, dating back to the second half of the 13th century. It has been in continuous use since the Middle Ages . Besides the Shaft, there are many other interesting places along the route. You will get to know the most important of them by looking below.
CHAPEL OF ST. ANTHONY
The oldest of the preserved underground chapels was consecrated in 1698. It was made in the baroque style, consisting of a chancel, nave and vestibule containing, due to the scarcity of space, a pulpit.
JANOWICE CHAMBER
There you will find a group of figures carved out of salt, illustrating the legend of Saint Kinga's ring found in the first lump of salt.
COMBUSTION CHAMBER
The chamber shows the dangerous work of methane burning .
SAND CHAMBER ROCK
This chamber was established around 1669. It connects level I with the higher II named after the Markowski Brothers, located 90 meters underground. Another device used for vertical transport - a manual cross - is exhibited in the chamber. Fragments of old stairs carved in the salt rock, used by porters known as carriers (interestingly, their work is depicted in one of the caverns), have been preserved. In another part of the chamber, there are three dwarfs made at the beginning of the 20th century by miner-sculptor Józef Markowski. The chamber's stairs lead to the Kunegunda crosscut, where gutters used for dewatering the mine have been preserved.
KUNEGUNDA SHAFT BOTTOM
This, in turn, is a place that connects the chamber of Kazimierz Wielki with the higher, second level. It is possible to observe numerous forms of secondary salt crystallization here: stalactites and stalagmites. There are also numerous figurines of dwarfs in the poses of former miners, for example carriers or carters.
BOCHNIA
Speaking of Wieliczka, it is impossible not to mention Bochnia, where there is also a historic Salt Mine. This is the oldest mine in Poland, where the extraction of rock salt began. It resembles an extraordinary underground city, with impressive unique pits, chapels carved in salt rocks, and original sculptures and devices used centuries ago. The mine can be visited on foot and by boat. It contains unique chambers with a characteristic shape and geological layout, raw chapels, as well as mining tools that were used centuries ago.
