Experience centuries of mining history in Wieliczka salt mines

By Philipp Laage Sep 27, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Krakow, Poland - Salt was mined at Wieliczka from the 13th until the end of the 20th century and is easily reached from the city of Krakow in southern Poland.

Rock salt is no longer extracted in one of Europe's oldest salt mines, which has developed into a huge tourist attraction, drawing around one million visitors a year to its hundreds of kilometres of labyrinthine underground tunnels spread over nine levels.

The mine is home to a large collection of original tools and mining equipment, which have been perfectly preserved and outline the development of mining technology from the Middle Ages to the present day.

There are also altars and statues sculpted in the salt, which appear almost transparent in the dusky light.

'I believed we would be preserved here if we stayed for longer than two hours,' says 53-year-old Stanislav Dzidek, who leads daily tours through the mines 15 km from Krakow.

Mining began in Wieliczka in 1275 and was open to view as early as 1718. Famous visitors to the mine included French novelist Honore de Balzac, Polish composer Frederic Chopin and German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was fascinated by mineralogy.

Up to 6,000 visitors a day tour the mine, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

The tour starts with a 64-metre-long descent down stairs until the ground finally levels off. 'The worst is now over,' Dzidek reassures the group.

The salt rocks embedded in the mine shaft walls resemble raisins in a cake. 'Miners used to put it in their soup without any preparation,' explains Dzidek.

Mining history can be sensed everywhere during the visit through the tunnels hewn out by hand from solid salt, with the highlights including beautifully adorned chapels and underground lakes.

Dzidek brings the group to the Chapel of the Blessed King, a huge cavern situated 101 m underground that is capable of holding between 300 and 500 people and where the altar and life-size statues have been meticulously carved out of salt.

The statues were created to protect the miners from danger, including flooding, although this last occurred in 1982.

'Don't worry, we won't drown down here,' Dzidek reassures his listeners, although the sense of relief is palpable as the group finally begins making its way back to the surface.

The complex also houses an underground museum and has a number of special-purpose chambers such as a sanatorium for people suffering from respiratory ailments.