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Wieliczka Salt Mine near the major city of Krakow, Poland
The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Wieliczka, Poland, which is near the major city of Krakow, Poland. It is an easy to do side trip from Krakow via car and train. The mine is an interesting historical site and a good fit for tourists of different nationalities, as it offers tours in not just Polish but also English, German, French, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine was mined for table salt from the 13th century through the 1990s. As the miners took out the salt they made many salt carvings that they left in the mine. It is these carvings that serve as the main attraction of the mine. The types of carvings vary from room to room and help illustrate the guide’s stories about the mine and the history of Poland in general.
One of the most famous people that there is a statue in memory of on the tour is Mikolaj Kopernik. Mikolaj Kopernik is better known to the world by his Latin name Nicholas Copernicus. He was a Polish astronomer famous for his ideas about the sun being the center of the universe instead of the earth. It is believed he visited the mine in 1493 while studying at the nearby Krakow Academy. The salt carving monument to him is one of the more recent additions to the mine having been carved in 1973 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of his birth.
In the mine there are several different chapels, where the miners held daily mass to pray for their continued safety on their dangerous job. The oldest preserved chapel is St. Anthony’s chapel, which was carved out between 1690 and 1710. The salt carvings in this chapel include St. Anthony, Madonna and Child, and St. Stanislaus of Szczepanow. Other chapels on the tour include The Holy Cross Chapel, St. Kinga’s Chapel, and St. John Chapel.
The Janowice Chamber is one of the most interesting stops on the tour. For one it has some nicely preserved salt carvings. Secondly it represents the legend about the discovery of rock salt in Poland, which makes for an interesting story for the guide to retell to you as you are in this room.
Another interesting stop on the tour is the Witold Budryk Chamber, where you can stop for a rest and have some food at the underground restaurant. Also of note is the impressive underground ballroom called the Warsaw Chamber, which was carved out in the early 1800s.
Visiting the amazing monumental rooms along the guided tour route is something everyone can enjoy. It is even quite accessible for those with physical disabilities including those in wheelchairs, however, you do need to make sure you contact them ahead of time to get a tour reservation and inform them of your disability. For others it is a good idea to make reservations ahead of time, especially in the summer months when it is the mine’s peak tourist season.
Flights from Gatwick to Krakow are available from Cheapflights.co.uk starting at £102 with British Airways.
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