Poland's Official Travel Website

Already during the 2nd UNESCO Conference on the List of World Heritage the Polish “Wieliczka” Salt Mine was entered into UNESCO's First World List of Cultural and Natural Heritage. Together with the neighboring Bochnia it is one of the oldest salt mines in the world. These are also one of the oldest running companies in the world.

Since a very long time ago, thanks to the process of evaporation, salt was obtained from naturally occurring brine springs. At some point the springs dried out and that was when “the Borlach rule” came into effect. Formulated by the advisor on mining issues of the Elector of Saxony, engineer Johannes Borlach, the rule stated:

„Where brine springs lay, one can expect salt layers, which are the cause of the saltiness of the springs. Water flew through these layers and absorbed the salt before springing out to the earth’s surface.”

Hungarian coal miners brought to Poland in 1251 by the Hungarian Princess and Queen of Poland Kinga of the Arpads reached the first halite layers underground.

Let us take a walk through some of the 20 large chambers of the three-kilometer-long sightseeing route. The chambers accessible to visitors include a 3.5-kilometers section located from 64 to 135 meters below ground level and the last reaches out to the depth of 327 meters. The mine can be entered through the Daniłowicz Shaft, from the large Daniłowicz Street of course. The oldest localized part of the mine is the Goryszowski Shaft from the second half of the 13th century. Is has been running continuously since the Middle Ages and is still used today.

When the route starts the visitors are stunned by St. Antoine’s Chapel. The first mass was read here in 1698. In the Janowice Chamber a group of figures sculpted in salt illustrate the legend of the Ring of St. Kinga of Poland which was found in the first lump of salt. In the Burned Chamber (Komora Spalona), dangerous work involving methane burning is depicted. An interesting chamber is the towering Pieskowa Skała Chamber, forged around 1669. It combines level I - at 64 meters - with level II – at 90 meters. The remainings of old stairs used by the porters can still be seen here. The largest underground church is the Chapel of St. Kinga of Poland situated 101 meters below ground level. Its dimensions are: length around 54 m, width around 18 m and height around 12 m. The relics of Queen Kinga are found here. Apart from religious celebrations, classical music concerts are organised in this chamber as well.