It remembers the times of princess and kings. It amazed Copernicus, Goethe, Chopin, and today attracts over 1,000,000 visitors from around the world. The "Wieliczka" Salt Mine, a historic monument entered on the UNESCO list, a tourist attraction, a health resort, a sanctuary,a venue for cultural and sports events.
In the whole of Europe and maybe in the whole world it is the first, both in respect of vastness and most certainly because the salt from its depths is pure and of great quality as well as due to the magnificent underground works – wrote Ambrozy Grabowski about the Wieliczka mine (19th c.). He was not the only one to be amazed; what tourists liked over a century ago continues to lure with its beauty making the "Wieliczka" Salt Mine a site which one just has to visit.
And no doubt at all – there are many things to admire. Corridors and chambers cut out in rock salt create not only the underground Tourist Route but they also compose the history of salt mining beginning from the Middle Ages till contemporary times. Traces of work performed hundreds of years ago, picturesque saline lakes, chapels chiselled out in wood and salt, saline figures and statues, shining crystal chandeliers create a unique and mysterious world. Moreover, the "Wieliczka" Salt Mine can not only be seen but also experienced – the Miners' Route allows tourists to find out for themselves what a salt miner did on the job.
Multimedia exposition and 5D cinema, a playground for kids, a restaurants, underground hotel, souvenir shops, accommodations in saline chambers, topic visits, concerts, exhibitions, stays in the health resort at the depth of 135 meters... Although the mine has celebrated its 700th birthday it continues to thrive and still has many new things to offer – for instance, a brine graduation tower has just been opened on the surface. Saline aerosol inhalations have a beneficial influence on both those who suffer from various kinds of upper respiratory system ailments as well as those who are as healthy as a horse, those who just want to take a rest, a walk or breathe in clean air.
The Wieliczka mine astounds, inspires and tempts. It's a must! See it once, and again, and then again... as most certainly it is worthwhile to return over and over again to the "Wieliczka" Salt Mine.
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