The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a world famous field that has been developed from the Middle Ages to the last century. But it’s not only the history of salt extraction that is interesting for travelers, and not only for this, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Two hundred kilometers of corridors and galleries, salt sculptures and overnight complexes, huge halls for concerts and various events, chapels for pilgrimage, seven underground levels - all these unusual and mysterious caves, once created by people for industrial purposes, attract millions of tourists here.
They go to Wieliczka not only for educational excursions, but also to be treated, have fun and even celebrate birthdays or celebrate corporate parties. Let us and you go through these mines and examine its basic beauty.
Wieliczka Salt Mine: A History
It all started a very long time ago. The fact that there are huge reserves of salt near Krakow was known in the Early Middle Ages. Polish King Casimir the First issued a special license to the miners in this mine in the 11th century. Since then, the mines began to belong to the dynasties reigning in the country. Salt was extracted manually, and they lifted it up with the help of shafts, and then the gate. Over the centuries, more and more new galleries have been cut and mines deepened.
In 1772, after the partition of Poland, this territory went to the Austrians. They mechanized the whole process, built a salt mill, and lifting was carried out using steam engines. When the Germans occupied Poland during World War II, they tried to create a secret underground city here. In the mid-twentieth century, the mine was no longer exploited in a technical sense, because it had grown so much that it was difficult to ensure production safety. And since people have been there for centuries for tourism, it was decided that the Wieliczka Salt Mine would become a museum.
How to get there
A lot of tourists come here. We can say that the low season simply does not happen here. Therefore, many travelers visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine as part of organized tours. But this attraction is easy to visit on your own. You can get from Krakow by train. You will need to get to the station Wieliczka. “Solyana mine” - as they say here in Polish - is not far away.
But it will be even closer by bus. Not far from the main railway station of the city is a large shopping center. It is called the Gallery of Krakow. It is even connected to the station by an underpass. Bus 304 stops there. They can take you directly to the salt mines. And if you are by car, then from Krakow you need to head along the E-10 highway. From the city center to the mine about ten kilometers. You can also get here by taxi. The address of the Wieliczka Salt Mine is very simple: Danilovich Street, 10. But almost all taxi drivers will bring you here “blindly”.
Mode of operation
A salt mine was opened in Wieliczka from 7.30 a.m. to half-past seven in the evening from April to October, and from 8.00 to 17.00 from November to March. January 1 is a day off. And on New Year's Day, December 31, the mine works only until noon. In addition, you will have to wait for the group to gather. It is forbidden to visit the mine yourself. Tours are conducted in different languages. With a Russian-speaking guide you can visit the mine three times a day. It is at about 11 in the morning, at two and four in the afternoon. So if you do not speak Polish or English, it is best to arrive at the mines precisely at the time indicated above.
First tourists
Privileged travelers have visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine since the fifteenth century with the permission of the Polish king. The French aristocrats, who happened to be there at that time, claimed that the tunnels of the mines were huge and ramified, like city streets. From the 18th century steps were built along the shafts of the mine, and soon the flow of tourists became regular.
In the XIX century, these mines became a famous tourist attraction in Europe. This object was especially propagandized by the Austrians. It even came to curiosities: geographic guides described the salt mine in Wieliczka. And Krakow was mentioned only as a city nearby. After World War II, mines began to be visited by several hundred thousand people annually, and in the end this led to the fact that the humidity increased and the mines were at risk. But the work carried out in recent years to preserve the environment has eliminated this danger.
Tourist routes
The salt mines in Wieliczka (Poland) are very branched. This allowed to lay many tourist routes there. Almost all of them begin in the so-called Danilovich trunk and pass through twenty galleries, underground chambers and chapels. The descent into the mine is carried out along a pit dug in the 16th century. He was named for the then manager. They lower the tourists there by elevator or stairs. Barrel depth - 62 meters. On this route, travelers can visit only three levels of the mine. The walls are lined with logs that are saturated with salt. This is a route through an underground museum.
In different sizes, the catacombs show on mock-ups how salt was mined at different times. There are wax figures of miners, which are set in motion using special mechanisms. On the track are cameras dedicated to various historical figures. Their salt sculptures are presented there. The most famous is the camera of Nicholas Copernicus, who is rumored to have been in Wieliczka, and King Casimir the Great.
There is also a chapel where the miners went to pray - St. Anthony, St. Kinga ... Some of them are huge and decorated with giant salt-made chandeliers resembling crystal ones. Among the sculptures there is even a copy of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. They show tourists a huge lake and halls where various events are held.
Mining track and "Secrets of Wieliczka"
Tourists who buy a special tour are given full working clothes. They descend into the mine not along the Danilovich pit, but along the Regis, the oldest trunk in Wieliczka. Tourists are given special lighting lamps and individual tasks that they perform under the guidance of a guide called a pioneer. Travelers will have to measure the level of methane, open unknown underground chambers, work their way up and even transport salt to the mountain. They will be trained in mining traditions and rituals, and in the end they will even give out something like a diploma. This trail does not coincide with the usual tourist trail and passes through more distant, sometimes not lit galleries.
Such an excursion is called "The Secrets of Wieliczka", but it is even more extreme. It passes through the wildest places - through real workings and narrow cracks, and does not last three hours, but 4-5. Participation in such an excursion requires serious physical preparation. Tourists not only understand what miner labor is. They are told that in ancient times people not only worked, but also lived here. In the underground chambers, weddings were played and children were born. People lived here for years with their families. That's why galleries are so branched, and halls can be so big.
Mine treatment
Back in the 19th century, it became known about the beneficial effects of salt on the human body. In the interwar period, therapeutic baths were opened in the Wieliczka Salt Mine (Krakow). And in 1958, the sanatorium, which is still operating, was founded here. They treated bronchial asthma, various allergies. And now at its base in the salt mines near Krakow opened a real resort. It is located at a depth of 135 meters, where a unique healing microclimate has been created. Patients undergo rehabilitation procedures there and are engaged in special breathing exercises. Staying underground is 6 hours a day and takes place under the care of physicians and specialists.
Overnight complex
Not everyone knows that in the Wieliczka Salt Mine (Kraków) you can even live a bit at a depth. First of all, there is a treatment chamber for overnight. It has comfortable beds and a reading room. Doctors believe that underground sleep at a depth of more than one hundred meters, in the microclimate of salt mine workings, is very favorable in the psychological sense, and also increases the body's immunity. This complex is equipped in a former stable where horses used to work on mines were kept before. They go down at 8 in the evening, and rise at 7.30 in the morning. You can take food and drink with you, as well as warm clothes. Indeed, in salt mines day and night, winter and summer, the same temperature is 11-13 degrees.
Cultural events and entertainment
Salt dungeons are often used for various corporate events, weddings or banquets. Imagine a wedding in the Wieliczka Salt Mine? Photos come out simply unforgettable, magical. In addition, the complex has special multimedia rooms for trainings, work meetings and conferences. There you can organize a small interactive training, or a large meeting - up to 600 people.
And tourists here expect real "deposits" of entertainment. In the rooms of Wieliczka you can listen to the performance of the oldest mountain orchestra in Europe. During the tour you will be invited to sail across the underground brine lake in a boat. At the very end of the tourist route, travelers are invited to visit the restaurant and gift shop. Needless to say, all this is also underground?
The restaurant also hosts theme nights. The most interesting of these events is the so-called mining feast. It provides for a special show program prepared by Krakow artists. During the performance, traditional Lesser Polish dishes and beer are served.
Prices and tickets
For a typical Polish-language excursion to the salt mine (Wieliczka) you will pay 52 zł. Translated into Russian money, it will be about 520 rubles. An excursion in any foreign language will cost 75 zlotys (750 rubles) per person. And if you want to take pictures in the mine or make a video there, you will have to give 10 extra zlotys (100 rubles). Five days of a treatment tour, which includes specialist consultation, underground sleep and salt procedures, cost 775 zlotys (7,750 rubles). It is best to pay for tickets and stay in the mine online. In this case, you can pre-register for different types of excursions. There are also various, including seasonal, discounts on the mine site.
Reviews of the Wieliczka Salt Mine
Tourists who have visited different excursions in mines describe this place as unusual, very interesting, where you can not only have a great time, but also get a lot of useful information. Although visitors discover only a small fraction of these grandiose artificial catacombs (about one percent), many of them nevertheless consider them the best attraction in the vicinity of Krakow. And bewitching salt sculptures and chapels with pilgrims give the impression of some other world. Fear of being underground and some kind of claustrophobia does not occur. It is very easy to breathe. If you travel with children, they will be delighted. And adults describe Wieliczka as a real man-made miracle.