Wieliczka Salt Mine: An underground world made from NaCl

South east of Kraków is the town of Wieliczka whose claim to fame is its amazing salt mine. Starting in the Middle Ages, the mine is one of Europe's oldest functioning underground facilities. The mine has masses of shafts and cavernous spaces that have been turned into a chapel or cathedral, dining spaces and sound and light theatres. It also has freestanding sculptures carved from salt and saline underground lakes. The walls, floors and ceilings are all made from salt. The Tourist Tour takes around 3 hours and travels through tunnels, shafts and cavernous areas that together add up to over 3.5 km. To get to the mine from the surface you have to walk down 350 stairs to arrive at the starting point and then at least another 450 steps to get to the deepest point of 140m below the surface. Miners carved sculptures from compacted crystallised salt. The brine drips saline water to form stalactites and crystallised salt clumps on the walls. In the main chapel or cathedral, chandeliers have been made from salt crystals and the grand staircase and wall friezes are carved from salt.

Outside the Wieliczka Salt Mine

Sculptures carved by miners to tell the story of the Princess who dropped her engagement ring down a mine shaft in the country now known as the Czech Republic and miners later dug it out of the mine in Poland - so legend has it that a ring can keep falling and traverse 2 countries. Go figure.

King who started the salt mines

Other figures were made elsewhere and placed in the salt mines to document its history

Dioramas created from salt and enhanced with spot lighting

Main chapel or cathedral in a cavernous space with salt crystal chandeliers and carved salt friezes on the walls

Chandeliers made from salt crystals

Crowds in the chapel that are part of guided language groups

Sculptures in the chapel

Leonardo's Last Supper' carved into the salt wall

Underground saline lake

Dragon hiding in the rafters

Another cathedral created using wooden beams and rafters in a cavernous space

Underwater lake where people, 100 years ago, could take boat rides until a disaster occurred and people were killed so it was stopped.

The 'Treasurer' carved from salt

Salt formations created from the dripping brine

Underground cafe where we had a late lunch

Underground banquet halls for special functions

Carved salt sculptures of miners

Wawel Castle in Kraków as we head back to the hotel

Relaxing in the hotel garden after an exhausting day down the mines

Hotel Leopolis in Krakow