The Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Wieliczka Salt Mine, created in the Middle Ages, is the oldest salt enterprise on Polish land. For centuries, it was the source of the country’s wealth and the material foundation of its culture. Today, it is the most popular Polish tourist attraction.

The Mine’s excavations have been shaped by several hundreds of years of rock salt exploitation. It is concealed under the town of Wieliczka, and consists of nine levels, reaching the depth of 327 metres. Subterranean Wieliczka consists of nearly 300 kilometres of corridors and almost 3,000 chambers. The Tourist Route accessible to visitors includes a 3.5-kilometres section from 64 to 135 metres below ground level.

Magnificent chapels, captivating underground lakes, original tools and equipment, and traces of mining works allow us to understand the miners’ struggle against the elements, their work, passion and beliefs. The Wieliczka miners have left behind many salt carvings and reliefs.

After sightseeing, tourists can rest in the chamber complex 125 metres underground where they can find souvenir shops, Miners’ Tavern, and a post office.

Various types of social events are organised in the Wieliczka Salt Mine chambers: conferences, banquets, weddings, the New Year’s Eve Ball, concerts, and sport events. Our guests are often accompanied by legendary characters of the mine: the Treasurer, Princess Kinga, the miners’ band concerts and exhibitions of salt carvings.

A stay in Wieliczka excavations is particularly beneficial for people with upper respiratory tract problems and allergies. These ailments can be treated at the Underground Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre situated in the Lake Wessel Chamber.

In 1976, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was entered in the National Monuments Registry. Two years later, in 1978, the mine was inscribed in UNESCO's First World List of Cultural and Natural Heritage, and in 1994 it was acknowledged as the National History Monument by the President of Poland.

At present, the underground tourist route is visited annually by over 1,000,000 tourists.

Official website: http://www.kopalnia.pl/