Ward recently took a trip to Poland. He is sharing some of his travels here.
As soon as I decided that I was going to Poland, anyone who had any knowledge of the area said I had to visit the salt mines. I had been in coal and lead mines before and wasn't sure I needed to visit another kind of mine. However, we dutifully added it to our agenda. In my wildest imagination, I couldn't have guessed what the salt mines were like.
Salt has been known to be present in the area since Neolithic times, when briny springs were discovered. Evaporation methods were used to harvest salt for preserving meats and as a form of currency. (During that time, many transactions were paid using salt, which is why nowadays, the term “salary” is used to describe earnings.)
There are several large salt mines in Poland. The oldest and best-known is the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow. We visited this one. It was definitely unique, but parts of it did remind me of limestone caverns I've visited, like Luray Caverns in Virginia.
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| The entrance to the Wieliczka Mine. |
The Wieliczka Salt Mine has many large caverns that were created with tunnels and shafts connecting them. Over the centuries, miners created statues and carvings in the walls depicting religious scenes and famous people. These are the main tourist attractions now. They created several chapels where Catholic masses are still held today.
This mine has produced salt since the thirteenth century (1200s). In the Middle Ages, the Wieliczka Salt Mine generated one third of the Kingdom of Poland’s income under King Casimir III the Great (he reigned from 1333 to 1370). Tourism began in the late 1700s, and dignitaries started visiting the mines, and they were developed more and more for tourism as time went on. Mining continued into the 1990s.
The mine was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and remains a major tourist attraction today.
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| You have to go down a stairwell to get into the mine. There were 300 steps to get to the main tourist level. I twisted my knee on the first day, so I am happy it held up for all the steps. There is an elevator to get out of the mine. |
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| We walked down old corridors of the mine. Salt walls, salt floor, salt ceiling. |
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| Part of the mine had been turned into a museum. This diorama exhibit shows the early days when salt was processed from brine. |
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| At one point, horse-drawn sleds brought salt, miners, and tourists out of the mine. |
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| Some of the exhibits were carved from salt. |
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| There were many salt statues of kings, saints, and famous people. This one is Nicholas Copernicus. |
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| Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, famous in his day, traveled throughout Europe, including Poland. |
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| There were many religious scenes carved in the walls. |
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| There were even four chapels in the mines where they hold services. |
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| This is an overview of the ballroom, which you could rent out. Notice the carvings in the walls. Carvings were everywhere. Chandeliers were made of halite (rock salt) crystals. |
After this visit, I understand why this is on everyone's must-see list.
