Blogs from Wieliczka, Lesser Poland, Poland, Europe

The salt mines of Wieliczka have been in operation for over 700 years. Extraction of salt from surface brine began in the 13 century. Under the patronage of Kazimierz III the Great (1310-1370), extraction mining began in earnest in the 14th century. Salt was a valuable commodity, not only for seasoning but for preservation of foodstuffs. Tours of the mine reach 443 feet (135 m), though the the working mine extends to a depth of 1,073 feet (327 m). The "Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines" was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978. Those among the tour group, including myself, who wanted to tour the salt mine set off from Krakow for Wieliczka in the afternoon. Tourism at the mine is not a new phenomenon. Visitors have been descending into the mine since the ... read more

A short 40 min bus ride from Krakow is the town of Wielczka which is built around a huge salt mine, operating for 700 years, closed for extracting salt after a big flood in 1990. This was an excellent place to visit, good to buy the tickets before hand and we were glad when we came out that we’d gone for the 9am tour. All visitors have to go on a guided tour; it was a little rushed but informative. The mine is amazing, you have the sense of being in a big cave system, but all of it is hewn out of the rocks by man. Salt was the “white gold” of ancient times, being so valuable as a preservative, the men who worked the mines were wealthy, they were paid in salt. There was ... read more

I went to the Salt Mines today! Very cool. I had to walk to the train station to catch a bus to Wieliczka; from there it was about 45min to town I believe. The bus was packed - mostly tourists, none of which seemed to really know where we were going haha. Usually the bus stops right in front of the Mine, but because of construction, we had to get off elsewhere in town and find out way down. Nice touch though, they had a guy sitting at the bus stop in Wielickzka with little maps to tell us how to get there. The group of us set down, unsure where exactly to go haha. I befriended an American family from California, and a German family along the way. Both very nice. The tour starts with ... read more

BIRTHDAY in Krakow & tour of Wieliczka Salt Mine People on the tour got sick of my birthday even before my birthday occurred. We started celebrating it on Sunday at Halina's house with the apple cake her Mom made. They sang Happy Birthday to me that day and then again with the folk group when we arrived in Krakow on Monday night. It is such a contrast from last year when I spent my birthday by myself in Giverny. People of course sent me emails wishing happy birthday and postings on facebook but noone around me in Paris knew of my birthday. I didn't even speak English to anyone for several days. Someone asked me what birthday was better...this one in Poland or last year's in Paris and Giverny. I can't compare the 2 trips...I really ... read more

We stayed overnight near Krakow and then went to the Wielizca Salt Mine. We managed to catch one of the English tours. The trip starts by going down around 400 stairs - Around and around 6 stairs down, a landing, another 6 stairs down, a landing over and over. There are a number of salt statues and they have been able to demonstrate how the mine worked over the ages by using figures of miners etc made out of salt. Most of the rock is gray because of a few impurities, but where it has dissolved in the underground water and recrystallised it is white. If there are some iron impurities it becomes pink. There are a myriad of tunnels, opening into chambers - some of them are huge, and even a number of small chapels ... read more