A 2 kilometer walk beneath the earth's surface? Madness?

---

On this our final full day in Krakow the tour bus picked us up as planned and we headed out to the famed Wieliczka Salt Mine of southern Poland.

As if living in a Jules Verne novel, our group started it's descent on a spiral staircase to our first stop on our way to a depth of 135 meters beneath the earth's surface. Incredibly this mine reaches a depth of 327 meters (1,073 feet) and is more than 287 kilometers long, producing salt since the 13th century until 2007. It's rock salt is a polished grey, almost like marble and not the crystal white substance that one would expect. The deeper we went the more magnificent it became, housing some 4 chapels built by the miners for prayer and protection, including a huge cathedral complete with crystal chandeliers made from clear salt. Statues abound and includes one of Pope John Paul 11. At one of the levels we visited a large lake of brine and wherever we went we marvelled at the millions of feet of pine used to support the mine from collapsing. Wood never rotted there due to the preservative nature of the salt air. We never felt fearful or claustrophobic in any way and thoroughly enjoyed the experience although we did appreciate what it took to accomplish this marvellous feat over the centuries, mostly with primitive methods and tools.

Large areas were used by the Nazi war machine as factories and there is an area now reserved as a ballroom. This impressive site produced salt continuously over the centuries until low prices and flooding forced that industry to evolve. Now salt is produced from the large volume of brine that is constantly pumped out to protect the mine.

There is even a private wellness centre located there to take advantage of the curative salt laden air as well as many restaurants and other facilities. I left with great appreciation and admiration for the toil of miners over the centuries, using ingenious methods of extraction and who literally carved an industry and a living out of this underground world, at great loss of life to many.

Returning to the surface we stood in closely packed compartments of nine each and sped upwards in the elevator.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and attracts 1.2 million visitors every year. We visited just 1%!o(MISSING)f the mine.

A tour of this mine should be a priority for any visitor to southern Poland. Neither words nor pictures do this experience justice.

---

Photos

Wood structure to prevent mine collapse
Pine wood was used throughout the mine which never rotted due to the preservative nature of the salt saturated air.

The Last Supper carved from the wall of salt.
This was actually 6 inches deep.

Crystal chandelier.
Made entirely of crystallized salt.

Comments

[naomi rattray]

Your enthusiasm
I love your enthusiasm for all that you see. It makes readers want to see it also!

[naomi rattray]

Your enthusiasm
I love your enthusiasm for all that you see. It makes readers want to see it also!

[Beverly Hill]

Very interesting Roger, I had never heard of this place, was it cold? Good photos.

[jennifer]

Wow Roger. Fantastic blogging. Really enjoying reading the articles. So much information and lovely pics. Keeping it coming.

[jennifer]

Wow Roger. Fantastic blogging. Really enjoying reading the articles. So much information and lovely pics. Keeping it coming.

[Judy Bissonnette]

Salt madness
It sounds like it should be listed as one of the wonders of the world! Not for me though, being claustrophobic I couldn't do the descent.

[D MJ Binkley]

Krakow
Nice shot

[Carlton]

Madness? Agreed!
Hey you lovebirds, We did the Big Pit in Wales some years ago, a mere 300 feet below, and thought it was crazy. Need I say more? Have a great holiday. Roger, your adventures are great material for that book. Delay it no more.

[Heather Gun-Munro]

Fantastic especially the salt carvings