Salt mine in Wieliczka is among the oldest in the world. It works since the Middle Ages! What else should you know about one of the greatest attractions of Krakow sourroundings? There are many wonders in the mine that caused listing it by UNESCO! Have You ever seen an undeground salt lake or a huge chapel hollowed in rock salt and full of salt sculptures?
The legend says that salt was brouth to Wieliczka in some mysthical way by St. Kinga, Hungarian wife of Prince Boleslaw the Chaste of Krakow. In fact, local salt deposits are 15 milion years old. People started to exploit tchem about 3 thousand years BC. The first method was to evaporate water from brine flowing out of the ground. The mine with minshafts and underground walks started to develop at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. Salt has become one of the main export products of the region and one of the most important sources of income for the royal treasury. There is no surprise that it was an apple in the eye of every Polish monarch! Over the centuries, many people, including Nicolaus Copernicus or Goethe visited the place. And it is absolutely worth it!
Today, the lowermost level of the mine is located at a depth of over 300 meters! There are few underground trails of sightseeing. The most popular is so-called ‘Tourist Route’. We present it below, in our Wieliczka Salt Mine Tours Itinerary. During the tour, you will see all the greatest attractions of the mine inside its most splendid chambers. If you want to feel like a real miner, choose the ‘Miners’ Route’. Wieliczka sightseeing in helmet and with a pickaxe in your hand is an unforgettable adventure and an opportunity to prove yourself! If you are looking for spiritual experience try the ‘Pilgrims’ Route’. Work of the miners was extremely dangerous so they create many underground places of cult, where they can pray for the safe return to the surface. During this tour, you can visit all the amazing Wieliczka chapels.
Our Krakow guides can book Wieliczka Salt Mine tours for you. We also provide a round-trip transportation from Krakow and a licensed English speaking guide (to be preceise, English, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian or Polish).
