Venturing 135 meters (442.913 feet) deep to explore an 800-year old salt mine wasn’t a lifelong dream.
I’d never heard of the Wieliczka Salt Mine until I began planning for my Kraków Adventure.
My Kraków Adventure was more about relaxation than exploration. Yet, when I learned of this impressive UNESCO World Heritage Site, I added it to my ‘must-see’ list. 🤩
Actually, the salt mine was the only activity on my itinerary label ‘must-see.’
TICKETS
Tickets were easy to purchase, but I do recommend purchasing in advance and getting a specific time slot. Tickets can be purchased on site, but guests may endure a long wait time for the next tour. Best to purchase in advance and pick the time you want to visit.
I chose the Tourist Route, which is the standard route most guests choose. On this route, you visit many of the underground chambers while learning about old mining tools and machines and the methods of salt extraction and transport.
There is also a Miners’ Route, where tourists become novice miners and must overcome the darkness by means of a lamp as you wander through the underground salt labyrinth, while searching for salt, testing the air in the mine.
The Graduation Tower is designed for relaxation, health and wellbeing. Its purpose is to soothe your senses, improve immunity and clean breathing airways.
GETTING THERE
Getting to Wieliczka for Kraków is simple, and there are instructions on the salt mines’ website. Normally, I’d use the public transport option because it’s cheaper. However, this time I chose to take a taxi from my hotel to Wieliczka because I didn’t want to spend an hour on the tram.
A taxI took 20 minutes and cost 78.25zł, which is about €18.30 or $19.81. Public transport is cheaper at 38zł for a 48-hour public transport ticket. Again, simply came down to personal preference.
ARRIVAL
Anyway, arriving at Wieliczka about 45 minutes before my scheduled tour, I was pleased to see there were a few things to keep me busy whilst waiting.
There were a few restaurants and bistros to settle down in and have a nice meal. Since I wasn’t hungry, I instead strolled around St. Kinga Park. The walking paths among the greenery and the pond with an island kept me entertained whilst I waited for my tour slot.
HERE WE GO!
I joined the tour queue about 15 minutes prior to my tour’s start time. The average tour size is 35 people per time slot, so queueing a bit early didn’t matter in the scheme of things, yet, I was near the front of the group for most of the tour. This was great as I got to get a few good photobomb-free photos in every chamber.
INITIAL DESCENT: The Daniłowicz Shaft
The tour began in the Daniłowicz Shaft.
Once everyone was inside, we began walking down 54 flights of stairs, 380 steps in total, 64 meters to Level I – Bono.
Here, our guide provided the health and safety instructions.
The most important safety instruction? Don’t hurt the tour guide as she is the only one who knows the way out of the mine. 😜
Now the official tour of the mine begins.
NICHOLAS COPERNICUS CHAMBER
This is the first major chamber encounter on the tour. The chamber’s highlight is a statue in honor of Copernicus. The statue, carved by Władysław Hapek from a block of green salt, was erected to mark the 500th anniversary of Copernicus’ birthday.
Inside was just amazing. The chamber was large to accommodate the entire tour without us bumping into each as we all tried to get our ‘selfie’ in front of the statue.
THE JANOWICE CHAMBER
The next exciting chamber was the Janowice Chamber. Here is where we learned the Legend of the Wieliczka Mine:
TOUR GUIDE: “What a lovely story, but you have to take it with a ‘pinch of salt.’” 🤪
THE BURNT OUT (SPALONE) CHAMBER
This chamber highlighted the dangers of working in the underground mine. One of the biggest dangers was methane gas. When combined with air, it can become explosives. When in contact with fire, it becomes extremely volatile.
The gas was eliminated by ‘burning it out,’ hence the name of the chamber.
CASIMIR THE GREAT CHAMBER
The highlight of this chamber is the bust of King Casimir III the Great. The king contributed greatly to the development of the Wieliczka Salt Mine by granting it many privileges and taking the miners under his care.
As with the Copernicus Chamber, mostly I marveled at the craftsmanship and took a few selfies. I didn’t pay much attention to the history of King Casimir III because he is a very important king in Kraków history. There are not many places you can explore in Kraków without hearing about how King Casimir III left his mark on the city.
ST KINGA CHAPEL
The Pièce de Résistance of the tour. And what a showpiece! 🤩
St. Kinga Chapel is located at the depth of 101 meters (331.365 feet), this underground church in Europe is beyond words.
Honestly, I can’t describe it in words because you have to experience it in the flesh. Even your own eyes will have trouble believing the splendor, the skills, and craftsmanship.
The aura this place gives will make the problems of the outside world disappear, even if it’s only for a moment.
The glow of crystal chandeliers, the beautiful salt floor, the salt sculptures and reliefs. Seriously, photos don’t do this impressive underground temple justice.
Even more impressive is the fact St Kinga Chapel is a working chapel with Mass every Sunday. Solemn Mass is said here on special occasions including the Feast of St. Kinga (July 24), the Feast of St. Barbara (December 4), and Midnight Mass (December 24).
THE DROZDOWICE III CHAMBER
Not much to this chamber. It’s a wide-open space used for banquets, parties, exhibitions and other special events. This is where the tour took a short ‘comfort’ break.
The most memorable aspect of this chamber?
This place had Wi-Fi. Remarkable given that we were 110 meters deep. And the Wi-Fi was faster than what I had at my hotel. #WTHeck. 😲
THE MICHAŁOWICE CHAMBER
The Michałowice Chamber is one of the largest in the Wieliczka Mine. Its height reaches 36 meters. Perfect place for weddings.
CHAMBERS GALORE
The tour continued through at least five more chambers before we came to the official end:
- The Erazm Barącz Chamber
- The Weimar Chamber
- The Józef Piłsudski Chamber
- The crossing of the Kazanów Longitudinal Gallery with the Poniatowski Traverse
- The Stanisław Staszic Chamber
The tour officially ended in the Stanisław Staszic Chamber. Our tour guide gave final instructions about exiting the mine. If folks were so inclined, they could continue the experience with a visit to the Cracow Saltworks Museum.
Although included with my tourist route ticket, the museum queue was a bit long. You can only visit the museum as part of a guided tour. This was another 60-minute tour, in addition to a 45-minute wait in the queue. So I passed and queued up for the lift to exit the mine.
The one-mile walk to the lift was the only bad part of the tour. However, it was a part I willingly endured. No way was I walking back up 135 meters to the surface.
BACK TO THE SURFACE
The lift ride was quick and I was back on the surface in the beautiful daylight.
I decided to head back to Kraków following a quick shopping spree in the gift shop.
CONCLUSION
If the Wieliczka Salt Mine isn’t on your bucket list, ADD IT & GO!
And visit before your legs can’t walk anymore. It’s 800 steps down, but well worth the exercise.
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