Since the Slavic settlers of medieval Poland first discovered the presence of rock salt in Wieliczka in the late 1200s, the salt mine has been operational.
Almost 300 kilometres of navigable tunnels take you over 110 meters deep.. I opted to walk the first almost 400 steps down (54 flights) and then the remainder of the almost 2 mile long tour takes you another 400 steps down – visiting fantastic chambers along the way that contain chiseled sculptures made from the rock salt.
The most stunning chamber of all is the central Chapel of St. Kinga. Dedicated to the legendary Princess Kinga of Hungary, who is said to have brought salt mining to Poland, after she miraculously cast her engagement ring (which she had only recently received as a keepsake from Prince Boleslaw of Kraków), into a mine in modern day Romania, only to retrieve it from the ground in Wieliczka after commanding the local miners there to dig.
Today, the chapel holds regular Catholic services and there is a lovely sculpture of Pope John Paul.
It was considered a privilege to work in the mines and miners were paid in salt (salary) which was considered as valuable as gold. Thirty percent of the King’s wealth came from the salt mine.