Wieliczka Salt Mine
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A very unusual, even unique visitor attraction just outside Kraków, Poland: a largely disused salt mine going deep underground with miles and miles of shafts, tunnels and chambers. The dark connections may not be strong, but it’s nevertheless well worth considering when in the region. What you get to see is indeed incredible and comes highly recommended.
>Combinations with other dark destinations
More background info: The Wieliczka salt mines go back about a millennium, to the time of King Kazimierz in the Middle Ages. Over the centuries the Polish monarchs kept tight control over the mining operations and its profits. Salt mining continued into the modern age and over that time a vast system of tunnels, shafts, huge caverns, sculptures, chapels, and even an underground cathedral were created.
The mine goes to a depth of nearly 1,000 feet (328m) and in total the underground tunnels are over 150 miles (250 km) long. It’s a labyrinth covering a large area and nine levels down, reached by as many as 27 shafts.
During WWII, the Nazis in spring 1944 started creating an underground factory inside the mine for manufacturing aircraft parts. For this purpose, a couple of thousand of Jews from the Płaszów camp were transferred here for forced labour. At the surface a satellite camp was established to house them. Production, however, was prevented by the advancing Red Army, and the Nazis starting to liquidate the camps in the region.
In 1978 the Wieliczka salt mines were amongst the first batch of World Heritage Sites selected by UNESCO when this accolade was introduced.
In 1992 a series of flooding problems endangered the continuing existence of the mines, but these issues were fortunately overcome. Commercial mining ended in 1997, although brine piped to the surface is still processed for sodium extraction.
Apart from being a commercial mining operation, the salt caverns underground have long been known as being beneficial for certain health issues, especially allergies and respiratory problems. And so they also became a medical tourism destination.
The mines have seen many prominent visitors, from Nicolaus Copernicus to Frédéric Chopin as well as German big names Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt. In modern times illustrious guests included Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) and US presidents George Bush senior and Bill Clinton.
These days it is tourism that keeps the mines alive, so to speak, although only a very small proportion of the maze of underground passageways and caverns has been made accessible to tourists. Tours don’t go deeper than to Level III at 450 feet (135m) underground.
What there is to see: The mine can be visited by guided tour only – and that is actually a good thing in this case, because without a guide you could quickly get hopelessly lost in this vast maze of tunnels, stairwells and caverns.
There are two types of tours, the regular and far more frequent one is called the “Tourist Route”, the other, less frequent and more adventurous alternative is the so-called “Miners’ Route” (see below). There’s no overlap between the two and they start at different locations (see below).
I went on the regular “Tourist Route” tour when I visited Wieliczka in 2008. First our group had to descend a set of flights of stairs going straight down to Level I at over 210 feet (65m) underground. You’ll later go down further stairs – in total about 800 steps have to be negotiated. The lowest point is on Level III at 450 feet (135m) underground.
Along the course of the tour you will see several mining dioramas, some life-size and peopled by mannequins, some scale models. Also to be seen are whole chapels hewn into the salt rock plus numerous sculptures created by the miners as well as in later times by modern artists, who added to the richness of what there’s to see.
What I personally found the most impressive were the vast underground caverns that you pass through, especially one with a greenish lake at the bottom that acts like a mirror to further enhance the enchanting atmosphere inside the mine. Similarly impressive are the many complex maze-like systems of timber supports in some chambers, some beams painted white in stark contrast to the mostly dark rock.
The No. 1 star attraction within the mine’s extensive cave system comes at Level III 450 feet (135m) underground: St Kinga’s Chapel, which is rather a cathedral, a cavern 165 feet (50m) long, cut out of the raw salt rock (with just some wooden supports on one side), and richly decorated with everything made from salt too, including the magnificent chandeliers (since 1918 electrically lit, no longer by candles). There are salt sculptures, some atmospherically lit from behind so that the light eerily shines through the semi-translucent salt, and several bas-reliefs as well, many showing biblical scenes such as the Last Supper. And of course there’s also a salt statue of the unavoidable Karol Wojtyla, aka Pope John Paul II.
When the tour is about to come to an end, the group is brought back to the surface in batches by means of a lift that runs up and down the Daniłowicza shaft.
The other tour offered at Wieliczka is called “Miners’ Route”. I did not go on one of those myself so can only briefly relay some basic info from the mine’s website. Apparently you get outfitted with some safety gear and a helmet with a headlamp. Participants are given tasks to do along the way to get a better impression of the work of the miners, including methane testing, locating salt seams, and navigating in these generally much less well-lit tunnels and chambers. It’s supposed to be more adventurous than the other tour and also darker – if only in a literal sense.
The elements of dark history of the mines, especially the underground factory for aircraft parts that the Nazis planned here in 1944 and that was to be operated by forced labourers from the concentration camp of Płaszów (see above) were, as far as I can remember, not mentioned on the “Tourist Route” tour I went on in 2008. Since the official website for the mine also doesn’t mention this aspect, I doubt it’ll play a role in any of the tours.
Nevertheless visiting the mines is a very worthwhile thing to do and they’re visually absolutely stunning – for the dark aspects you just have to use your imagination … Still, recommended!
Location: Some 8 miles (13 km) south-east of central Kraków.
Google Maps locators:
Daniłowicza shaft (for the regular “Tourist Route” tours): [49.9831, 20.0557]
Regis shaft (for the “Miners’ Route” tour): [49.9838, 20.0612]
Access and costs: outside the city, but quite easily reachable from there either by public transport or on organized tours including transfer. Not cheap, but worth it for what you get.
Details: Wieliczka can be reached either by public transport individually, or by using one of the many special half-day excursion tours offered from Kraków (see below) – since you have to go on a guided group tour to see the inside of the mine anyway, the difference is only one of price and convenience.
To get to Wieliczka individually/independently you can take a local train from Kraków’s main train station to Wieliczka Rynek Kopalnia and make the short walk south to the entrance/ticket counter at the Daniłowicza shaft. Alternatively you can take bus (line 304) from just outside the main station and the Galeria shopping centre (Dworzec Główny Zachód stop). You’ll need a two-zone ticket. Get off at the Kopalnia Soli stop for the regular “Tourist Route”, or at Wieliczka Rynek for the “Miners’ Route” down the Regis shaft, which is a bit further to the east (ca. 400m).
Those driving their own vehicles can find a number of public car parks, especially near the main entrance (for the “Tourist Route” tours); parking at/near the Regis shaft (for the “Miners’ Route” tours) is more limited.
The price for the tour for individuals in English (or other foreign language offered) is 134 PLN (ca. 30 euros) or 112 PLN concession. Both the “Tourist Route” and the “Miners’ Route” cost the same. Tours in Polish cost only 98 PLN.
Tickets can be bought online (see bilety.kopalnia.pl), at ticket machines by the Daniłowicza shaft or from staffed ticket booths – provided any tickets are left on the day and not already sold out online. To avoid disappointment it is hence best to buy tickets online in advance, especially in high season (make sure to take a printout or be able to show your ticket on a mobile device). All tours in languages other than Polish or English must be pre-booked online!
Times: while “Tourist Route” tours in Polish run all day as soon as a group large enough has gathered, tours in English run half-hourly from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and until 6 p.m. at weekends. Tours in other foreign languages have fixed slots that are far less frequent (usually only two a day) so you have to plan more precisely (for that check the wieliczka-saltmine website). The “Miners’ Route” tours all have fixed times, usually three times over the course of the day, and are available only in Polish or English (again check the website for exact times). Make sure to be at the start point at least 15 minutes ahead of time. This applies to all tours.
You don’t have to be super fit to do the regular “Tourist Route” tour, but must have enough mobility to negotiate hundreds of steps and walk a distance of ca. 2 miles (3.5 km) underground in total. The way back up is by lift.
For the “Miners’ Route” tour you have to be a bit fitter, don a safety helmet and carry satefy gear (provided) and wear closed shoes not made of fabric. Minimum age of participants on this tour is 10. The length of the route is shorter, but tougher and you are given tasks en route, hence it takes a little longer (see below).
The temperature in the mine is a constant 17-18 degrees Celsius on the “Tourist Route” (and only 14-16 degrees on the “Miners’ Route”) so you may want to bring a light jacket or other extra layer, especially in summer, while in winter you may want to consider leaving heavy coats in one of the lockers provided.
Larger pieces of luggage have to be stored there in a locker too, and as availability is limited, it’s better not to bring anything bulky in the first place. Small bags are allowed to be taken inside on the regular tour.
Photography used to be free but the visitkrakow website now says you need to buy a permit (they don’t say how much, and the mine’s own website contradicts this anyway). Should this really be the case make sure to do so. The place is extremely photogenic.
Instead of getting to the mine under your own steam, there’s also the option of going on a tour including transfer from Kraków, offered by various outfits, some relatively affordable with only a small markup for the transfer (that’s what I did back in 2008).
Wieliczka Salt Mines also offer their own packages with a private VIP transfer from Kraków and an English-speaking guide for up to six people (minimum two), but these are expensive, from 858 PLN for two to nearly 1900 PLN for six participants. Note that the actual touring of the mine will still be in a regular group (max 35), though, so the added value is really just convenience and exclusivity on the transfer itself. Pickups are only possible within Kraków.
Time required: the guided tours along the regular “Tourist Route” last 2-3 hours, the “Miners’ Route” 3 to 3.5 hours. Plus time for getting there and back of course, so it’s a half-day excursion really.
Combinations with other dark destinations: see under Kraków.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: in general see under Kraków.
Part of the Wieliczka complex is also what they call the “Graduation Tower”. This has nothing to do with academia, though, but is a sort of health spa where you can inhale the salt-saturated air that is supposedly good for various ailments, from respiratory-tract issues or skin conditions to allergies. Admission is not included in the mine tour price but costs a separate fee (7 PLN, that’s just 1.6 euros; open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Between the two shafts for the tours there’s also a Saltworks Museum, inside the castle that was the former seat of the mine administration. The exhibition inside also covers aspects of the salt mining process as such, but is mostly cultural-historical (open Tue-Sun, 20 PLN).
