There are probably few underground cities in the world made entirely of salt. One of them is the magnificent Wieliczka Salt Mine, located near the Polish Krakow.
During the Middle Ages, salt was considered a valuable resource, so its deposits were incredibly expensive.
It is believed that during the Renaissance, this mine was the most profitable business in Europe.
The existence of this salt marsh was already known in 1044, during the reign of the Polish king Casimir the First Restorer. However, large-scale salt mining began only in the 13th century.
At the same time, sculptors began to decorate caves with figures made of salt. This gave life to the dungeon, in which the miners spent the entire light part of the day.
Sectional illustration by Willem Hondius, Wieliczka Mine.
It is difficult to imagine the full scale of this place. They say that today there are over 2,000 rooms in Wieliczka. It will take about two months to get around them all!
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The mine consists of seven levels with corridors and galleries. Their total length is about 200 km, and their maximum depth is 198 meters.
Over the centuries, miners have turned some of the rooms into chapels and decorated them with church iconography.
Altars were created where workers could pray and stay in touch with God even while deep underground.
Chapel of St. John.
This place is also called the underground Salt Cathedral of Poland. Today Wieliczka is not only a national historic monument of the country, but also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the lakes of the mine.
By far the most famous room in Wieliczka is the Chapel of St. Kinga.
Located at a depth of 101 meters, it is one of the largest underground religious sites in the world.
Saint Kinga, whose relics are buried here, is considered the patroness of all salt miners.
During her lifetime, Kinga was a Hungarian princess, who in the 13th century married the Polish prince Boleslav the Pious.
Legend has it that as a dowry she "brought" salt with her from the Hungarian Maramaras mine.
Before going to Poland, the girl threw her wedding ring into a salt mine.
Not far from Krakow, Kinga asked the miners to start digging. They soon stumbled upon a solid object. It was a lump of salt, inside of which was a ring that belonged to the princess.
Ring detection scene.
Her figure, carved by Tomasz Markowski, is in the center of the chapel's main altar. Next to it are the statues of St. Joseph and St. Clement.
Chapel in the main hall of the Wieliczka mine.
Masses are held every Sunday in the chapel of St. Kinga. In addition, wedding ceremonies are often held here.
In addition to this chapel, many of the mine's premises are used as medical facilities, bars, restaurants, hotels and galleries.
So life in the depths of Wieliczka is in full swing today, despite the fact. that miners left it long ago.
