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At the Wieliczka Salt Mine they have been mining rock salt for centuries, and they invite you to a fantastic subterranean world.
The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.
Official facts
- Official name: Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines
- Country: Poland
- Date of Inscription: 1978
- Category: Cultural site
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 32:
The deposit of rock salt in Wieliczka and Bochnia has been mined since the 13th century. This major industrial undertaking has royal status and is the oldest of its type in Europe. The site is a serial property consisting of Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines and Wieliczka Saltworks Castle. The Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines illustrate the historic stages of the development of mining techniques in Europe from the 13th to the 20th centuries: both mines have hundreds of kilometers of galleries with works of art, underground chapels and statues sculpted in the salt, making a fascinating pilgrimage into the past. The mines were administratively and technically run by Wieliczka Saltworks Castle, which dates from the medieval period and has been rebuilt several times in the course of its history.
My visit
The Wieliczka Salt Mine outside Krakow is among the world’s oldest, and most spectacular. I knew not much of it before my visit in 2010 but it was extremely fascinating to take the lift deep down and walk even deeper on all the steps and into the great halls. I found it was easy to visit the mines. There are plenty of companies in Krakow which offer half-day trips to the mines.
This heritage has a couple of times and now include the Bochnia mine as well a castle. I have not been there.
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