Wieliczka, Salt Mine

We drove about 6.2 miles south-east from Krakow to Wieliczka, to visit the old salt mine. We have been tempted before, in other countries, but have been assured this is the most spectacular salt mine, and it surely must be. We only write about the places we have actually visited, and of the man-made places we have seen, this Salt Mine is unique. Our dictionary gives a dozen synonyms for unique, and all are needed to describe this UNESCO World Class Landmark, listed (somewhere) among the top twelve attractions in the world.

Wieliczka’s salt mine has been operating for over 700 years, and includes millions of square yards of space on nine levels, reaching thousands of feet below ground level. The tourist route just extends to level three, and during our three hour tour, we traveled through only a couple of the 200 to 300 miles of passages, and visited only about 30 of the more than 2148 chambers. The thing of most interest, was the sculpture, the chapels, and the works of art, that had been created by miners.

The most spectacular and the largest of the chapels - Blessed Kinga - carved in one of the largest domes that resulted from mining, is over 175 feet long, 60 feet wide, 40 feet floor to ceiling. On the walls are beautiful sculptures and bas-reliefs, entirely carved out of salt. Various religious scenes, perhaps 15 by 30 feet, include a three dimensional sculpture of da Vinci’s fresco, “Last Supper.” The floor looks like a carefully laid tile design, but further examination shows that it's salt carved to look like individual tiles. Even the huge chandeliers in Wieliczka’s underground Cathedral are made of crystals cut from salt, designed to look just like glass crystal chandeliers.

When we first bought our ticket we asked for an English-language tour. Our guide had worked the Wieliczka mine for 20 years, then lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin awhile, and now is a tour guide. He charged us extra to use our video camera.

One strange thing is found in our video taken during this visit. At the very last stop, an orchestra with singers were performing in the opera hall. This could best be described as an inharmonious combination of simultaneously sounded tones. It was obviously a concert, but so weird, so dissonance. Some current composers make up for lack of musical skills, by using discordant tones as savored by the avant-garde.