Our second tour of the day. The pickup was at 4 p.m. and our van was prompt and it was a much roomier van so our knees weren’t squashed like the van in the morning. The drive shorter too. We got to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and waited while our tour leader got our tickets and waited for the English speaking guide. We had a chance to use the toilets which were free. While I wasn’t in need of a toilet at the moment, I visited anyway just to see a free toilet in Poland as usually they cost something.
Our group heads into the mine. Right away it is to be 375 (or thereabouts) steps down into the mine. One nice lady, Muriel, from Cape Town, South Africa, was already walking with a cane. She thought she could do it but the guide was pressing her to take the life down to meet the group because she said they would be walking down the steps quickly and had to keep pace. Muriel was not happy about going down in the lift by herself but her companion did not want to use the lift. As my knees are never totally thrilled about steps, I said I would go down in the lift with her. The rest of the group disappeared and we walked to the lift. The lift is a small metal rattle trap. More about it later. We were down quickly though and sitting on a bench having a nice chat when the rest of the group appeared.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine has been in operation for hundreds of years but due to a flooding on one of the lower levels in the 1990’s, its license to mine was revoked and now it is just one of Poland’s biggest tourist draws. It’s really quite worth a look too. The mine has 300 kilometers of tunnels in 9 different levels and 200 rooms cut into the rock salt. The tour only visits 3 levels, 3 kilometers of tunnels and 20 rooms, just 1% of what is there. Wouldn’t it be cool to go down to the deepest level? Maybe some day.
As it is now, it is still a remarkable place. The entrance tunnels have all been shored up by wooden logs so that you don’t really see any salt for a bit. But you finally get into rooms where there are wonderful carvings from the salt. It is rock salt and so not white like you would expect but in the dim lights from the mine, seems green or black sometimes. We saw a salt carving of Nicolas Copernicus, their Kind Wieliczka for whom the mine is named, several rooms containing carvings of workers performing various mine tasks, (one of which was burning off the methane gas seepage along the ceilings of the rooms), and several chapels with both rock salt carvings and wooden carvings.
One of their main chapels is incredible in that the walls are all carved with scenes and stories from the Bible such as the Last Supper, the Nativity, Angels, and more plus a large carving of Pope John Paul II who visited the mine before he was pope and was coming back but became ill and died before he could.
The mine tour takes a couple of hours and it’s walking down steps to the various levels BUT you get to ride the lift up after you reach 165 meters below the surface of the earth. At that level you are still above sea level because the mine is in the mountains. We were at the 165 meter level when my cell phone rang! Wow, didn’t expect that. I can hardly get a signal in the hotel sometimes but 165 meters below ground and someone calls me. Amazing.
Finally at the end and we are going to take the lift back to the surface. Our guide said that it is a multi lift meaning there are 4 cages on top of each other. 9 people fit into each cage then the lift moves up for the next 9 people until all cages are full. The lift then takes 45 seconds to get to the top but the first cage goes past the landing so that the bottom cage is unloaded first. People into the first cage are unlucky in that they are first in and last out. Our cage had 9 people, two of which were large people. We had to squeeze to get the doors shut and before that happen, a mine official got in with us so we are ten in the cage, squeezed so that we cannot move, and have to wait for 2 more cars to load before we go up. Then the tiny metal doors have to come in again for us to unload. The rather large man had to lean on me for the doors to open, I had to lean on my husband, and he was pressed against the metal cage. Wasn’t the best elevator ride ever but was exciting as the cages bounced and hopped on their way to the top.
Our guide said that the number of visitors they are having has diminished greatly this year and last. This mine has been one of Poland’s greatest draws for tourism for years. We didn’t even know about it until talking to some people in the train. I hope that any guide books leaving it out will put it back in because while it is very touristy and almost tourist trap-y like, it is still quite an interesting place and we enjoyed the visit a lot. Don’t get to go into mines that often.
Our group heads into the mine. Right away it is to be 375 (or thereabouts) steps down into the mine. One nice lady, Muriel, from Cape Town, South Africa, was already walking with a cane. She thought she could do it but the guide was pressing her to take the life down to meet the group because she said they would be walking down the steps quickly and had to keep pace. Muriel was not happy about going down in the lift by herself but her companion did not want to use the lift. As my knees are never totally thrilled about steps, I said I would go down in the lift with her. The rest of the group disappeared and we walked to the lift. The lift is a small metal rattle trap. More about it later. We were down quickly though and sitting on a bench having a nice chat when the rest of the group appeared.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine has been in operation for hundreds of years but due to a flooding on one of the lower levels in the 1990’s, its license to mine was revoked and now it is just one of Poland’s biggest tourist draws. It’s really quite worth a look too. The mine has 300 kilometers of tunnels in 9 different levels and 200 rooms cut into the rock salt. The tour only visits 3 levels, 3 kilometers of tunnels and 20 rooms, just 1% of what is there. Wouldn’t it be cool to go down to the deepest level? Maybe some day.
As it is now, it is still a remarkable place. The entrance tunnels have all been shored up by wooden logs so that you don’t really see any salt for a bit. But you finally get into rooms where there are wonderful carvings from the salt. It is rock salt and so not white like you would expect but in the dim lights from the mine, seems green or black sometimes. We saw a salt carving of Nicolas Copernicus, their Kind Wieliczka for whom the mine is named, several rooms containing carvings of workers performing various mine tasks, (one of which was burning off the methane gas seepage along the ceilings of the rooms), and several chapels with both rock salt carvings and wooden carvings.
One of their main chapels is incredible in that the walls are all carved with scenes and stories from the Bible such as the Last Supper, the Nativity, Angels, and more plus a large carving of Pope John Paul II who visited the mine before he was pope and was coming back but became ill and died before he could.
The mine tour takes a couple of hours and it’s walking down steps to the various levels BUT you get to ride the lift up after you reach 165 meters below the surface of the earth. At that level you are still above sea level because the mine is in the mountains. We were at the 165 meter level when my cell phone rang! Wow, didn’t expect that. I can hardly get a signal in the hotel sometimes but 165 meters below ground and someone calls me. Amazing.
Finally at the end and we are going to take the lift back to the surface. Our guide said that it is a multi lift meaning there are 4 cages on top of each other. 9 people fit into each cage then the lift moves up for the next 9 people until all cages are full. The lift then takes 45 seconds to get to the top but the first cage goes past the landing so that the bottom cage is unloaded first. People into the first cage are unlucky in that they are first in and last out. Our cage had 9 people, two of which were large people. We had to squeeze to get the doors shut and before that happen, a mine official got in with us so we are ten in the cage, squeezed so that we cannot move, and have to wait for 2 more cars to load before we go up. Then the tiny metal doors have to come in again for us to unload. The rather large man had to lean on me for the doors to open, I had to lean on my husband, and he was pressed against the metal cage. Wasn’t the best elevator ride ever but was exciting as the cages bounced and hopped on their way to the top.
Our guide said that the number of visitors they are having has diminished greatly this year and last. This mine has been one of Poland’s greatest draws for tourism for years. We didn’t even know about it until talking to some people in the train. I hope that any guide books leaving it out will put it back in because while it is very touristy and almost tourist trap-y like, it is still quite an interesting place and we enjoyed the visit a lot. Don’t get to go into mines that often.
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