The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a salt mine located near Krakow, Poland that has been operating since the 13th century. It contains over 300 km of passageways spread across 9 levels reaching depths of up to 327 meters below the surface. The mine is known for its unique microclimate and salt sculptures carved by miners. Over a million tourists visit annually to see chambers decorated with religious and historical sculptures along the 3 km tourist route. The mine is a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognized for its cultural and industrial heritage.

1. The Mine of the Mysteries
Salt Mine in Wieliczka

2. What is the
"Wieliczka" Salt Mine?
• The "Wieliczka" Salt Mine is a rock
salt mine in Wieliczka near
Krakow. From the 13th century to
1772, together with the "Bochnia"
salt mine, it was part of the
Kraków Saltworks. The salts mined
in the mine come from the
Miocene. In 1976, the mine was
entered into the national register
of monuments. Two years later, it
was entered by UNESCO on the
first World Heritage List.

3. Characteristics of the mine
The Wieliczka Mine has 9 levels, the first of which - the Bono level - reaches a depth of 64
meters, and the last lies 327 meters below the surface of the earth. The total length of the
galleries connecting about 3,000 excavations exceeds 300 km. The volume of the excavation
complex is approx. 7.5 million m³.

4. Characteristics of the
mine 2
• The mine is characterized by a
unique microclimate, which
consists of high humidity, sodium
chloride content, constant
temperature (approx. 14–16 °C),
pressure, ionization and high
content of potassium, magnesium
and calcium in the air. It favors
rehabilitation stays for people
with upper respiratory tract
diseases conducted at a depth of
135 meters in the Lake Wessel
chamber.

5. Salt mined in
the mine in
Wieliczka
• The most common are the so-called "salt
cauliflowers" - spongy salt growths, usually found on
the ceiling or side wall, i.e. on the wall of the gallery
or chamber. Another form is the salt stalactites that
can be seen in the excavation vault.
• At least three types of mined rock salt have
been distinguished:
green salt - opaque due to 6-7% clay contamination
brown salt - crystalline, but contaminated with sand
shaft salt - the highest quality, transparent, in large
crystals

6. Tourist Route
• The underground tourist route of
the Wieliczka mine was established
at the turn of the 18th and 19th
centuries. About a million tourists
annually visit about 3 km of the
route consisting of 20 chambers,
located at depths from 64 to 135
meters. There are about 800 stairs
to overcome on the route. Part of
the route is wheelchair accessible.
The tour lasts about 2-3 hours.

7. Chambers in "Wieliczka"
• Nicolaus Copernicus Chamber
• St. George's Chapel Anthony
• Janowice Chamber
• Sielec Chamber
• Chamber of Casimir III the Great
• Pieskowa Skała Chamber
• Kunegunda pit
• St. George's Chapel cross
• St. George's Chapel Kinga
• Weimar Chamber
• Wessel Chamber
• Michałowice Chamber
• Drozdowice Chamber
• Józef Piłsudzki Chamber
• Stanisław Staszic Chamber
• Treasurer
• Witold Budryk Chamber
• Warsaw Chamber
• The Vistula Chamber
• Prinzinger Chamber
• Haluszki Chamber
• Isabella Chamber
• St. George's Chapel John

8. Cracow Saltworks
Museum
• In the Wieliczka mine, in addition to the
tourist route, you can also visit the
underground exhibition of the Cracow
Saltworks Museum located on the third
level at a depth of 135 meters. The
collections collected in 14 chambers
present both the fate of the mine, tools
and devices used for extracting and
transporting salt, as well as the history
of the city itself.

9. Crystal
Grottoes
• In addition to the museum exhibition,
there is the Crystal Grottos nature
reserve, with exceptionally large halite
crystals. In the 19th century, specimens
from the reserve found their way to
the collections of the world's leading
museums, where they are still kept
today. In Krakow, there are two sheets
available for viewing, measuring over a
meter by a meter, each with several
dozen crystals, with edges ranging
from a few to several centimeters long.

10. Bibliography
• https://www.google.com/search?q=jakie+rodzaje+soli+s%C4%85+wydobywane+w+wieliczce&rlz=1C1CHBD_plPL904PL904&oq=jakie+rodzaje+soli+s
%C4%85+wydobywane+w+wiel&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j33i160l5.16193j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-
8#:~:text=Najcz%C4%99%C5%9Bciej%20spotykane%20s%C4%85%20tzw.%20%E2%80%9Esolne%20kalafiory%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%93%20g%C4%
85bczaste%20narosty%20soli%2C%20wyst%C4%99puj%C4%85ce%20przewa%C5%BCnie%20na%20stropie%20lub%20na%20ociosie%20czyli%20na%
20%C5%9Bcianie%20chodnika%20lub%20komory.%20Inn%C4%85%20form%C4%85%20s%C4%85%20solne%20stalaktyty%2C%20kt%C3%B3re%20m
o%C5%BCna%20zobaczy%C4%87%20w%20stropie%20wyrobisk.
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopalnia_Soli_%E2%80%9EWieliczka%E2%80%9D#:~:text=Wyr%C3%B3%C5%BCniano%20co%20najmniej,w%20du%C5
%BCych%20kryszta%C5%82ach
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%E2%80%93,pierwsz%C4%85%20List%C4%99%20%C5%9Bwiatowego%20dziedzictwa.
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopalnia_Soli_%E2%80%9EWieliczka%E2%80%9D#:~:text=Kopalnia%20Wieliczka%20liczy,dr%C3%B3g%20oddechowyc
h.
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%C3%B3wnie%C5%BC%20histori%C4%99%20samego%20miasta.
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kopalniawieliczka.eu%2F&psig=AOvVaw2ChWsTIhZit4tNaZqKjznl&ust=167931280001
2000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCOCzzvr15_0CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE
• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Groty_Kryszta%C5%82owe.jpg

11. THE END
Thank You for Your Attention
GROUP 1