Tourist Information
Krakow 8, Pawia Street,
tel. +48 12 422 60 91
The Salt Mine in Wieliczka is one of the most precious and most fascinating monuments of culture in Poland; in 1978, it was entered in the First List of World Heritage of UNESCO.
Deposits of rock salt were exploited without interruption from the 13th century (first records from 1251) until 1996. Nevertheless, the history of the mine is much longer; the deposits were created approx. 13.5 million years ago and are closely related to the formation of the Carpathian Mountains. The trademark of the Salt Mine in Wieliczka is one of the oldest in the world. The surface area of the mine encompasses corridors, galleries and chambers, as well as underground lakes. The total length exceeds 300 km and the depth reaches down 327 metres.
This is one of the oldest mining museums in the world where, among the exhibits, tourists can admire the unique mining equipment, which shows the development of mining technology from the Middle Ages to contemporary times.
The climate of the mine is beneficial for people who suffer from asthma and allergies.