Beisdes Auschwitz the other major attraction in Krakow are the Wieliczka Salt Mines. Unlike Auschwitz the salt mine cost a pretty penny to tour, but everyone we talked to said it was really worth it, and they were RIGHT!
The Salt Mine covers nearly 30 sq Km and descends down a total of 367 m, The is a cool shot of where were descended down into the earth.
Krakow became a mining country because of a princess who refused her dowry so she would be able to turn the country over to salt mining. This all happened in the 12th century. All of these statues are carved out of salt.
Horses have been used in the mine for hundreds of years. The last horse was removed in 2002. Our tour guide assured us that the horse is still alive and happy.
One of the biggest attractions is the Cathedral. There are 36 total chapels in the mine. Each were carved by the miners in their spare time. This is the largest of them all. It was carved by 3 men and finished in 1967.
If you followed the walls of the Cathedral it told the story of Jesus. Everything was carved from salt.
This is the Alter. People are able to get married here today.
There are many chanidliers. Each one is made from salt crystals.
This is a replica of Divinci's Last supper. It is a total depth of 5 inches even though it looks like a lot more!
We also visited 3 last. The water is green because it contains almost 30% salt. This is enough to make you float on the water without trying. The salt in the lake is used for industrial, kitchen and medicinal purposes.
There were statues everywhere! Our guide made a point to say that the mine was not a natural cave. Every great room, tunnel, sculpture had to be dug out with the majority being done by hand.
This is a sculpture at the deepest part that visitiors are allowed. We went down a total of 135 m. We went down 3 levels, although the mine extends down a total of 9 levels.
The elevator ride took a while. We had to wait in line for almost a half hour. Then in a massive group (about 35 people) we walked a long way to the elevator and instead of a big elevator they were tiny. They fit about 8 people when filled. It was so fun because that elevator was most likely the fastest one I have ever been on in my life!
Sometimes spending a little extra money is worth it! Our tour guide did a great job. He told us that the salt deposit was 150 million years old but he likes to say it is 150,000,009 because he started working at the mine 9 years ago and it has to be aging!
Overall it was a lot of fun! It was so interesting to learn a lot about the caves. We walked about 2.5 km in total and the tour took about 2 hours to complete. I would happily recommend this to anyone!
The Salt Mine covers nearly 30 sq Km and descends down a total of 367 m, The is a cool shot of where were descended down into the earth.
Krakow became a mining country because of a princess who refused her dowry so she would be able to turn the country over to salt mining. This all happened in the 12th century. All of these statues are carved out of salt.
Horses have been used in the mine for hundreds of years. The last horse was removed in 2002. Our tour guide assured us that the horse is still alive and happy.
One of the biggest attractions is the Cathedral. There are 36 total chapels in the mine. Each were carved by the miners in their spare time. This is the largest of them all. It was carved by 3 men and finished in 1967.
If you followed the walls of the Cathedral it told the story of Jesus. Everything was carved from salt.
This is the Alter. People are able to get married here today.
There are many chanidliers. Each one is made from salt crystals.
This is a replica of Divinci's Last supper. It is a total depth of 5 inches even though it looks like a lot more!
We also visited 3 last. The water is green because it contains almost 30% salt. This is enough to make you float on the water without trying. The salt in the lake is used for industrial, kitchen and medicinal purposes.
There were statues everywhere! Our guide made a point to say that the mine was not a natural cave. Every great room, tunnel, sculpture had to be dug out with the majority being done by hand.
This is a sculpture at the deepest part that visitiors are allowed. We went down a total of 135 m. We went down 3 levels, although the mine extends down a total of 9 levels.
The elevator ride took a while. We had to wait in line for almost a half hour. Then in a massive group (about 35 people) we walked a long way to the elevator and instead of a big elevator they were tiny. They fit about 8 people when filled. It was so fun because that elevator was most likely the fastest one I have ever been on in my life!
Sometimes spending a little extra money is worth it! Our tour guide did a great job. He told us that the salt deposit was 150 million years old but he likes to say it is 150,000,009 because he started working at the mine 9 years ago and it has to be aging!
Overall it was a lot of fun! It was so interesting to learn a lot about the caves. We walked about 2.5 km in total and the tour took about 2 hours to complete. I would happily recommend this to anyone!
2 comments:
If I am ever in the area, you can believe I will be stopping by.
all right, all right, we'll come to the mine if you pay our way over there... stop twisting my arm!
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