biancadarc.com Blog

Wieliczka Salt Mine Chapel

I’m leaving for Lunacon today, but I thought I’d leave you with an interesting destination to fire your imagination. I’ll try to check in from the road, but you never know what internet connection is going to be like from a hotel, so I make no promises. Now, if your dreams run to the underground halls of Tolkein’s dwarves and their mithril mines, take a look at this place… 

Near Krakow, Poland, there is a salt mine that’s been in operation since the 13th century. Because the miners spent days below ground and Poland has long been a very religious country, the miners actually carved chapels out of salt right within the mine. There are about forty chapels in all, the largest being the Saint Kinga Chapel.

*Note: These two photos were taken from this site, which has more detailed information and more photos of the carvings within this amazing mine.

Everything within the chapel – the altar, the frescos on the walls and even the chandeliers are carved from salt. This is one of those places, I’d love to see for myself. It apparently ceased operating as a mine in the 1970′s and is now open for tourists. One of the cutest things I was able to find about the mine was this photo:

Gnomes were good luck to the miners and many carvings of them are found in places within the vast mine complex. This grouping has been artistically lit to good effect, don’t you think?

And here’s a video taken by a tourist that gives you a 360-degree view of the Saint Kinga Chapel. I think this place is just amazing!