Bochnia Salt Mine: Europe’s Oldest Industrial Plant near Kraków

Po polsku: Kopalnia soli w Bochni

Have you heard of Wieliczka, but not of the salt mine in Bochnia? It is described as the oldest industrial plant in Europe, and in many ways it can compete with its more famous neighbour. You can reach Bochnia by train from Kraków Główny (the main railway station), and underground you will find a sports field, boat rides and a huge slide.

A short history of the mine

People have been getting salt around Bochnia since about 3500 years BC. At first they boiled it: water from brine (salty water) was evaporated, which gave so-called boiled salt (sól warzona).

The brine wells later became the beginning of two shafts, Gazaris and Sutoris. There people also began to mine salt in the miners’ way. Sutoris is still in use today.

The mine itself dates back to 1248, when deposits of rock salt were discovered. This caught the interest of Prince Bolesław the Chaste (Bolesław Wstydliwy), and the first shafts, Sutoris and Gazaris, were built. Bochnia soon became very important for the economy of the Polish state.

The best period came under King Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki). In 1368 he issued a document, the Statut żupny (the salt mine statute), which set the rules for selling salt. By then salt was already being exported to Ruthenia and Hungary. Between 120 and 150 people worked in the mine.

In the 15th and 16th centuries about 500 miners worked here, and new shafts were built: Regis, Bochneris and Campi. In the 17th century wars and the economic decline of the country slowed the mine down.

From the time of the Partitions (when Poland was divided between its neighbours) until 1918, the mine was under Austrian control. After 1785 it grew again, when Dionizy Stanetti became its head. A better ventilation system and a new shaft, later named „Stanetti”, kept the mine working for the next decades.

In the 20th century the salt deposits were running out and mining was no longer profitable, so industrial production stopped.

The historic workings were entered in the register of monuments in 1981. In 2000 the mine was declared a Monument of History (pomnik historii) by a decree of the President of Poland.

What you see on the tour

Today the mine is a tourist attraction and also a health resort. The tour covers the most interesting workings on level IV August (176 metres deep) and level VI Sienkiewicz (223 metres deep).

You will see unusual chambers, chapels with sculptures and paintings, and historic mining tools and equipment. There is also a big multimedia exhibition underground.

The tour ends in the Ważyn Chamber, the largest man-made underground space in Europe. Inside there is a sports field, a 140 m slide, a restaurant, a souvenir shop and a small playground. If you like, you can add a boat crossing to the programme.

Health treatment underground

The mine has a centre that treats respiratory conditions using the microclimate of the underground salt chambers. The method is called subterraneotherapy. The conditions treated here are:

• bronchial asthma
• recurring diseases of the nose, sinuses, throat and larynx
• chronic bronchitis and pneumonia
• allergic conditions
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• bronchiectasis

Good to know

The discovery of salt here is linked to the legend of St Kinga. When the Polish prince Bolesław asked for the hand of the Hungarian princess Kinga, she asked her father not to give her gold and jewels as a dowry, but salt, which she wanted to give to her future homeland.

The King of Hungary gave her the richest mine of Transylvania (Siedmiogród), in Marmarosz. When she took it over, Kinga threw her engagement ring into the shaft. On the way to Poland she took miners with her, and in Poland she told them to look for salt. They found it, and inside the first lump they also found Kinga’s ring.

The mine also organises overnight stays.

For more information, see the mine’s own site: www.kopalniasoli.pl.

More guides: Kraków & Małopolska in English.

Łukasz, Niezwykła Małopolska