Bochnia Salt Mine

Bochnia, Poland

The Bochnia Salt Mine is one of the oldest salt mines in the world and the oldest one in Poland. The mine was established between the 12th and 13th centuries after salt was first discovered in Bochnia, and became part of the Royal mining company żupy krakowskie (Kraków salt works).

The mine was closed some time after World War I. In 1981 it was declared a heritage monument. The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments, as designated October 6, 2000, and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

The mine shafts measure 4.5 kilometres in length at about 330–468 metres in depth below the surface, at 16 different levels. The August Passage is the main communication and transportation route in the mine. It runs from the east to the west of mine, connecting in a straight line the bottom ends of the Campi and Sutoris shafts. It is situated at a depth of 176m - from the top of the Sutoris shaft and the depth of 212m counting from the top of the Campi shaft. The August Passage was initially called the Long Stove. Its first part, extending between the Rabsztyn Chute and a Campi Shaft was built in the years 1723-1743, in accordance with a design by Jan Gottfried borlach. His great achievements was to regulate routes in the mine by ensuring their straightening and leveling. As a result of this, over the next decades, the August Passage was able to reach a length of nearly 3-km. Excavated chambers, shafts and passages form an underground town, which is now open to sightseers. The largest of the preserved chambers has been converted into a sanatorium.

The Ważyn Chamber was named after the name of the administrator Andrzej Ważyński. The deepness of this chamber, the biggest in Bochnia Salt Mine, is 248m, its length - 255m, its maximum width 14,4m and maximum height 7,2m. The chamber uses no supporting pillars. Salt from Ważyn chamber was extracted from 1697 until the 1950s.

In 2013 the mine was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as an extension of the Wieliczka Salt Mine inscription of 1978.

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Address

Campi, Bochnia, Poland
See all sites in Bochnia

Details

Founded: 12th century
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More Information

www.kopalnia-bochnia.pl
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Historic Centre of Kraków (35,8 km)
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St. Mary's Basilica (35,7 km)
Wawel Cathedral (35,7 km)
Wawel Castle (35,7 km)
St. Andrew's Church (35,6 km)
Kraków Defence Walls (35,6 km)
Wieliczka Salt Mine (26,1 km)

User Reviews

andrzej kotowski (9 months ago)
nice place
rafaelo rp (12 months ago)
For me and my wife was big wast of time. You can't fill salt at all and all porpoise of going there how to get some from air. Sleeping place you share it and no real salt walls can be found. 3 stars they trying.
Samuli Rantanen (2 years ago)
Impressive salt mine, the oldest in Poland and part of Unesco world heritage list. The only way to visit the mine is on a guided tour. There is only one English tour daily at 15 pm. Duration is about 4 hours. You can buy an extra ticket to travel a short distance onboard an underground raft bout during the tour. The rafter had some good stories. At the end of the tour you may slide a long slide down to the cafeteria or alternatively use the stairs. If you want to slide long trousers and closed shoes so where these if you want to test the fast way down.
Adam Koren (2 years ago)
Very nice attraction. Very good even if you've been to Wieliczka, because it's pretty different.
Rémy Zeiss (4 years ago)
I enjoyed the tour. Everything was in polish, but I believe they also have some tours in English. Entertaining and interesting.
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