Salt of the earth
Wieliczka Salt Mines. We expected to see nothing more than just salt mounds in this Polish mine. Well, we floored by a hidden fantasy world of art works vanessa bruno, chapel and more
I ask our lanky Polish guide Marek Klinowicz: how long have you been working here? and he smiles: 200 years. You see, salt is a good preservative! Laughing, we follow him into the subterranean world of the Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow, Poland. We go down the vertiginous 380 steps to the first level. The mines date back to the 13th Century with over 200 km of galleries from a depth of 64 mt to 135 mt on the tourist trail.
Mining rock salt was a dangerous job, and this made miners religious. In their spare time, many of them created works of art, including chapels, in rock salt lululemon.
We walk through miles of timber structures supporting the mines and painted white to help the miners find their way in the dark vanessa bruno. This is a fantasy world straight out of a Jules Verne novel spooky, dimlylit passages lululemon, stalactites and stalagmites made of salt (dull grey, reminiscent of unpolished granite), crystal clear pools of water, minilakes of brine and statues in alcoves.
There is an impressive statue of Copernicus (fascinatingly, he's visited the mine!) carved out of rock salt with the sun in his hand. There are lifesized tableaus of horses as well as wooden contraptions to carry salt to the surface tiffany blue nikes. The humidity in the caverns, however, has eroded the features in several statues. Some displays show the dangers that the miners had to face before adequate ventilation systems evolved they had to crawl on the ground and burn the salt petre accumulated in the ceilings with a long torch. The reward for such a dangerous job an extra bag of salt!
In the Janowice Chamber Microsoft office 2010 product key, we see the tableau of Princess Kinga based on a 700yearold legend a Hungarian princess, Kinga was marrying into the royal family of Poland and got a salt mine as her dowry. She cast her engagement ring into the salt mine. When she was on the way to Krakow, she told her people to dig a well, and instead of water they found her ring in a lump of salt! Ever since, she has been the patron of salt miners.
At the Weimar gallery with a sparkling underground lake, viewing platforms and steps chan luu bracelets, we witness a mini son et lumire show. Accompanied by Chopin's music, the Warden (an imaginary protective angel) appears alongside carts filled with salt. The miners used to invent such people who took care of their safety and appeared whenever they were at risk, to warn them about the danger!
The best!
The pice de rsistance is the Chapel of St tiffany blue nikes. Kinga made over 67 years an elegant ball room where everything is made of yes, salt! On the ceiling are five chandeliers strung with handcut crystals of salt. On the wall is a wealth of rock salt images and bas reliefs starting from a dramatic Last Supper and the Wedding of Cana to images of St. Kinga and even Pope John Paul II. This was not about people relieving their boredom it looks more like an act of devotion. Some figures are made of translucent salt and lit up on the inside. The floors are made of rock salt too; and polished by the hundreds of people, who walk here every day, says Marek pandora beads!
And, the miners did not create just religious stuff: their sense of play is evident from the scene out of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs toms shoes, illuminated by coloured lights. Gnomes were the good luck charms of the miners. Legend has it that when the miners were tired and needed to nap, these loveable sprites helped in their work!
The Wieliczka Mine has a therapeutic aspect to it too: the micro climate in the chambers is good for allergies, asthma and respiratory ailments and an overnight stay at the Treatment Centre here could be just what the doctor ordered! There are many chambers here where jazz concerts (because of the excellent acoustics), weddings, conferences and banquets are held.
One of the chambers has an elevator for the physically challenged victoria secret swim, and souvenir shops selling not salt the famous Baltic amber jewellery chan luu. We have lunch at the deepest underground restaurant in the world with some Polish smoked cheese and potato pancakes lululemon. Just as I shudder at the thought of ascending the steps after a delicious meal, Marek delivers a piece of good news the return journey is on a shaft elevator. (By the way clarisonic mia, the mines are so gargantuan that at the end of our threehour tour, we've seen less than three per cent of the total passages!) It's dark and eerie as the old cramped elevator cage rockets us to the surface in a few seconds. I look at the sunshine with new eyes like a visionless man gifted sight lululemon.Related：