Wieliczka Salt Mine among Poland’s top tourist attractions
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
23.08.2018 09:40
The historic Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland says it attracted 1.4 million visitors in the first seven months of this year and is on track to set its all-time annual record in the number of visitors.
![St. Kinga’s Chapel, an artistic marvel 101 metres underground at the historic Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Photo: Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://external.polskieradio.pl/files/47561f4e-69ee-4a53-b3d4-39344270587b.file "St. Kinga’s Chapel, an artistic marvel 101 metres underground at the historic Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Photo: Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons")
St. Kinga’s Chapel, an artistic marvel 101 metres underground at the historic Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Photo: Andrzej Barabasz (Chepry) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Last year the mine was visited by just over 1.7 million people.
Foreign visitors accounted for 58 percent of the total number of visitors in the January-July period, with those from the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain topping the list.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine was founded in the middle of the 13th century. Its underground corridors are almost 300 km long. The mine was opened to tourists at the end of the 18th century.
At present, they are taken along a 3.5-km route that includes historic statues, a large chapel, and a lake.
There is also a wellness complex in the mine.
In 1978, the Wieliczka Mine was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. (mk/gs)