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8:28pm July 13, 2013

odditiesoflife:

Underground Salt Cathedral, Poland

Located 135 meters (443 ft) underground is the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine in southern Poland. Now a museum, the mine’s attractions include dozens of statues, three chapels and an entire cathedral that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The mine, built in the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world’s oldest salt mines still in operation. Commercial mining was discontinued in 1996 due to low salt prices and mine flooding.

Entered into the Unesco World Heritage List in 1978, the mine is located in the town of Wieliczka within the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine reaches a depth of 327 meters (1,073 feet) and is over 287 kilometres (178 miles) long. A wooden staircase with 378 steps provides access to the 64 meters (210 feet) level of the mine. There is a 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) tour of the mine’s corridors, and chapels.

Sources: wieliczka-saltmine.com, muzeum.wieliczka.pl, Wikipedia

Official Site @ wieliczka-saltmine.com

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