(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Street Prophets Friday: Wieliczka Salt Mine (photo diary) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-10-20 Oddly enough, I am drinking coffee as I write this. Ah, anyway, the things that'll distract the cat … welcome! This is just a little, community flavored, fluffy bit of an open thread. Although, this week it'll be a bit saltier than usual. Wieliczka Salt Mine For a wonderful and thorough history of the mine, please visit the mine's official website. While on our week-long vacation last summer, we wandered one day across the border and into Poland. We spent the morning touring a hugely famous salt mine. This area near the city of Krakow had been known already in prehistoric times for its briny springs. When the springs began to dry up in the 11th century, people began to dig wells to chase the precious salt down to its source. One of these wells, while being dug, produced the first hunks of rock salt and mining began in earnest. Our tour started with descending a wooden staircase to 65 meters below the surface. The Upper Urszula Chamber, excavated between 1649 — 1685 A fascinating aspect of the salt mine was that the huge beams shoring up the walls and ceiling here are the original wooden beams from the 17th century. Not a hint of rot. Salt really is the best preservative. Right at the start of the tour there was a little detail that the guide didn't mention, a spot where people had placed their hand against the dark, raw salt of one wall. The minuscule amount of moisture thus transferred had managed to dissolve and eat away at the wall. Our adorable guide points out a statue of the astronomer Copernicus. This statue, carved from a block of salt, and the chamber its displayed in, honor him and the 500th anniversary of his birth— as well as being a reminder that he visited this salt mine as a tourist in 1493. As legend has it, this clever queen brought great riches to her realm by pinpointing this area to begin a great salt mining operation. A little display of mannequins marking the important role that horses had in working the mines. Another display showing working conditions in the Middle Ages. One important and dangerous job was setting off the methane. Miners would enter chambers with smouldering bundles on long poles, reaching up to ignite any methane that had collected in the upper reaches of the chamber. Horses hitched to a wheel that powered the pumps and elevators in the mine A little display, well undergound, showing how water from the briny springs would be boiled off to produce salt. And no, 65 meters was not nearly the bottom of our journey. It's amazing to think that we saw only about 2% of the mine. There are some helpful little characters working the mines in Central Europe. Can you tell we’re in a very Catholic country? There are several shrines in the mines. And a HUGE church! The main altar. Young Jesus struts his stuff in front of his elders. The walls were decorated by a pair of sculptors who worked ceaselessly over decades, recreating famous works of art, carving directly into the walls of the church. The Last Supper You might be in Poland if … you see larger than life statues of Pope John Paul II Gift Shop, drinks and restrooms The reflections in this briny pool were crystal clear. In earlier days, there was a boat portion of the tour down that tunnel. After hours, a group of men tipped over one of the boats and found themselves trapped underneath. Because of the density of the salt water, they couldn't submerge and swim out from underneath the boat. They were found, suffocated, the next day. Down, down, down ... The organized portion of the tour ends in this towering chamber— home of a record breaking hot air balloon flight. A display of crystals in one corner. Hungry? There's a cafeteria style restaurant. Oh, there's room for formal dining too. The line for the lift back up to the surface. There was a top cage and a bottom cage— pack ‘em in! Thanks for stopping by! This is an open thread. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/20/2200583/-Street-Prophets-Friday-Wieliczka-Salt-Mine-photo-diary?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/