Bochnia Salt Mine

UNESCO-listed 13th-century salt mine — Poland's oldest, with an underground chapel and lake

Website https://www.kopalnia-bochnia.pl
Address ul. Campi 15, Bochnia

The Bochnia Salt Mine is the older and quieter sibling of the more famous Wieliczka and, since 2013, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Production began in the 13th century, making it the oldest continuously worked commercial company in Poland; the works closed only in 1990, after almost 750 years.

Tours descend by lift to around 250 metres below the surface and run through an extraordinary sequence of chambers: an underground lake you cross by boat, the Chapel of St Kinga carved entirely out of rock salt, a 140-metre slide between levels, and a banqueting hall used for weddings. The longer "overnight" tour lets you sleep down in the mine. Visits run year-round and the underground temperature is a constant 16°C — bring a fleece.

things to do sight museum
A story
Salt has been extracted here since at least 1248 — older than the more famous Wieliczka mine — and the works continued until 1990, when the last commercial production ceased. The deepest level is 468 metres below the surface. Mass is still celebrated in the Chapel of St Kinga, 250 metres underground, on feast days.