Krakow, Salt Mine and Kazimierz

Monday, July 28, 2008

Monday was the day we went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and took a tour of Krakow and Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter.

I’ve toured caves in the past. I’ve walked through caves ranging from Mammoth Cave in Kentucky to the Cave at Silver Dollar City. I’ve even toured a copper mine in Michigan. But Monday was the first time I ever toured something so large and underground that was entirely man made. The mine was in active production for 700 or so years. The area around the mine was a source of salt before the mine came into existence for thousands of years. We calculated that our initial descent took us down around 375 steps—or about 95 meters into the earth. We walked about 2 kilometers and continued down to 135 meters. Some of the chambers are huge! As amazing as the size of the excavation is the art work to be found within the mine. The carving of the salt into shapes, statues, and art began because the miners wanted to have a place of worship in the mine. The first chapel, of wood construction, didn’t last because of a fire. So it was decided that they would carve what they needed for a chapel from the salt. Throughout the tunnels that visitors see are carvings of saints, crucifixes, and even copies of works of art. Most notable in my mind is the relief sculpture of DaVinci’s Last Supper. It is only six inches deep from front to deepest point but the artist go the perspective so well that even from an odd angle, you can see the 3-dimensional picture clearly. What’s the big deal about the carvings? All of the art in the mine was done by miners. One huge room even has a floor carved—by hand—to look like tile. It also has chandeliers made from salt crystals. I was amazed by my visit to the Salt Mine and the work of all those men—who, by the way, were well paid workers and not the stereotypical “slave sent to the salt mines.” It was hard dangerous work but it was a coveted job.

The second half of our day was spent taking a tour of Krakow and Kasimierz on something that resembles a “stretch” golf cart. From my vantage point on the back and looking through the plexiglass roof, I saw Wawel Castle, the Cloth Hall (great place for shopping!), St Mary’s Church—and countless other churches—and the remnant of the wall that used to surround Krakow. We continued into Kasimierz, or the old Jewish Quarter, to see more squares and churches and synagogues. After our little tour, Easel and I walked about half of the “Green Route” around Krakow. This is a lovely park that literally rings the heart of Krakow. As we strolled under the trees on the blacktop path, we saw the foundation stones for the old wall that once protected the city from invaders—or tried to protect the city. When we came to the part that was still standing, we took pictures of the wall and the Florian Gate—the only gate left and the one honoring St. Florian, the patron of Krakow. As we were taking a short break on a park bench, we heard the “heynal”. This is a bugle call that is played every hour on the hour. The tune begins and then there is a sharp break as it suddenly stops. This bugle call is played in commemoration of a bugler who tried to warn the city of invaders and was stopped in mid-call by an arrow to his throat.

Our day ended with two churches. In one, a service was in progress and the beautiful tenor voice we heard, drew us inside. We stayed quietly in the foyer while gazing at the beautiful church and listening to the prayer or scripture (in Polish). The second church was visible from our hotel room window. We walked to it and since the doors were open, we went inside. This church was filled with relief sculptures and beautiful mosaics. We didn’t see anyone so we just went in and sat down. It was a worshipful experience. After we left the church, we stopped at a little “delikatessy” and bought some meat cheese, bread, fruit, juice and yogurt for dinner—and I asked for all of it in Polish! I was very proud of myself. We took the food back to the room. We ate. We showered. We crashed! The next morning we headed home.