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Fifteen kilometres southeast of Krakow is the salt mine at WIELICZKA (Kopalnia Soli "Wieliczka"), a unique phenomenon described by one eighteenth-century visitor as being "as remarkable as the Pyramids and more useful". Today it's listed among UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage monuments. Salt deposits were discovered here as far back as the eleventh century, and from King Kazimierz's time onwards, local mining rights, and hence income, were strictly controlled by the Crown. As mining intensified over the centuries, a huge network of pitfaces, rooms and tunnels proliferated - nine levels in all, extending to a depth of 327m with approximately 300km of tunnels stretching over an area some 10km wide. The future of the mine became uncertain following a serious bout of flooding in September 1992, when a huge river of water began pouring into the complex through an abandoned mine passageway some 170m underground. The town of Wieliczka, much of which is built over the mines, was also badly affected: walls collapsed, cracks appeared in the fabric of the local monastery, and the train tracks running through the centre of town shifted, causing Krakow-Wieliczka train services to be suspended (they didn't start up again until the middle of 2001). With the site made safe again, scaled-down mining continues today, and there's a sanatorium 200m down to exploit the supposedly healthy saline atmosphere. The mines are popular with Polish and foreign tourists, so be prepared for crowds in summer. Privately owned minibuses run direct to Wieliczka salt mine from outside Krakow train station - although departures may depend on how many tourists are around. Otherwise, you can take a local Krakow-Wieliczka train - there are plenty of them - which will drop you off a little way from the mine, but it isn't difficult to locate the pit's solitary chimney and squeaky conveyor belt; follow the "Muzeum" signs.
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