Where can one eat a lavish underground dinner in a restaurant illuminated by giant salt-crystal chandeliers, and then visit with the seven dwarves near an underground lake, and then stop over in several chapels and a cathedral if you fancy?

 

Why, the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland of course…

 

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(From Atlas Obscura)

 

The Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland is the epitome of technological human progress. The beginnings of the current mine are believed to have been primitively excavated after the discovery of a rock salt deposit in ancient times. In the middle ages, salt became recognized as one of the most important staples in the food and preservation industry, leading to the advancement of salt mining technology and further excavation. During the Renaissance, the mine was one of the largest business ventures in Europe. It was around this time that royal tourists started to flock to the mine, lured there in part by the developing Renaissance taste for humanism and culture…”

 

For the photo album and more, click here.

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