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Polish mine is a salt on the senses
 The main attractions at Wieliczka is the Chapel of Saint Kinga. SPECIAL REPORT
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QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSKRAKOW, Poland (CNN) -- Given the fact that salt mines have negative historical connotations indicative of hard labor and incarceration, spending time in one may not sound appealing. But the active Wieliczka Salt Mine, 10 kilometers southwest of Krakow and 65 meters hidden below ground is an excavation with a unique sense of design. Over seven centuries, the mine has been transformed from a hole in the ground to an underground city, with 300 kilometers of galleries and 3000 chambers over nine levels. It features lakes, chapels, murals and even a ballroom -- all carved out of the salt. Sculpted chandeliers, carved figurines, monuments and altarpieces have even been engraved painstakingly into the salt-bearing formation that has been here for 15 million years. "Since 1978, the mine has been under UNESCO protection. We need a lot of money to keep this mine in good shape. Many chambers and many corridors must be renovated," says Dorota Makajewicz, who works at the mine. The most spectacular chamber is the Chapel of Saint Kinga, 101 meters below the surface. Its walls were carved by three miners over a period of 68 years and feature a mural of the Last Supper. Even the chandeliers are made from salt crystals. "It was tradition, miner's grandfathers, fathers and sons were the artists, they were very talented and thank God their talent has been recognized," says Makajewicz Pope John Paul II first visited the chapel as a boy, later in life he came as a bishop and on his final visit he delivered a blessing. Today the tradition of salt carving continues. For more than 20 years, miner Pawel Janowski has been practicing the craft he learnt from his uncle. A statuette, known as the "treasure's keeper" -- the ghost that supposedly dwells in the mine -- is one of his works of art and took about 20 hours to complete. All carvings are preserved by the mine's natural humidity. Another tradition is the salt mine brass orchestra, which was established 175 years ago. Some of its players are former miners and perform in the Warsaw chamber, excavated in 1818. The Wieliczka mine has hosted conferences, banquets, weddings, balls and even sport performances. During World War II it was also used by the Nazis for manufacturing aircraft parts. And while the mining of hard salt ceased in 1996, it is still extracted from ground water found in underground lakes, and sold commercially. But by far the most lucrative by-product today is tourism, and in the busy summer months, up to 9,000 visitors go underground every day. The two-hour route through the mine covers only 2.5 kilometers of the chambers and passageways. 
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