Geology

According to the current inventory, the number of geological specimens exceeds 1,000.

The collection mainly contains rocks from Miocene salt bed of the Podkarpacie area and the upper Permian of central Poland. These are well known varieties of rock salt with “Wieliczka” names: striated green salts, spiza salt; staple shaft salt, bedded green salt and oldest salt. There are also specific variations, such as “ice” salt, large-grain salt, white grainy salt, Dolomitic salt and clayey salt (zuber). A valuable part of the collection are specimens of secondary mineralization of halite, i.e. crystals and crystallization, original “Christmas-tree” formations, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, spongy salt and fibrous salt. The collection also includes crystals from the underground reserve Crystal Grottoes. Specimens with preserved sedimentation and tectonic phenomena illustrate the structure of the Wieliczka and Bochnia bed. On the other hand, fossilized anthozoans, carbonified cones, fragments of trees and imprints of leaves represent paleontological specimens.
Variety of the collection is emphasized by specimens from the Kujawy region, as well as Romania, Belarus and Ethiopia, etc.

The collection is presented in the Russegger VI Chamber and Maria Teresa III Chamber.