open today: 9am-5pm
open today : 9am-5pm
Old machinery and mining equipment
At the entrance, in two showcases you can see lighting equipment, being personal equipment of the miners sliding down into the mine. The oldest source of light, used in the mine by the end of the nineteenth century, was tallow (animal fats).
Since 1817 they began to introduce cheaper fuel – the rapeseed oil. Both the tallow and oil were burned in oil lamps (torches). Up to the fifteenth century these lamps were made of clay, then of iron, and even non-ferrous metals (in the nineteenth century). In the second decade of the twenti- eth century carbide lamps were introduced, and since 1961 the miners use the lamps powered with fluid-cell battery. By contrast, the so called “bombs”, the heavy metal housing, were not widely used.
Since 2006, the miners use the lightweight and modern lamps powered with dry cells batteries. In addition to equipment for the lighting of workplace, you may also see the safety lamps. They were used in the period 1819 to 2002 for the detection of carbon dioxide and methane. Nowadays, for this purpose the elec- tronic equipment is used.
On the right side you may see the old equipment used to extinguish small fires: wooden extinguishers, a bucket, a jug and the fire protection instruction by J. G. Borlach from 1747. You can read more about the subject of this threat in the complementary source information about fires occurred in the years 1510, 1644-1645 and 1772.
Since the start of operation until 1876, the main product of the Cracow Saltworks were large blocks of salt formed in the shape of a cylinder, commonly referred to as salt loaves (in Polish “bałwany”, in plural). In the seventeenth century, their weight ranged from 1’100 up to more than 2’000 kg. They also produced smaller commercial forms so-called “rum” salt (we use the Polish names: “fortale”, “partyki” and “złomki”; all these names are in plural). In contrast, the fine salt (loose salt crumbs), as a by-product and cheaper product, was packed in two types of barrels: “solo” barrels (in Polish “solówki”; in plural) and semi-”solo” barrels (280 and 140 kg capacity, respectively). The next steps in the production of salt you may see illustrated by paintings by A. Długosz.
For mining of salt the miners used simple tools made of iron: small pickaxes, hammers and wedges. It was personal equipment the miners took at the workplace every day in bags woven of hemp.
Since 2006, the miners use the lightweight and modern lamps powered with dry cells batteries. In addition to equipment for the lighting of workplace, you may also see the safety lamps. They were used in the period 1819 to 2002 for the detection of carbon dioxide and methane. Nowadays, for this purpose the elec- tronic equipment is used.
On the right side you may see the old equipment used to extinguish small fires: wooden extinguishers, a bucket, a jug and the fire protection instruction by J. G. Borlach from 1747. You can read more about the subject of this threat in the complementary source information about fires occurred in the years 1510, 1644-1645 and 1772.
Since the start of operation until 1876, the main product of the Cracow Saltworks were large blocks of salt formed in the shape of a cylinder, commonly referred to as salt loaves (in Polish “bałwany”, in plural). In the seventeenth century, their weight ranged from 1’100 up to more than 2’000 kg. They also produced smaller commercial forms so-called “rum” salt (we use the Polish names: “fortale”, “partyki” and “złomki”; all these names are in plural). In contrast, the fine salt (loose salt crumbs), as a by-product and cheaper product, was packed in two types of barrels: “solo” barrels (in Polish “solówki”; in plural) and semi-”solo” barrels (280 and 140 kg capacity, respectively). The next steps in the production of salt you may see illustrated by paintings by A. Długosz.
For mining of salt the miners used simple tools made of iron: small pickaxes, hammers and wedges. It was personal equipment the miners took at the workplace every day in bags woven of hemp.
