open today: 9am-5pm
open today : 9am-5pm
location
SALTWORKS CASTLE
DATE
8 June - 31 October 2025
The exhibition showcases extraordinary natural salt formations - blue, green, pink, and honey-colored crystals shaped like trees, icicles, cauliflowers, and delicate fibers called "St. Kinga’s hair."
Salt is a versatile mineral, commonly known for its role in food and preservation, but it also has chemical and medical uses. “Yet we can also admire it as a natural artwork,” says geologist and exhibition curator Rafał Zadak. Especially intriguing are secondary salts formed from brine in mines, which create diverse shapes like stalactites, cauliflower-like growths, and tree-like stalagmites.
The exhibit features over 80 colorful and uniquely shaped specimens from active and closed salt mines and salterns across Europe - including Wieliczka, Bochnia, Kłodawa (Poland), Cardona (Spain), Loulé (Portugal), and Merkers (Germany). Some date back over 250 million years, while others formed recently.
Large-scale photographs from partnering institutions accompany the geological specimens, offering deeper context. The exhibition is housed in the restored halls of the Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka.
Its opening coincides with a forum launching a new European cultural route dedicated to salt heritage. While salt no longer determines wealth as in the past, many former mines have become museums or tourist routes. As Monika Dziobek-Motyka notes, Cracow Saltworks Museum is spearheading a network of historical salt centers across Europe—bringing together around 80 inland and coastal salterns that preserve and share their salt-making legacy.
Co-organizers of the exhibition include the Salt Mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia.
The exhibit features over 80 colorful and uniquely shaped specimens from active and closed salt mines and salterns across Europe - including Wieliczka, Bochnia, Kłodawa (Poland), Cardona (Spain), Loulé (Portugal), and Merkers (Germany). Some date back over 250 million years, while others formed recently.
Large-scale photographs from partnering institutions accompany the geological specimens, offering deeper context. The exhibition is housed in the restored halls of the Saltworks Castle in Wieliczka.
Its opening coincides with a forum launching a new European cultural route dedicated to salt heritage. While salt no longer determines wealth as in the past, many former mines have become museums or tourist routes. As Monika Dziobek-Motyka notes, Cracow Saltworks Museum is spearheading a network of historical salt centers across Europe—bringing together around 80 inland and coastal salterns that preserve and share their salt-making legacy.
Co-organizers of the exhibition include the Salt Mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia.
