Salt block

The basic method for moulding the salt bed in the Wieliczka mine was to tear it out with the use of iron wedges; the cuboid blocks were then treated and transformed into barrel shapes or a cylinder for trading purposes. Those blocks were the main product of salt mines in the region of Kraków for six centuries – from the 2nd half of the 13th century to 1876. The elongated, oval shape made the transportation of salt cylinders easier, which were sometimes very heavy to move through the maze of underground excavations. Salt blocks were rolled by special teams of miners, making use of hard rods. The production of salt blocks was first mentioned in the Wawel Cathedral Diplomatic Register in 1278. The note referred to the salt mine in Bochnia. Salt blocks in the Wieliczka mine were recorded for the first time in the incorporation charter of the town of Wieliczka issued in 1290. According to the regulation of King Casimir III the Great of 1368, blocks of salt weighed ca. 300–400 kg. In the 14th century, the Wieliczka salt works produced three types of salt blocks: the so-called Kraków style, Oświęcim style, and Slovak style, whereas in the 17th century there were 9 types of salt blocks weighing from ca. 1,000 kg to even 2,000 kg.