The Princess's Ring in the Salt Mine
Deep under a Polish town, miners carved a cathedral out of solid salt. Legend says the salt was found thanks to a Hungarian princess's ring.
What was reported
The Wieliczka salt mine, near Kraków, was dug from the 13th century until 1996, reaching more than 300 metres deep. Over centuries, miners carved chapels, statues and chandeliers out of the rock salt, including the vast Chapel of St Kinga, whose floor, walls and decorations are all salt.
Legend says that when the Hungarian princess Kinga was to marry the Polish prince Bolesław, she threw her ring into a salt mine in Hungary as a dowry. In Poland, she told miners to dig at Wieliczka, and in the first lump of salt they found was her ring.
Explanations offered
Salt was a source of great wealth for the Polish crown. The legend made Kinga the patron saint of salt miners. The mine is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and museum.
- When
- Mined since the 13th century
- Where
- Wieliczka, Lesser Poland, Poland
- Witnesses
- Polish legend, and millions of visitors
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Lesser Poland