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Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines

The deposit of rock salt in Wieliczka and Bochnia has been mined since the 13th century. This major industrial undertaking has royal status and is the oldest of its type in Europe. The site is a serial property consisting of Wieliczka and Bochnia salt mines and Wieliczka Saltworks Castle. The Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines illustrate the historic stages of the development of mining techniques in Europe from the 13th to the 20th centuries: both mines have hundreds of kilometers of galleries with works of art, underground chapels and statues sculpted in the salt, making a fascinating pilgrimage into the past. The mines were administratively and technically run by Wieliczka Saltworks Castle, which dates from the medieval period and has been rebuilt several times in the course of its history.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/32

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is an example of a well organized, large industrial establishment. The evolution of the mining processes since the Middle Ages is perfectly illustrated here, due to the conservation of the old galleries and the exhibition of tools used. 

First references to the winning of salt in Wieliczka were made in 1044. Salt was the most important economic commodity in Poland during the Middle Ages. The mining of salt quickly became a government monopoly. 

Technological progress turned the Wieliczka Salt Mine into a modern business enterprise in the 16th century. Machinery was being used to improve productivity, and the search for new salt deposits took the miners lower and lower underground.

The production of salt here ceased only in 1992 due to a heavy flooding. 

The Salt Mines of Wieliczka were on the first World Heritage List ever, publicized in 1978. 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=32