Campi Shaft
It was sunk between 1556-1568 by the geometer Jan Faigl (Fajgl). Thanks to this shaft it was possible to reach the more prosperous western part of the Bochnia salt deposits. In 1792 the shaft reached a depth of 212 metres (the current August level). In 1883 the horse treadmill powered winding engine which had been...
Salinary Park
The Salinary Garden also known as Salinary Park. Due to the fact that it was situated near the Saltworks Castle before 1829 it was previously described as the castle square. It was the work of Karol Bauer who in 1868 converted the castle fortifications and the square, where people traded salt. The area of the...
Salt Mine Administrative Building
Originally in this place was a baroque building intended for offices and blacksmith’s workshops. It was built in the 1720s. In the 1830s the east wing, still to be seen on the 1792 map of Bochnia, was demolished and the south wing rebuilt. The next modernization took place in the years 1863-1865 based on a...
Salinary Pond
Information on the dykes and ponds for fish situated behind the saltworks comes from 1554. Even on the XVIII century plans several ponds can be seen. These were formed by damming the Storynka stream which drained the Campi shaft. In the Middle Ages there was probably a town moat. For decades the pond served the...
Władysław Shaft
The name comes from that of King Wladyslaw IV from the times when attempts to sink it were made. It was sunk in the years 1636-1638, but due to its unfortunate location it joined the list of barren shafts (those without salt). Around 1670 this last shaft to be sunk in Bochnia before the partition...
Salinary Stable
It was built in 1783 to the design of Karol Kriszker on the site of an earlier wooden stable, which was replaced by the saltworks commission in 1581. Originally it was a late Baroque one-storey stable with a pair of one-storey side wings. The latter were inhabited by officials of the saltworks. The present buildings are a remnant...
Saltworks Castle
It was first mentioned in1368 and was probably already there at the end of the XIII century. It was used as the administrative center of the mine - the seat of salt traders, then administrators of Bochnia. The Castle often hosted Polish Kings when visiting the saltworks. Over the centuries, it was rebuilt several times, for...
Salinary Orchestra Wooden Summer House
It was built in 1934 to the design of Stanisław Albiński to replace the previous one. The Mine Orchestra, formed in 1880 by Antoni Langer, for decades entertained Bochnia^s residents with concerts played in the park on Sunday afternoons. Next to the wooden summer house there is a common beech tree (red leaf variety) and its...
Backstreet of St. Nicholas
On the wall of the building there is a bas-relief depicting a saint, the Bishop of Myra, the patron saint of, among others, miners, who lived at the turn of the III and IV centuries in Asia Minor. The oldest Bochnia church was dedicated to him. It was founded by Duchess Grzymisława, the mother of Prince Boleslaw...
Regis Shaft
It was built in the time of King Casimir the Great and perhaps even during the reign of King Ladislaus the Short (the first mention is in 1397). By the end of the XVI century it was one of the most productive "Bochnia mountains". At the end of the XVI century it achieved a most...
Krakow Shaft
The first reference to the shaft was in 1368. It was situated near the Regis Shaft. In 1397 it was associated with the shafts Finder, Regis and Sutoris. The last mention of it is in 1605 when it is said to be closed. Photo: The Museum of Stanisław Fischer in Bochnia
800 ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL
The memorial designed by prof. Czesław Dźwigaj in 1998 commemorates the first mention of the pre-foundation settlement named Bochnia. It comes from the document of Monachus, the patriarch of Jerusalem, who in 1198 confirmed that Knight Mikor Gryfita presented the monastery of Bożogrobcy from Miechów with "Bochnia salt" (sal de Bochegna) (in approx. 1163-1175). Photo:...
Herman Shaft
Also known as Hermolaus (1st half of XIV century). Built during the reign of Ladislaus the Short, it was located "near the Shoemaker’s shaft " in the south-west direction. By 1605 only a sink-hole remained as evidence of the shaft. Photo: Zygmunt Kaczmarek
Sutoris Shaft
Also known as Shoemaker^s Shaft or Shoemaker^s Mountain Shaft; first mentioned in 1397. It is considered to be one of the first mine shafts in Poland and was sunk in the middle of the XIII century. Legend has it that in this place, when the first pieces of salt were brought to the surface, a miraculous...
Kożuszka Shaft
The first mention is in 1341. It is the earliest Bochnia shaft to be mentioned in the records and was probably sunk in the days of King Ladislaus the Short. Situated between the Sutoris Shaft and Gazaris Shaft it was a temporary and short-lived stage in the exploration of salt deposits in the eastern direction. Photo:...
Gazaris Shaft
Also called Tower Shaft or Tower Mountain Shaft. It is considered to be one of the two oldest Bochnia mine shafts and was sunk in the middle of the XIII century. Its name comes from the Latin gaza, meaning shack, a salt-works tower or just the salt-works itself. Due to its location the shaft was constantly...
Floris Shaft
Also called Florentine Shaft or Florence Shaft. It was built by a salt dealer called Anthony of Florence who, in 1428, was granted permission from King Wladyslaw Jagiello to sink it during the visit of the monarch to Bochnia. Mining ceased in the 1680s. Work resumed after subsequent restorations of the shaft in 1720 and in...
Great Shaft
The first reference to the shaft is in 1581, though it was sunk much earlier. It was located in the north-east corner of the market place. At the end of the XVI century it was considered closed-off, but water continued to gather under it, causing considerable trouble for the management of the mine in 1659....
Casimir the Great King Monument
The monument is the work of sculptor Walery Gadomski, well-known for his artistic works. During the ceremony of its unveiling on 29 May 1871 the great artist Jan Matejko, who had initiated the monument, was present. Over two metres high, the statue of the King was carved in limestone from Pińczów. Photo: The Museum of...
Wojewodzia Góra Shaft
The first reference to the shaft is in 1370. It was probably built by the governor of Krakow, Spicimir of Melsztyn, between 1320 and 1331. It was located "at the back of the market place of Bochnia," that is, near the southern side of the market square frontage and Kącik Street. Photo: The Museum of...
Market Shaft
The first reference to the shaft is in 1420. It was situated in the north-east corner of the market place. It was named after the place where salt was traded. It was completely filled in in 1710 but had already been closed earlier. Photo: The Museum of Stanisław Fischer in Bochnia
Finder Shaft
Also known as Finderis or Findera (the first mention is in 1396). It was named after an unidentified investor operating as far back as 1366. It was located in the area of the southern wall of the present St. Kinga Oratory. From this shaft salt was intensively exploited even in the XV century. In the...
Bochneris Shaft
The first reference of the shaft is in 1399. Also called Treadmill or Seraph, the name comes from Mikołaj Bochner a salt trader who, in 1399, received in Nowy Korczyn the permit to excavate salt from King Wladyslaw Jagiello enabling him to sink a new shaft. The collapse of the shaft was caused by the great fire...
Upper Market Place
It is believed to have been the centre of an early settlement pre-dating the founding of Bochnia. It continued to be used after the foundation of Bochnia (1253) until a new market place was created in the XIV century. In the vicinity of the market place once stood the Holy Cross Church which at the end...
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