An underground architectural miracle, Poland’s reused Wieliczka Salt Mine.

A maze of tunnels and caverns, hundreds of miles of corridors across seven levels, with the deepest one at 327 meters below ground. Poland’s Wieliczka Salt Mine draws 1,2 m visitors per year. It is the world’s most successful case of adaptive reuse.

There are countless cases of abandoned buildings, or structures in general, even historic landmarks. Spaces that are left unused and forgotten. How can architects breathe new life into an old structure? How can they find a new use for it, while conserving its historic value? It is not an easy task to undertake. One of the most successful cases of “adaptive reuse” in a massive scale is most certainly that of Poland’s Wieliczka Salt Mine.

From a mine to a multipurpose site

Just outside the southern city of Krakow, the Wieliczka Salt Mine dates back centuries. In 1978 UNESCO listed the site on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List. In 1996 industrial salt production ended by a government decision, leaving the mine unused. Works on transforming it into a multipurpose site started right away. Most importantly, the layout of the mine was left untouched. No changes were made to the routes the miners followed, or to the colossal salt chambers that were formed through the centuries.

Performances, praying, physical healing and banquets are all activities currently taking place at the reused Wieliczka Salt Mine. A multipurpose site that attracts millions of tourists each year. Each chamber has a different function that tells its story. One of the tallest chambers, with a height of 36 meters, is now used as the world’s first underground bungee jumping site. Others are transformed into chapels, event venues or banquet halls.

Every wall, every ceiling, has been left in its raw state. The wooden flooring and the crystal chandeliers are the only things that architects added later. Of course after studying very carefully each space. The Wieliczka Salt Mine is a perfect example of how a massive space can by creatively reused. A true inspirational case.

As the phenomenon of reused spaces in architecture, whether they are natural or constructed, gets continuously more attention around the world, Nimand architects could not be apart from them. Our very own project Exereton showcases such an example, where an old abandoned factory is transformed into a livid functional space.