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Excavations started here in the mid 18th century when a block of green salt was worked.
In 1968 it was given the name of Casimir the Great, 600 years after the king proclaimed the statute for the Kracow Salina. The act regulated the customary mining law and the management of the salt mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia as well as the Saltworks and the whole venture. The chief manager, either as an administrator or leaseholder, oversaw in the name of the king, the exploitation and sale of the salt. In the old times salt was very expensive as it was used not only for seasoning but also as the basic food preservation agent.
In the 15th century, the profits from the Salina amounted to one third of the total Royal revenue.

The bust of King Casimir the Great was carved by Wladyslaw Hapek in 1968.

The chamber has been protected with cribs and close-set timbering. In it's central part is the horse-operated treadmill of the Saxon type which is an authentic 18th century wooden machine, which was used to haul salt from the lower to upper floors. The treadmill could haul up to two tons so it could hoist huge salt rolls.
The device consists of a vertical shaft with a rope drum, four tractive arms with a bridle for the horse and a shoe-brake with steering levers. The most important part is the device with two wheels which changes the movement of the rope from horizontal to vertical direction.

The is also a reconstructed horse stable in this chamber.

Nicholas Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik) chamber
Floor one. Depth 64.4 m

The chamber was named after Nicholas Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik), the great Polish astronomer, who most probably visited the mine in 1493, when he was a student at the Krakow Academy, now the Jagiellonian University.

In the central part of the chamber is a monument to him, erected to mark the 500th anniversary of his birthday. It was carved in a block of green salt by Wladyslaw Hapek in 1973.

Salt ceased to be mined in this working in the mid 18thC. Then it housed a horse operated treadmill, a wooden device which hauled salt from lower floors to floor one, and then onto the surface.

The chamber, excavated in a block of green salt, has survived owing to special timber protective structures known as cribs. They are made of wooden beams which support the roofs of excavated chambers as they counteract the pressure of the rock mass. Wood which was used for machines and protection was an ideal material as it was impregnated with salt.