a city in southern Poland, in Kraków Województwo (province). Population, 13,000 (1967). Wieliczka is one of Europe’s oldest centers for the mining of rock salt (since the 11th century). The miners cut out a salt chapel with carved portraits in the old, worked-out parts of the salt mines. Slightly below the mines there are grottoes with underground lakes, a huge cave, and a crystal grotto—a valuable natural preserve. The Mining Museum is located at a depth of 135 m in four underground grottoes. Wieliczka is a center of tourism. Plastic articles are produced in the city.