Nowadays, it is mostly known for the Wieliczka Salt Mine, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, and the historic old town core which was listed as one of National Polish Monuments in 1994.

[4] The town lies in a valley between two ridges that stretch from west to east: south Wieliczka foothills, north Bogucice sands, including the Wieliczka-Gdów Upland.

Wieliczka, as well as the nearby village of Lednica Górna are among the last places in Poland where the Easter tradition of Siuda Baba is still practised.

The importance of mining deposits arose after the capital of Poland was moved from Gniezno to Kraków by Casimir I the Restorer in the 11th century.

However, further development of the mining practices was abruptly halted by the Mongol invasion, which destroyed Kraków and its surroundings in the 13th century.

The area was subsequently populated with migrating Germans, who called the settlement Gross Salz (English: Grand/Great Salt) and from which the old Polish name Wielka Sól was derived.

In the year 1289, Henryk IV Probus, then Lord of Kraków, issued a document authorising brothers Jescho and Isenbold to expand the town.

Gabriel Wojniłłowicz along with Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski proceeded to organize approximately 3,000 people which took part in the liberation of Wieliczka, Bochnia and Wiśnicz.

Under the multicultural Austrian Empire, many German, Hungarian, Croatian and Transylvanian miners settled in Wieliczka, thus changing the ethnic composition of the city.

With progressing industrialization, the town developed into a small city, which was now renowned for its salt production and output throughout the Empire.