Bochnia

Bochnia
Main square
Coat of arms
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Lesser Poland
County	Bochnia County
Gmina	Bochnia (urban gmina)
Established	12th century
Town rights	1253
Government
• Mayor	Bogdan Kosturkiewicz
Area
• Total	29.9 km2 (11.5 sq mi)
Population  (2006)
• Total	29,373
• Density	980/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	32-700
Area code	+48 14
Car plates	KBC
Website	http://www.bochnia.pl

Bochnia Template:Audio-IPA-pl is a town of 30,000 inhabitants on the river Raba in southern Poland, 35 km southeast of Kraków. It is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning in Europe, built circa 1248.

Since Poland's administrative reorganization in 1999, Bochnia has been the administrative capital of Bochnia County in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Before reorganization it was part of Tarnów Voivodeship.

History

Bochnia is one of the oldest cities of Lesser Poland. The first known source mentioning the city is a letter of 1198, wherein Aymar the Monk, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, confirmed a donation by local magnate Mikora Gryfit to the monastery of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Miechów. The discovery of a major vein of rock salt at the site of the present mine in 1248 led to the granting of city privileges (Magdeburg rights) on 27 February 1253 by Bolesław V the Chaste.

Town & sights

• The oldest salt mine in Europe and in the world (13th century), is an underground town today.
• St. Nicholas Basilica
• Old town and historical buildings
• Statues of Leopold Okulicki and Casimir III of Poland
• The Older parts of the cemetery at Oracka Street
• The Catholic cemetery
• The Jewish cemetery

Salt Mine

Underground church

The Bochnia Salt Mine (Polish: kopalnia soli w Bochni) is one of the oldest salt mines in the world and the oldest one in Poland and Europe. The mine was established between the 12th and 13th centuries after salt was discovered in Bochnia. The mines measure 4,5 kilometres in length and 468 metres in depth at 16 different levels. Deserted chambers, shafts and passages form a so called underground town, which is now open to sightseers. The largest of the preserved chambers has been converted into a sanatorium.

Education

• Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczna

Notable Residents

• St. Stanisław Szczepanowski, Poland's first native saint.
• Ralph Modjeski (Rudolf Modrzejewski), notable engineer in the United States, born 1861 to actress Helena Modjeska.
• Jan V. Mládek (Jan Viktor Mládek, 1912 Bochnia – 1989 Washington, D.C.), Czechoslovak economist, official of its exile government during World War II working with John M. Keynes and on preparations of the International Monetary Fund and Bretton Woods agreements, official of IMF for nearly 30 years, with his wife Meda Mládková established a foundation sponsoring work of Central European artists.
• Bernhard Storch - World War II hero
• Ludwik Stasiak, Polish painter, writer and publicist.

Twin towns

Bad Salzdetfurth, Cavtat, Kežmarok, Roselle

See also

• Wieliczka Salt Mine
• Photograph "An execution of Poles in Bochnia" in the article Einsatzgruppen

External links

• Official website of Bochnia