Chelm Chalk Tunnels

Chelm stands on a chalk hill and from the Middle Ages its inhabitants dug the chalk out from under their own houses, cutting galleries on several levels to extract material for building and for lime - by the eighteenth century the workings ran under most of the old town, and after collapses under the heavy traffic of the 1960s and 1970s the tunnels were surveyed and made safe. The system runs to some fifteen kilometres by most estimates, of which nearly two kilometres are open as a guided route, walked under electric light through white passages cut by hand, with pick marks in the walls and chambers where the miners worked. It is the only chalk mine of this kind open to visitors in Europe. The tour includes a meeting with Duch Bieluch, the mine's traditional spirit, played for the visitors, which is either charming or not depending on temperament. It is around nine degrees down there all year.

History

From the Middle Ages the people of Chełm dug chalk straight out of their own cellars and sold it, and over time the pits joined into a network of corridors and large "halls". Extraction was stopped in the 19th century because the tunnels had begun to endanger the town; they were found again between the wars while the water supply was being laid, a collapse under a lorry in the 1970s led to their excavation and repair, and the tourist route took its final form in 1985 (Wikipedia, Chełm Chalk Tunnels).

What's there

• Hand-cut chalk galleries - white passages with pick marks, on several levels.
• A guided route - nearly two kilometres, walked in about fifty minutes.
• The only one in Europe - a chalk mine of this kind open to visitors.
• Duch Bieluch - the mine spirit, met in character on the tour.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Practical notes

Guided tours only, on set departures, and it books up at weekends. Around nine degrees underground - take a layer. Passages are narrow and low in places. Tours are in Polish unless arranged otherwise.

Nearby

The Chelm basilica on the hill is above; Lublin is west.

Key facts