Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, visit the mine. And, yes, those chandeliers are made of crystallized salt. (Piotr Malecki/Getty Images)

Evidently when you spend your life mining salt from the earth, 1,000 feet below ground in a labyrinth of tunnels that stretch for 187 miles, it brings out your artistic side.

At least that’s what happened at the Wieliczka Salt Mine in Poland. The Polish started mining Wieliczka for salt in the 13th century and continued to do so up until about 10 years ago. At its height, the mined salt accounted for 30 percent of Poland’s gross national product. At its most intriguing, the salt accounted for elaborate chandeliers dripping in salt-crystals and a bas-relief salt-replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper.”

You see, some of the miners were artists. They were Catholic. They spent most of their time underground doing dangerous work and they wanted the patron saint of miners to watch over them. So, they carved their concerns into the salt of subterranean existence. They built a 220,000-square-foot chapel down there — out of salt. There’s a 9-foot papal cross and a life-size sculpture of Pope John Paul II. There are detailed sculptures of saints, altars and biblical bas-reliefs along tunnel walls. All of them made of salt.

I don’t think I have to tell you that this makes me want to saw up my cubicle and reassemble it as a life-size sculpture of Mother Teresa. Or a replica of a Rothko painting. Or a giant glass-bottle Coke (oh, how I love your syrupy sweetness).

But mostly I’d just like to visit the mine, which is totally doable. Tours take about three hours — that’s because you’ll walk a couple of miles underground (which is pretty weird in itself). Besides the salt bas-reliefs, chandeliers and sculptures, you’ll see an underground lake and a concert hall with fabulous acoustics.

Here’s a picture of the mine’s bas-relief “Last Supper”…

Leonardo couldn't have carved it in salt better. (Piotr Malecki/Getty Images)

And while we’re on the subject of salt, have you been following the Trans World Expedition blog I posted about in November? Well, he recently drove his now-decrepit Land Cruiser through the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in Bolivia, which is so funny because I *just* went to that salt flat in my imagination a couple of months ago. Isn’t that crazy? Anyway, I was excited to see how far he’s driven on his around-the-world trip. Hats off to “the year of living dangerously.” And salty places.

[Thanks to Katie from History Stuff and Coolest Stuff podcast fan Julie for suggesting this topic!]