5/5 Andrey N. 3 years ago on Google
A
cathedral
of
salt
660
ft
(200
m)
below
ground
that
inspires
and
awes.
When
the
Prussian
naturalist
Alexander
von
Humboldt
(1769–1859)
visited
Colombia
in
1801,
he
believed
that
the
deposits
of
halite
(rock
salt)
mined
at
Zipaquirá
were
larger
than
any
of
the
mines
found
in
Europe.
The
mines
had
been
exploited
for
centuries,
during
which
time
miners
had
carved
sanctuaries
where
they
prayed
for
protection
in
their
dangerous
labor.
In
the
1930s,
they
had
excavated
an
underground
church,
and
in
1950
N.
SouthAmericabegan
to
turn
this
church
into
a
salt
cathedral,
dedicated
to
Our
Lady
of
Rosary,
the
patron
saint
of
miners.
Structural
and
safety
problems
led
to
the
cathedral’s
closure
in
1992,
but
in
response,
the
miners
built
a
new
cathedral
197
ft
(61
m)
below
the
old
one.
Inaugurated
on
December
16,
1995,
the
cathedral
has
three
naves
and
14
small
chapels
for
each
Station
of
the
Cross,
their
icons
and
architectural
details
carved
out
of
the
halite
rock.