Virgin Mary statue, Wieliczka Salt Mine. This salt statue, of Our Lady of Lourdes, is a sculpture in the Saint Kinga chapel in the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It depicts an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The statue was carved by the miner and sculptor Jozef Markowski in the period 1895 to 1920. The salt mine at Wieliczka, Poland, is one of the oldest in the world. It was started in the 13th century and is still in use in the 21st century. By the 19th century, vast underground caverns had been excavated to depths of several hundred metres. In 1978, the mine became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.