Once upon a time, when Prince Bolesław the Chaste became the ruler of Wawel, he decided that the Hungarian princess would sit on the throne next to him. So he asked Princess Kinga to marry him.
He immediately sent an envoy to the court of the Hungarian king and ordered a beautiful engagement ring to be presented to King Kinga. Princess Kinga accepted the ring and agreed to become the Duchess of Poland.
Kinga’s father wanted to give his daughter gold and valuables, but the princess stated that this was not what her future subjects would need, because prince Bolesław is prosperous and his country lives in prosperity. The father thought about a dowry for his daughter for a long time, but nothing came to mind. So he asked his daughter what the dowry was waiting for. The princess thought for a while and asked her father to give them the wealth of salt, because it would gain the gratitude of Bolesław and his subjects. The father, wanting to fulfill his daughter’s request, took her to the Marumuresh mine and said:
“You have what you asked for, here are the rich layers of salt.”
Kinga thought about it, because how can you move the entire mine to Poland? She raised her eyes to heaven, asking for God’s advice and after a while she knew what to do. She took off her finger the engagement ring given to her by Bolesław and threw it into the mine shaft. The courtiers who saw it were somewhat surprised, did not know what to think about it, but said nothing.
Soon Kinga went to Bolesław’s court, where a loud welcome awaited her. The wedding took place quickly, there were also knights from Małopolska and the most distinguished inhabitants. Kinga moved to Wawel with Bolesław as the ruler of Poland. After a few days, wanting to find her dowry, she asked her husband to show her the kingdom of Poland. So the entire procession set out, and Kinga admired the beautiful lands of her principality. At one point she ordered to stop and quickly ordered the cones to start digging in the place she had indicated. However, the henchmen found a rock and found that it was impossible to dig further. The Duchess, however, insisted that they chip off a piece of rock. One of the peasants handed Kingga a white piece of rock, which she recognized as a lump of salt. She ordered it split open, and to everyone’s surprise, her engagement ring fell out.
Then everyone understood what dowry the duchess asked her father for, and that the ring she threw into the Marumuresh mine brought this precious salt to Poland. Since then, the mine in Wieliczka is famous for its rich salt deposits. Princess Kinga ruled the Polish people wisely for a long time, and they loved her very much for it.
