Saint-Kinga

St. Kinga was born in Esztergom in 1234, the third daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary and Maria, daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Theodore I Lascaris. Kinga was given in marriage to Polish Prince Boleslaus of Sandomierz, later called the "Chaste". This political marriage was arranged when Kinga was five and Boleslaus 12. Invited by the nobles of Krakow also to take over the Principality of Krakow, Boleslaus began his governance of the two principalities in 1247. In a county destroyed by the Tartars but still Christian, Kinga became a benefactor, governing with her husband, jointly signing and sealing all documents.

Theirs was a special marriage in that Kinga convinced her husband that they should live together in virginity; thus his epithet "the Chaste". Having no desire to experience the physical joys of motherhood, Kinga became a mother to all the needy. She lived with her husband for 40 years, governing in a very difficult situation marked by the weakness of a country devastated by two Attar invasions. All her personal possessions were used to aid the poor.

When her husband died in 1279, she renounced the throne and in 1280 founded a Poor Clare monastery on land given to her by Boleslaus at Stary Sacz. She lived as a guest in the monastery for eight years, not entering it until 1288 and later becoming Prioress. She died on 24 July 1292 at the age of 58, whereupon she was widely venerated as a saint. In 1690 Pope Alexander VIII confirmed her cult, the equivalent of beatification. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 1999.

The legend of Saint-Kinga

In the 13th century a young Polish prince, called Boleslaw, of the Piast Dynasty, decided to get married and for his wife chose a beautiful Hungarian princess of the Arpad Dynasty, the daughter of king Bela IV, Kinga (or Kunegund, as she is sometimes called).

When Boleslaw’s proposal was accepted, the loving father asked Kinga what she would like to get from him as a wedding present, what she would like to take to her husband and the new country. Kinga replied that she wanted no gold and jewels, since they only brought unhappiness and tears. She wanted something that could serve the people she was going to live with. Her request surprised the king greatly – she asked for salt.

The king was determined to keep his promise. He offered Kinga the biggest and most prosperous salt deposits in Hungary – the Marmaros salt mine. However, nobody knew what Kinga could do with the treasure.

On her way to Poland the princess visited the mine. She kneeled to pray next to the entrance and – to everyone’s surprise – suddenly threw her engagement ring inside. She gathered a group of the best Hungarian salt miners and told them to follow her.

When the party arrived in Poland and was approaching Kraków, Kinga stopped and asked the miners to look for salt. They started digging and suddenly hit something very hard. It was a lump of salt. When they broke it, everyone saw what was hidden inside – Kinga’s engagement ring!

That is how the Hungarian princess brought salt to our country.

Right now in Wieliczka there is the most famous salt mine museum. Here is the link to the mine’s homepage: http://www.kopalnia-wieliczka.pl/english/

To commemorate the princess, 101 metres under the ground, down in the mine there is the world’s biggest underground chapel, dedicated to Saint Kinga.

In this picture you can see the salt sculptures from the mine showing the moment when the miners give Kinga the ring found in the salt lump.