A żupnik (from ''żupa'', old Polish word for a salt mine) in Polish salt and metal mining between the 13th and 18th century was a manager which oversaw the operations of a mining district, often in the name of the king. ''Żupnik'' was in charge of the Royal Wieliczka Salt Mine and the

Bochnia Salt Mine The Bochnia Salt Mine () in Bochnia, Poland, is one of the oldest salt mines in the world and is the oldest commercial company in Poland. The Bochnia salt mine was established in 1248 after salt had been discovered there in the 12th and 13th centu ...

in southern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, near the original capital city of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

of the

Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

. Notable żupniks include Jan Boner.

References

Mining in Poland Government officials of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth {{mining-stub