Have you ever been to an underground entertainment park? What about one situated at 400 ft below ground?

Turda’s alien-shaped amusement park is one of the greatest hidden gems of Transylvania.

Ranking on the 22nd place of worldwide top most spectacular sights to see, Turda's Salt Mine this is a place like no other. It's one of the coolest underground places on Earth and you should add it to your bucket list!

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LOCATION

This unique history museum of salt exploitation is located in the heart of Transylvania county, in Romania. It is close to the City of Turda (only half an hour car ride from Cluj- Napoca).

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HISTORY

The earliest written records of salt extraction and trade in Eastern Europe date from the Middle Ages, although the Turda Salt Mine has been in use way before that.

The first documents mentioning this Mine were issued in 1075 by the Hungarian Chancellery and later on in 1271 by the Head of the Catholic Church.

During the wars, it has been used as was a bomb shelter and warehouse for cheese storage.

FROM A SALT MINE TO A MAJOR TOURISTIC ATTRACTION

The original salt mine was officially closed in 1932, bringing to an end the extraction of salt which started in ancient times.

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In the early nineties, Turda's Salt Mine was closed for renovations for almost two years. It underwent a major facelift which allowed it to become one of hidden gems of the world. It got converted into museum serving two purposes: a medical treatment facility and a touristic attraction.

In 1992 it opened its doors to tourists and has received around two million tourists per year (locals and foreigners). The amusement park was designed to entertain its visitors who came in order to address certain respiratory problems.

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Its new futuristic outlook was well received by the tourists. Everyone seemed to enjoy the UFO-shaped constructions placed at the bottom of the mine, in Terezia Mine.

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Tourists can enjoy a day in this underground amusement park while performing various activities such as: playing tennis table, snook, pool, bowling, miniature-golf, row boating or taking a ride in one of the six gondolas of the Ferris wheel. The old lifts used to take out the salt have been converted into a Ferris wheel.

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Occasionally some musical events are being held in the Concert Hall. You can only imagine the acoustic effect during a concert!

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MEDICAL BENEFITS

The microclimate of the mine has a beneficial and curative effect for visitors suffering from respiratory conditions, skin irritations or those affected by mental lethargy and stress.

The constant air temperature, the reduced number of allergens along with the presence of aerosol salt particles and the predominance of positive ions in the air provide the optimal conditions for the development of various rehabilitation therapies in internal diseases and sanogenesis.

Thus Turda's Salt Mines turned also into an underground sanatorium for patients suffering from respiratory ailments. Halotherapy involves spending regularly some hours within a salt mine, inhaling the salt vapours.

View of the underground lake from above.

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DESCRIPTION

The Transylvanian plateau has salt deposits covering over 17 square miles, located at a average 820 ft in depth, some of the deposits are close to 4000 ft thick.

Here is a map of the Turda's assembly of mine galleries and operating rooms:

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VISITING SIGHTS OF TURDA'S SALT MINE COMPLEX

The sights from the assembly of the salt mine are the following:

• the main entrance from The Salt Valley,
• Francz Josef Gallery (the former entrance),
• The extraction well hall – Josef Salt Mine,
• The balcony of Josef’s Salt Mine (The Echo Hall),
• Josef Salt Mine, Crivac’s Hall,
• The extraction well hall,
• The Call Hall – The Altar – The Wealthy Scale,
• Salt Mine Terezia’s Balcony,
• Terezia Salt Mine,
• Rudolf Salt Mine,
• Salt Mine Rudolf’s Balcony,
• Ghisela Salt Mine.

THE TOUR

The tour starts with the descent into a 45 meters (147 ft) long tunnel (consisting of 107 steps) dug between 1987 and 1987 in order to provide a more accessible way for tourists into the mine. As you climb down, you will notice the temperature drops and the walls start sweating.

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FRANCZ JOSEPH GALLERY

The tunnel leads into Francz Joseph Gallery, a horizontal passage built in 1870 with the scope of facilitating the movement of salt to the surface.

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From here you can follow the pointers in order to get to the to Salt Mine Joseph’s Balcony. On the walls the salt crystals sweat and turn into slick black mirrors.

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THE BALCONY OF SAINT JOSEPH SALT MINE (THE ECHO HALL)

The Joseph Salt Mine is also called “The Echo Hall”, a name received because of its ability to generate an intense reverb of the sounds. The shape of the chamber along with the fact that it does not connect with any other mining works make the reverberation possible.

On the top balcony of the Joseph Salt Mine, vocalizations can be heard. Keep in mind that deepest point of the mine is at a depth of 115 m (377ft) below the surface and 80 m (262 ft) from the transport gallery.

CRIVAC HALL

Once you passed the Joseph’s balcony, you reached the Crivac Hall, an octagonal room where you are welcomed by the old wooden machinery used to extract salt. This rudimentary winch called “Crivac” was installed in 1881 when it replaced a smaller winch dating from 1864.

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According to the guide, this is the only machinery of its kind in Europe that has been preserved in the original location. During the days when it was functional, this machine required two horses on every arm of Crivac, in order to make it work.

The rails and flatbed cars used to take out the blocks of salt are being displayed within this room.

SALT MINE RUDOLF

In order to reach the Rudolf Hall you need to go down 13 levels (172 steps). Each one of the levels marks down the year of exploitation. You can take the stairs or use the elevator which offers a panoramic view of the whole mine. The dimensions of this trapezoid hall are 42 m deep (138 feet), 50 m wide (164 feet) and 80 m long (262 feet). The amusement park is located here.

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The wooden walkaway cut into the ledge allows tourists to stop, breath and take in the magnificent views of the 138-foot deep rectangular excavation.

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TEREZIA MINE

The dimensions of this underground cone-shaped hall are impressive: 98 m height (321 ft), 87 m diameter (285 ft)and 112 m (367 ft) depth. The “salt waterfall”, the underground lake, stalactites and salt efflorescences that can be found in this chamber leave tourists in awe. In the middle of the lake you can find one island created from the residual salt. The depth of the lake goes from 0.5 m to 8 m (1.6 to 26 ft).

View of the lake at the bottom of the Terezia Mine.

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Bridge linking the salt island to the rest of the mine.

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GHISELA MINE

This mine has been converted into a spa treatment room with natural aerosols. Most the patients that visit it have respiratory problems.

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PURE SALT

The geology of the mine is truly fascinating. In certain halls salt stalactites can be seen on the ceilings, some of them can reach nearly ten feet prior to breaking off due to their heavy weight. The purity of Turda’s salt is more exceptional. The tests showed that the concentration of sodium chloride was higher than 99%.

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WHEN TO VISIT

It can be visited all year round. Keep in mind that during the summer months (June to August) the number of tourist is generally higher and the mine tends to be crowded.

OPENING HOURS

The opening hours are from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M. For groups over 50 visitors, you can book a tour outside the regular visitation hours, for a certain fee.

HOW TO GET THERE

From Cluj, you can reach the city of Turda by hopping in one of the private mini-vans leaving each hour. Expect to pay the equivalent of $10 USD for one way trip which lasts around 35 minutes. You can also take a shuttle bus which is cheaper $2 USD.

ADMISSION FEES

Admission fee is approximately $6 USD per person for adults, $3 USD per person for children and students, and about $3.60 USD for retired people.

USEFUL INFORMATION

• No food, drinks are allowed
• No pets are allowed
• Use adequate shoes and clothing as the temperature in the Mine is between 10-12 degrees Celsius (50 -53 Fahrenheit) year round.

REFERENCES WEBSITES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salina_Turda
http://www.nomadtravellers.com/visit/salt-mine-salina-turda-romania
http://www.businessinsider.com/salina-turda-amusement-park-in-romania-2015-7
http://www.thebeautyoftravel.com/the-bizarre-beauty-of-transylvanias-salina-turda-salt-mine-theme-park/2/
http://agoratravel.ro/locations/turda-salt-mine/
http://salinaturda.eu/tourism-mine/?lang=en
http://www.atlasofwonders.com/2014/04/salina-turda-mine.html

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