Epic trips inside the Romanian salt mines

A few thousand years ago, if you are still able to remember, the Mediterranean Sea exceeded  very much its today surface and covered the South Eastern Europe, including Romania, to be more precisely.

A former salt mine, transformed in leisure area, at Turda

May be it is not correct to name that specific sea the Mediterranean one, as the overall configuration of the continents and water surfaces was totally different comparing with what we can see nowadays (thus, it was practically impossible to taste wine in Romania!). We can proof this statement through some of the local names, like Salina, Ocna, or sarat=salt. THERE ARE TO FIND SALT LAKES AND CREEKS, PROOFING AGAIN MY ALLEGATION.
Already known in the antiques  for its properties of conserving the food, the salt was very good appreciated (more than gold) in the good old times!

The salt mine from Cacica with a combination of wood and salt sculpture

The Romans first exploited this great richness, followed by other incoming people.

Very well known are mines from Cacica and Slanic Moldova, where 180 years ago, specially for exploiting salt, came here Polish, Ukraineans or Slovaks, resulting in a multicultural society. A few decades ago, the salt lost its importance and the mines have been closed. many of them are opened today only for health and leisure.

Another salt mine of the past, in Praid

In Praid, Slanic, Ocna Sibiului etc you can breath the salt air, which is so good for your lungs, or have a bath in a very salt lake (you don't need to swim at all, the salt water pushes you strongly and amazingly for the newbies to the surface!). You can appreciate in those underground galleries how difficult was to work in these mines (stop thinking to do a career in the area). During the XIXth century by this work took part mainly the jailed criminals (Ocna is simply another word for salt mine exploited with criminals!).

Also to admire, where the visiting is possible: the sculptures. There are churches, statues, golf fields etc and all are made with an extraordinary skill! This industry still has in Romania a huge potential, and it is highly probably to reopen those mines, you should hurry up to visit these extraordinary places.

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