The Largest Salt Mine in Europe: Visit the Place that Can Heal You While You’re Feeling Like the Tiniest Person on Earth
January 26th, 2015 |
- Prahova Salt Mine (Slanic Prahova) is the largest salt mine in Europe that is opened to the public. At this moment, the mine is not used for industrial purposes but for touristic and medical ones.
People come here all the year round to visit the impressive galleries carved in salt. Leaving aside the beauty of the place, this salt mine is also known for having a healing role in treating some respiratory infections.
The road to the salt mine is not impressive and not even the road to the core of the mountain, but once you have stepped through the gates of it, another world seems to uncover in front of your eyes. It took me over five minutes to get used to the massive galleries.
The first excavations in the Salt Mountain of Prahova are pinned by historical documents in the year 1685. The mining continued since then until 1972. The galleries are over 55 meters high, greater than the the hight of the Statue of Liberty without it’s foundation.
There are 14 rooms where you can stroll inside the mine on a surface of 78 square meters. 2,9 millions of cubic solid measure metered were excavated to reveal the great galleries.
The temperature is constant of 13 degrees celsius and the air humidity of 60%.
In one of the rooms, tourists can see a bust of Decebal the last king of the Dacians, the ancestors of the Romanian people. On the other side of the room you can also see tha bust of Traian, the roman emperor who managed to conquer the land of the Dacians. Traian and Decebal are considered to be the founders of the Romanian people.
Surrounding these busts there are some ornamental carvings that are carved in salt with Dacian and Roman motifs. Other busts in these salt galleries are of Mihai Viteazul, one of the most respected kings of Romania and one of Mihai Eminescu the most known poet of Romania.
Inside of this great mine, there are organized spaces for sportive activities and competitions. There are also leisure spaces for people who come here for therapeutic reasons. The air in the mine is exceptionally good for breathing problems and also for those who suffer from rheumatic impairment.
Therapy in the Salt Mine
Salt has been known as a powerful health remedy since ancient times, especially for respiratory health and detoxification. In many ways, these two functions are the foundation of overall health.
Speleotherapy originated in Poland in the 1950s, when medical providers noticed that salt miners rarely suffered from tuberculosis.
More details on touristinromania
Posted in