THERAPEUTIC AND TOURISM RECOVERY OF MICROCLIMATE FROM PRAID AND TURDA SALT MINES
CAMELIA BIANCA TOMA1, I.A. IRIMUŞ1
1"Babes-Bolyai" University, Faculty of Geography, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, România, emails: camelia.toma@ubbcluj.ro, irimus@geografie.ubbcluj.ro
ABSTRACT. – Therapeutic and Tourism Recovery of Microclimate from Praid and Turda Salt Mines. Saliferous area Praid – Sovata – Corund is situated on the contact area of the Transylvanian Basin with neo-eruptive mountain chain of Eastern Carpathians, Calimani – Gurghiu – Harghita, and at the contact of Târnave Plateau with the orogenic alignment of Gurghiu – Harghita Mountains. The beginnings of salt exploitation in Praid dates back to the Roman era. Underground salt exploitation began in 1762, in the south-west of Salt Hill, and continues today. The salt massif from Turda develops on the anticline Sic –Cojocna – Turda, oriented NE – SW, 2 km NE of Turda downtown. Archaeological evidence of the salt exploitation from Durgau-Turda, exist since the pre-Roman period (50 BC-106 AD). Other documents proving the exploitation in Turda date since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, during the Hungarian and Austrian dominions. Exploitation continued until 1932, when they were stopped because of primitive technical equipment, low efficiency and competition from other Transylvanian salt mines. The holes resulting from exploitation were arranged and turned into treatment rooms for those affected by respiratory diseases. The underground treatment from Praid salt mine, started by the 1960s in Doja mine, and in in 1992 at Turda Salt Mine. These underground treatments are possible due to the microclimate which was formed in the salt mines.