Salina Praid

Praid Salt Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Praid. 5 km from Sovata, Harghita County. (46.550779, 25.120487)
Open:	All year daily 8-20, last entry 18:30. Buses start every 30 minutes. [2021]
Fee:	Adults RON 35, Children (3-18) RON 25, Children (0-2) free, Students RON 25, Disabled RON 20. Groups: 1 free ticket for every 20 tickets. [2021]
Classification:	Salt Mine Halotherapy
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	T=14-16 °C, H=66-70%.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Sucursala Salina Praid, Str. Garii, nr. 44, loc. Praid, jud. Harghita, CP537240, Tel: +400-266-240-200, Fax: +40-0266-240-688. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2nd century AD	Romans exploited the salt.
1291	first written mention of mining in Praid in a letter of the Hungarian King Andras III, regarding the royal rights on the salt pans.
1405	King Luxemburg Zsigmond forbids the great landowners to open salt mines on their lands.
1558	Prince Ioan Sigismund II introduced the use of fire.
1567	recordings of mining at Praid.
1762	Jozsef Mine opened under the supervision of the Austrian engineer Frendl Aladar.
1787	Praid becomes property of the Treasury of Vienna, systematic mining established.
1861	Orban Balazs mentions that salt from Praid was used by the whole area inhabited by Szeklers and Saxons.
1864	Parhuzamos (Parallel Mine) opened mearby.
1945	traditional Hungarian method of salt mining replaced by the use of explosives.
1947	Dozsa Gyorgy (Gh. Doja) mine opened.
early 1960s	first halootherapy opened in Gh. Doja mine.
1980	halotherapy moved to 50th floor, 120 m below ground.
1993	underground ecumenical chapel consecrated.

Geology

Dealul Sarii (salt hill, 567 m asl) is composed of salt. The salt deposit is one of the largest bodies of rock salt in Europe, and estimated to consist of 3 Billion tons of salt. The diapir is slightly elliptical with diameters of: 1.2 km and 1.4 km and has a depth of 2700 m. The surface of the salt is eroded by rain water and shows halo karst phenomena.

Description

The county Harghita - commonly known as Salt Zone - is located in the eastern part of the Transilvanian basin, at the southern feet of the Gheorgheni Mountains. This area has salt deposits, which reach the surface and were mined over millennia. Oldest mining traces were found from the Roman times, but salt mining was especially important during the Middle Ages.

A specialty was the Szekler salt, which meant the right to mine salt three times a year without any restriction or tax. Szekler (in Hungarian Szekely) were ethnically Hungarians who lived in the northern-central regions of Transylvania as pastoralists. They enjoyed exemption from taxation in return for military service. It was an important right for them, but it was abandoned in 1558 by Prince Ioan Sigismund II. Discontent rose and in culminated 1562 in the Szekler Rising. But they were defeated and the tax exemtion was cancelled.

Praid is the natural centre of the Szekely Salt Country. This salt mine is used for various activities, but the most important is halotherapy. As a result the number of visitors is really high and the infrastructure is impressive. There are underground playgrounds for children, a buffet, billiard-tables and an ecumenical chapel. The mine has about 2,500 to 3,000 visitor per day, during the summer months June to August about 230,000 visitors are counted.

The halotherapy, a form of speleotherapy, is based on the special climate of the mine. The warm, dry, and absolutely clean air is ideal for patients with respiratory diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis and allergies. The management gives additional positive aspects like a bigger pressure than on the surface and highly ionized air. This is a typical holistic therapy which is generally not accepted by allopathic doctors, but it is very poplular in many communistic countries. A complete treatment takes 18 days, with daily visits to the mine, but it is said to have a verifiable positive effect from three to four visits on.

The salt is also used for other purposes. For example there is a salt water swimmming pool, which is for wellness and relaxation, rheuma treatment, and skin diseases. The water is 36 °C warm, which limits the healthy bathing time to 30 minutes. Typically, a treatment consists of 10-14 warm baths of 10 to 30 minutes. One of the pools is open air, the others are inside, but the bath is open only during Summer.

The mine also offers regular mine tours. The visitors are driven into the mine by bus, tours start as soon as the number of 25 visitors is reached, which is rather often with about 2,500 visitors daily. The tours include an underground mining museum, which shows salt minerals, mining tools, and folk art objects. It explains the mining technology and the salt transport. There are also art exhibitions, were sculptures cut out of the salt are shown. Beneath the chapel and the beer garden, there is even an internet cafe.