Salina Turda

Rudolf Mine - Turda Salt Mine

Useful Information

Location:	Turda, 25km souteast of Cluj.
Open:	closed. [2009]
Fee:	closed. [2009]
Classification:	Salt Mine
Light:	electric.
Dimension:	T=10-12°C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Johann Fridwaldszky (1767): Mineralogia Magnus Principatus Transilvaniae, (Latin)
Address:
Last update:	$Date: 2011/12/13 09:05:43 $

History

Description

At Turda the Salt Customs are mentioned for the first time in 1075 AD, but the mining has started much earlier. Salt was mined in small amounts in ancient times, but very little is known about the early mining history. Later the Roman Empire conquered the area which was formerly ruled by the Dacian kings. In this era systematic underground mining started. However, the first written accounts date from the 13th century, and it is documented that it was owned by the catholic church of Transilvania. Buildings were erected above ground, including salt stores. The royal inspectors Paulus Bornemisza and Georgius Wernher visited the mine in 1552 and wrote an report which is still existing. They describe the Large Mine and the Small Mine, both used for minign at the same time. The salt was of very high quality, very pure, so it could be used as it was without any processing.

During the late of the 17th century and the early 18th century, the Royal Court in Vienna tried to develop the area by intensifying the mining activities. There were numerous mines in the area, but Turda soon became the most important one. In 1767 the mineralogist Johann Fridwaldszky pubished the book Mineralogia Magnus Principatus Transilvaniae, in which he described the Turda mines as being worth visiting. He describes the mining techniques, where vertical shafts were used to lift the salt from the ground, which ended in huge bell shaped chambers where the salt was actually mined. Five such wells existed at this time named the upper one, the low one, Cojocnean, St. Terezia, and Sf. Anton. This great era of mining slowly ended around 1840, when the salt mine in Ocna Mures started to compete.

But in 1853 the slow decrease was stopped with the construction of the Franz Jozef Gallery, an 916.65m long tunnel built to easily transport the salt to the surface. The St. Terezia Well was modernized by adding two side chambers, called Ghizela and Rudolf. The new chambers were rectangular with an trapezoid profile, parallel and between 10m and 12m wide and 17m to 34m high. The mining at Turda still used the old technique which is called room and pilar. The miners respected the stability of the salt and left some salt between the chambers to form a huge pilar which supports the caprock. The parralle chambers are so long, they appear more like a huge passage.

The tourist mine showed the shaft of the Iosif Mine, which was used as a Contemporary Art Museum. Then the huge bell shaped Iosif Mine. Through the Octogonal Room the shaft of the Rudolf Mine is reached. Then the next bell shaped chamber of Terezia Mine, the Rudolf Mine and finally stationary room and the digger's room of Ghizela Mine. The mine was left at the far end through another tunnel leading to the Salt Valley.

In 2009 the mine was closed for renovation. Architect Dumitru Iosif is rebuilding and modernizing the underground mine and spa. Some pretty impresive computer simulations can be seen on the website of the architects (see links below). The project is funded with 4.8 million euros from the European Community and 1 million euros from the city of Turda and the Cluj County Council. Completion of the work is scheduled in January 2010, then the mine will be reopened. We do not know if there will be a show mine again, but at least it will be open as a spa. The Rudolf Salt Mine was transformed into an 80-seat amphitheatre for concerts, a mini-golf field and a multi-sport field, all underground. It is accessible with a modern elevator from the surface.

See also

• Search Google for "Salina Turda"
• Google Earth Placemark
• Turda Salt Mine
• Contact Studio - Arhitectura
• Turda Rudolf Mine - Turda Salt Mine
• Turda Salt Mine - Salina Turda Photo | TrekEarth
• Transylvania Live! Transylvania in all senses

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