The Crivac Room (19th-century winch) at the sale mine of Salina Turda (Transylvania) in Turda, Romania
The crivac is one of the main points of interest in the salt mine. The octagonal room hosts a winch called "crivac" or "gepel", rudimentary machinery used to lift salt rocks on the surface. It dates from 1881. This machine replaced another, smaller in size, that was installed in Salina Turda is a salt mine in the Durgau-Valea Sarata area of Turda, the second largest city in Cluj County, Romania. Since its opening to tourists in 1992, Salina Turda has been visited by about two million Romanian and foreign tourists. Salina Turda was placed by Business Insider at the top of their list of the ten "coolest underground places in the world". Likewise, Salina Turda was once ranked among the "25 hidden gems around the world that are worth the trek". Salt was first extracted here during the antiquity and the mine continuously produced table salt from the Middle Ages, the mine being first mentioned in 1075, to the early-20th century (1932). The first document that speaks explicitly about the existence of a salt mine in Turda dates from 1 May 1271, being issued by the Hungarian chancellery. Documents preserved from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries that refer to the Turda salt mines mention that salines were arranged in Băile Sărate microdepression and on the south-eastern slope of the Valea Sărată. Operating rooms were placed on the sites of current salt lakes from the perimeters mentioned above. In the seventeenth century has begun first salt mining works on the north-western slope of Valea Valea Sărată, evidenced by shafts in the dome of Terezia room. Shortly after, the Sfântul Anton mine was opened, where mining activity continued until the first half of the twentieth century. Since 1992, Salina Turda has been a halotherapy center and a popular tourist attraction. In 2008, the salt mine was modernized and improved under the program PHARE 2005 ESC large regional/local infrastructure, worth six million euros. It was opened to tourism in January 2010.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Salina Turda, Aleea Durgaului 7, Turda 401106, Transylvania, Romania, Balkans, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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