Salina Turda: NaCl underworld

  1. Good morning in Cluj-Napoca. Neo-baroque Hotel Continental.
  2. A rally in Union Square in support of the nationwide strike of education workers.
  3. Not only teachers, but also students and their parents are participating in the protest.
  4. Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (was born in Cluj, but had quarrels with its rebels and impaled some) near the St. Michael’s Church.
  5. Porcelain St. George is a funny copy of the 1373 bronze statue of the Cluj brothers, installed in Cluj, Budapest and Prague.
  6. Obelisk in honour of the visit of Francis I (aka Francis II) and his wife Caroline Augusta, who toured the provinces of the Austrian Empire in 1817.
  7. Lights, camera, action!
  8. Memorial to the 18,000 Jewish men, women and children deported from Cluj to Auschwitz in 1944.
  9. Pharmacy on the corner.
  10. Already familiar Michael the Brave and a giant poster for Imagine Dragons, who collect halls, not lands (even better).
  11. About half an hour’s drive from Cluj is the town of Turda and its famous salt mine. That’s not it yet.
  12. Reformed Church on the road to the mine.
  13. A picturesque wall near the old entrance to the mine.
  14. Old tunnel to Salina Turda (about 600 m). Twice as long as the new one, but still saves a lot of time and effort.
  15. Balcony over the bell-shaped Joseph hall (laid a year before his birth). The echo here repeats high-pitched sounds up to 20 times.
  16. Infernal machine of 1881. In the light of torches, 4-8 horses turned the arms, lifting bags of salt. Went blind in two weeks, retired in six months.
  17. Would you please pass the salt?
  18. Rudolf main hall is 42 m high, but the only elevator can accommodate no more than 7 people. If you don’t wanna wait, go tramp on the stairs.
  19. The thousand-year-old mine was closed in 1932 as unprofitable, until in 2010, for a mere six mil, they turned it into a cultural leisure centre.
  20. Underground lake in Theresa mine (to the left of the main hall).
  21. If you go down to the lake and lift your head up, you can see the elevator shaft in a beautiful frame. Theresa mine is 112 m high.
  22. “Ice” on structures is salt deposits, virtually all surfaces here are covered with them.
  23. Outside view.
  24. Back to the main hall in time to ride the ferries wheel.
  25. The ceiling gallery is not for the fainthearted (view from the ferries wheel below).
  26. Salty stalactites.
  27. At five, everyone is asked to leave. It can be tempting to discreetly lick the corridor wall (but it’s better not to).
  28. Ceramic insulators do not look that appetising, I admit it.
  29. Back to Cluj. Gothic St. Michael’s Church of the 14th century managed to be Lutheran, Calvinist and Unitarian, now it’s Catholic again.
  30. A good animator with an interesting program.