Each of the small cities has that treasured that is called its main attraction. All the townspeople know about it, it must be shown to guests and tourists. Ukrainian Soledar was lucky with such a relic - the salt mines of this city impress not only compatriots, but also tourists from all over the world.
Salt Mines of Soledar: Acquaintance
Soledar, the salt mines of which will be the theme of our story, is a quiet, calm city, the administrative unit of Artemovsk. Its main attraction is hidden at a depth of about 300 meters - in the middle of a huge salt layer in the bowels of the earth, in a mine working out. Since the place is visited daily by hundreds of tourists, it is not necessary to note its uniqueness. According to many of them, the impressions of a walk in a deep underground salt mine can not be compared with anything. And the descent into it on the miner's elevator is an additional adventure, seasoned with sharp emotions.
Today, the salt wealth of Soledar is developed by the Ukrainian company Artyomsol. This deposit is considered to be unique - the produced salt does not contain any impurities, i.e., after development, it can be immediately packaged and sent for sale. In addition to its industrial activities, the company has established not only a tourist, but also a medical direction - the well-known speleosanatorium "Salt Symphony" is located in the mines, the features of which we will definitely touch upon later.
How to get to the salt mines
Salt mines can be found by coordinates: Ukraine, Donetsk region, Soledar, st. Oktyabrskaya, 11 (Artyomsol enterprise, mine No. 1, 3 — 3 bis ventilation shaft). There are two ways to get to the location:
- By electric train to the station "Sol" from points Donetsk, Gorlovka, Nikitovka, Artemovsk. The price of a one-way trip is about 11 hryvnias (about 50 rubles). From the station by bus to the stop "Lyceum" (the local population also calls it "Speleosanatorium", "Bursa", "School"). The bus schedule is coordinated with the arrival time of the trains.
- From bus stations of Artyomovsk "city-suburb". You will need buses number 122 and number 123 to the stop "Lyceum" (4-5 hryvnia).
Soledar, salt mines: excursions, price
The tour is conducted through the processed mines of mine No. 1-3 (chamber No. 41 bis). The length of the route is 700 m. Be sure to bring warm clothes (the temperature here is not above +14 degrees) and comfortable shoes with a thick sole - salt “pebbles” up to 40 mm in diameter will come across on the way. Be careful - it is forbidden to use fire in the mine, so it is better not to take lighters, matches, etc. with you to Soledar.
Excursions to salt mines (work schedule - six days a week, except Mondays, at 11.00, 13.00, 15.00) are very popular. A preliminary recording is also necessary - it can be agreed on the official website of Artyomsol or when calling guides at the numbers indicated on this resource.
For 1 hour 40 minutes you will inspect the salt mines of Soledar. Tours cost 100 hryvnias (about 250 rubles) per visitor. Children under 10 years old are not allowed to visit the mine. Also, the composition of the group must necessarily consist of from 10 to 60 people.
What awaits you on an excursion
Before the descent, safety training is mandatory; miners' helmets are issued to all visitors. Tourists get to their destination in a real mining elevator cage at a speed of 4 m / s. The exact depth of the salt mines is 288 m.
Under the ground you have to spend about an hour and a half. In the course of your route, you will definitely see:
- mine workings in the thickness of the purest salt (floor, ceiling, walls here are completely saline - you can even taste them), stroll through caves up to 30 meters high, dug by a combine;
- figures made of salt made by local craftsmen (miner, palm, kind Shubin (miner's "god"), gnomes - all figurines are illuminated by colorful lights that unusually shimmer on salt crystals);
- underground chapel with icons;
- a huge hall (height - 40 m, width - 100 m) where you can take off your shoes, walk along the salt "sand" and even play football - there is a goal and a ball, and the "lawn" - 100% NaCl;
- 6-meter green Christmas tree, which has been here for several years and does not die out because of the healing air;
- underground cafe with coffee, tea, sweets;
- a film about the history of the Soledar mines, salt production technology, interesting facts about this place.
- a collection of packages for salt packaged for export.
The duration of the walk replaces about 15 saline inhalations, so if a tourist has a sore throat or a runny nose, by the end of the tour he can completely get rid of unpleasant symptoms. However, working in such a mine is characterized by the opposite effect: salt dust suspended in the air due to the operation of the combine corrodes the lungs, which negatively affects the health of miners.
Interesting facts about the mine
During the tour you will learn and see a lot of interesting things about Soledar, salt mines:
- In 2003, a record was set in the underground gallery for the Guinness book - underground ballooning.
- In 2004, an underground concert was held in the same place with the participation of the Donbass Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the Austrian K. Schmid and Victoria Lukyanets, the soloist of the Vienna Opera. By the way, according to musicians, there are very few theaters in the world that can compete with the acoustics of Soledarovsky mines. Therefore, concerts, exhibitions of artists are often held here.
- An excursion to the salt mines of Soledar will show one of the most valuable exhibits - a palm made of salt, which is an exact copy of the symbol of Donbass, the palm of Mertsalov.
After the tour, tourists can also visit the Soledar reserve of blue and silver firs, the only one in Ukraine.
History of the salt mines of Soledar
The whole history of the territories of the Donetsk basin is connected with salt production. As historians suggest, even before Christmas, they were able to evaporate spice from the salted brine of the Bakhmut and Torsk lakes, which were once on the site of mines. But only in the 17th century did salt production become permanent here. By the way, a large proportion of the coal mined here was primarily spent on salt production, and only then on metallurgy and other industries.
Although in the XVIII century, many knowledgeable people spoke about the huge salt reserves in the place of modern Soledar, only the geologist A.P. Karpinsky could substantiate this hypothesis in 1880. Also in 1876-1880. The “Government well”, laid according to the technology of mining engineer P. I. Ivanov, showed that up to 9 salt formations are in the earth’s thickness, among which the most ambitious was 40 meters in diameter, later called Bryantsevsky. Here are the salt mines of Soledar today, their history begins from here.
After the production was established, near the field were destroyed workers' villages to them. Karl Liebknecht, Mesopotamia, Salt, Belokamenka, Dekonsky. In 1965 they were combined into the Soviet Carlo-Liebknechtovsk. In 1991, it was renamed the city of Soledar, whose salt mines are so popular in industry, tourism and medicine.
Salt mines: healing effect
The microclimate of the salt mine, located at a depth of 288 meters, is truly unique, because its walls are 98-99% NaCl. 1 m 3 of air contains up to 15 mg of salt microparticles, the size of which varies between 1-5 microns. This composition has bactericidal properties, resists the synthesis and development of microorganism cells in the respiratory tract, which, as a result, prevents inflammatory processes. Therefore, the salt mines of Soledar are pure recovery.
Beneficial effect on the state and stable humidity of 60%, atmospheric pressure 772 mmHg.
Speleosanatorium "Salt Symphony"
Speaking about Soledar, salt mines, it is impossible not to say about its unique speleosanatorium, where drug therapy is completely absent. Moreover, the effectiveness of treatment is 85-95% in children and 70-85% in adults (with remission for a period of 6-12 months).
Here you can be cured, rehabilitated, undergo a preventive course for diseases and manifestations such as:
- bronchitis (obstructive and asthmatic, "smoker's bronchitis");
- bronchial asthma;
- chronic pneumonia;
- allergic rhinitis and dermatitis;
- food and drug allergies;
- weakened children's immunity;
- chronic fatigue.
Procedures that are included in the course (only treatment without accommodation and meals is possible here):
- speleotherapy in the halls of the salt mine;
- massotherapy;
- oxygen cocktails;
- breathing exercises;
- physiotherapy;
- medical fitness.
The name of the city of Soledar salt mines had a significant impact. And for good reason - the history of this place is closely connected with a similar industry. However, most of all the city is famous for amazing excursions to the amazing underground world, unique in its microclimate constituent speleosanatorium.