Along with the famous Solotvino lakes, the salt mines, where salt has been mined since time immemorial, are also considered to be famous attractions of Solotvino. It is a whole underground kingdom — amazing, sparkling and fabulous, and anyone can visit it with an excursion.
Salt mining in a small Transcarpathian village began in the I-II centuries BC during the Roman Empire. Since then, salt mining in these parts has gone through several stages of development. The most turbulent of them occurred in the second half of the XVIII century, when Solotvyno was part of Austria-Hungary — at that time there were eight salt mines operating here at the same time.
Today, salt is extracted in only two mines on a much smaller scale, but over the centuries of salt mining, the Solotvino salt mines have become an entire underground system.
The mines are formed by step pits, «devil’s pits» and huge underground caverns dug with the help of machinery already in later times. Step pits were the most primitive way of salt extraction, up to 20 meters deep. And the devil’s pits were the next step in the evolution of salt mining. They reached a depth of 120-150 meters, in them workers descended on rope ladders, and then with the help of bags of buffalo skin or nets of twine lifted salt to the surface. Not many of these mines have survived to this day, although a few of them can be seen in the industrial area of the village. Most of the salt mines today are underground caves dug to a depth of up to 400 meters from the surface.
Breathless guests of Solotva salt mines can see a marvelous underground world as they descend. The salt that makes up the thickness of the walls and webs of underground galleries sparkles and shimmers, presenting a fantastic picture to the eye. The real attraction of the mines is the underground salt lake formed in one of the mines at a depth of 400 meters from the surface of the earth. Walking through the giant tunnels dug by machines resembling spaceships, which can be seen here, you can feel like a hero of a sci-fi movie set on another planet.
Visiting salt mines leaves the brightest impressions. And for those who prefer to combine the pleasant with the useful, there is another option: in several mines today are placed the premises of the allergy hospital. In these premises at a depth of 290-300 meters speleotherapy is practiced — a method of treatment based on the beneficial effects of the unique microclimate of the caves. The air here is saturated with biologically active aerosol of sodium chloride, which has a therapeutic effect on the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, and microorganisms in the mines are 10 times less than in ordinary air. Speleotherapy is indicated for people with bronchial asthma, as well as many other chronic nonspecific respiratory diseases. Those wishing to undergo a course of treatment, which is usually 15-25 sessions, are brought to the caves overnight, or for 5-10 hours, depending on the severity of diseases, then «taken» back to the surface of the earth. For all those who prefer health-improving tourism in Ukraine, speleotherapy in Solotva mines is a great opportunity to improve health, it is also indicated as a prevention of various diseases.
No matter how you decide to visit the amazing Solotva salt mines — with an excursion or as a patient, bright and pleasant impressions of what you have seen will remain forever. This is a fantastic world that excites the imagination, which in addition gives all its guests who came to holiday in Solotvino, health.