Binecuvântările gropii Puturosu

Europe's largest natural mofetta, the 14-metre-long Sulphurous Cave in Turia, lies just ten kilometres north-west of Târgu Secuiesc, on the Bálványos Pass at an altitude of 1052 metres, on the southern slopes of the Sulphurous Hill. The cavern is essentially the abandoned shaft of a sulphur mine, the privilege of sulphur production once belonging to the municipality of Turia. Later it became the property of the Apor family, and in 1892 Baron Gábor Apor had the cavern lined with carved stones and a door made, which was opened only for a certain time each day, under constant supervision.

The old people used to call these volcanic cavities, filled with stifling gas and sometimes with the unpleasant smell of hydrogen sulphide, stinking pits, or steam rooms. Its medicinal properties lie in the fact that it infiltrates through the pores of the skin of the lower body, dilates the thin blood vessels, accelerates circulation, and temporarily curbs and eliminates the leg pain of persons suffering from vasoconstriction.

After the First World War, the cave, together with the surrounding Bálványos Baths, was given to a pulmonary sanatorium, but regular use of the mofetta soon ceased. At the turn of the century, the first Hungarian carbonic acid factory used the gas that escaped from there. The cave is now open to the public, and signs at the entrance warn of the most important facts.

Samu Csinta