Ocna Sibiului resort, also named “The seaside of Ardeal”, is situated at an altitude of 400 m from the sea level in the northwestern part of the Depression of Sibiu, 15 km away from the city of Sibiu. The area has a temperate continental climate characteristic for hills and plateaus with a series of local nuances (temperature inversion during winters, atmospheric calm, strongly sundrenched), its climatic particularities having an important role in the prevention and the treatment of certain illnesses as well.
Ocna Sibiului was first attested in documents in 1263, although the area was inhabited since the times of the Dacians.
The transformation of the mines in saltwater lakes was a continuous and inevitable process. The mines were abandoned one by one and, in spite of the sustained efforts of the miners, the pluvial water and the networks of underground waters finally won. In time, due to the influence of the climatic factors, the collapsing of the walls became imminent and the salt mines became the lakes existing at the present, the main attraction of the resort.
The healing properties of the water are mentioned for the first time in 1598 when the ambassador of king Rudolf II discovered the therapeutic effect of the waters, when, on his way to Constantinople he stops here to enjoy the baths. In 1820, doctor Pataky Samuel, performs an analysis of the water from a chemical point of view, thus proving scientifically the healing power of the water due to the various existing therapeutic elements. The deficiencies of the locomotion system, chronic degenerative rheumatisms, pre-arthritis and arthritis, spondylitis, as well as various gynecology illnesses.
The hydrologic element is very rich and is represented by the chain of lakes which total a hydrologic surface of 35,700 square meters and a volume of 265,700 cubic meters. The most important lakes are the following: “The bottomless lake”, declared a monument of nature, with the most powerful heliotermic phenomenon, “Deserted Ocna Lake” with a depth of 160 m, being the deepest anthropic - saline lake in Romania and “Brâncoveanu Lake”, the lake with the highest salinity in this resort (a salinity of 310 g/l).
At present, the Ocna Sibiului Health & Spa is completely rehabilitated following an intense restoration process which closely respected the original architectural line imprinted by the architects from Vienna (only the central pavilion was demolished given its advanced state of degradation, its restoration being impossible).