Bakhmut & Soledar is a municipality with a population of 13,000 inhabitans in the province of Donetsk, which is currently disputed by the government of Ukraine, based in Kiev, and separatist forces. The town has changed hands several times during the dispute. The area has extensive reserves of very pure salt that have only been exploited on an industrial scale since 1881. Workings are continued by the large company known as Artyomsalt.
A range of galleries where production has ceased has been opened to the public. The most spectacular is Chamber 41 which is 135 m long, 17 m wide and 24 m high. It is large enough to stage football matches and symphony concerts, and in winter is traditionally decorated with fir trees. Elsewhere in the workings visitors can see sculptures carved from salt, a chapel created in one of the chambers, and displays showing mining tools, the properties of salt, and the material culture of salt mining communities. The old workings also accommodate a sanatorium which is particularly recommended for the treatment of lung conditions.
Soledar salt mine
Vul Oktyabrska 11
Bakhmut & Soledar
Ukraine
+38 (0) 6274 - 42538
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