Bear Lake's legend - Sovata
Although the conditions of the genesis of the Bear Lake in Sovata – known also as the Dead Sea of Transylvania – were accurately explored by science, according to the folk tradition it was created as an effect of a tragic love between a fairy and a shepherd boy in the Salt Region in Szeklerland. The highlands in the area of Sovata were inhabited by fairies, and one of them –violating the laws – fell in love with a beautifully shepherd who played the whistle beautifully. But when she got down to the people, she found the boy in the arms of a girl. She became very angry and in revenge turned her love together with his sheep in stones, and being sorrowful she sank her own beautiful palace under the ground. In the site of the palace was formed a huge pit, which was filled with the tears of the unceasingly crying fairy.The Bear Lake of Sovata – with the salt mine in Praid – is one of the main tourist attractions in the Salt Region. The folkways about the fabulous lake has as background the fact that its salt content is extremely high, so bathers can easily float on the surface of the water.
This unique experience should definitely be lived if we are in Sovata.The current shape of the lake, similar to a stretched bear skin, was formed between 1875 and 1881. This is how it got its name. This is the unique heliothermic lake in the world, its water surface temperature can reach 35 degrees Celsius in summer and its central water layers can be warmed up to 70 degrees Celsius. The multifaceted healing effect of water has been known for decades, but the sludge of the lake is also used to treat a variety of health problems, including anti-inflammatory treatment.The settlement lies in an exceptional natural environment. There are several smaller and larger salt and freshwater lakes around the Bear Lake, among which one can wander and easily imagine that the countryside was inhabited and shaped by fairies.
Health tourism and exceptional beauties in nature attract a lot of visitors to Sovata every year, where there are a plenty of restaurants, cafés, hotels and guest houses for visitors.The built heritage of the city is also unique in Transylvania. Centuries-old houses and a number of villas have unique architectural features – some of them so spectacular that the visitor can imagine the former palace of the legendary fairy.
This unique experience should definitely be lived if we are in Sovata.The current shape of the lake, similar to a stretched bear skin, was formed between 1875 and 1881. This is how it got its name. This is the unique heliothermic lake in the world, its water surface temperature can reach 35 degrees Celsius in summer and its central water layers can be warmed up to 70 degrees Celsius. The multifaceted healing effect of water has been known for decades, but the sludge of the lake is also used to treat a variety of health problems, including anti-inflammatory treatment.The settlement lies in an exceptional natural environment. There are several smaller and larger salt and freshwater lakes around the Bear Lake, among which one can wander and easily imagine that the countryside was inhabited and shaped by fairies.
Health tourism and exceptional beauties in nature attract a lot of visitors to Sovata every year, where there are a plenty of restaurants, cafés, hotels and guest houses for visitors.The built heritage of the city is also unique in Transylvania. Centuries-old houses and a number of villas have unique architectural features – some of them so spectacular that the visitor can imagine the former palace of the legendary fairy.
