Lacul Negru (Black Lake), Sovata

Lacul Negru lies in the Sovata-Băi resort, on Strada Bradului, less than a kilometre south-west of Lake Ursu. Like all the salt lakes of Sovata, it formed on the salt massif on which the town stands. It is considered the oldest lake of the resort: it formed in 1710 through the collapse of a salt pit. It covers about 3,700 square metres. Like the other salt lakes of the resort, its bed holds sapropelic mud used in treatments. The lake has been used for bathing since the early days of the resort. In 1941, 35 bathing cabins belonging to the bath of Veress József, founder of Sovata's first licensed bath, stood on its eastern shore, and after 1925 a treatment centre for rheumatic and gynaecological conditions was built beside it.