Banat Mountains Page 2 of 4 Baile Herculane Baile Herculane (Hercules Baths) population not exceeding 10000 inhabitants, is an important area for tourism. Historical outline The first facilities were built by the Romans, after A.D.105. The Roman " termae" were placed under the aegis of the god Hercules. Many votive tables dating from between A.D. 107 and 287 stand proof to the therapeutic qualities of the water. In 1736, Count Hamilton remade some of the facilities on the old Romans sites. After 1817 the first modern baths and hotels were built . In 1887, Prince Carol I presented Baile Herculane spa with the bronze statue of Hercules. In 1884 the first thermal water intake well was drilled (Neptune 1.27 m depth). Between 1968-1984 seven new hotels, provided with their own balneotherapeutical facilities were built, and the integrated water distribution system was completed. The current accomodation capacity of the spa exceeds 3,000 places. The most important tourist attraction of Baile Herculane is represented by the mineral waters and natural springs. All the springs used for medical treatment are sulphuric, except two of them which contain chlorine, sodium and calcium and temperatures range between 17°C and 62°C. The Cerna Valley itself is, for a distance of about 60 km, surprisingly linear. This is due to the the river following the course of a major fault line. The Cernei Mountains are represented by as series of parallel peaks, perpendicular on the axis of Cerna Valley. Parts of these mountains form branches of the Godeanu Mountains. In the marine limestone of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, in the Cernei and Mehedinti Mountains, water has created different surface karst landforms (exokarst) and underground karst landforms (endokarst). In the first category the following can be included: narrow and barren peaks, fragmented slopes, limestone steep slopes, rapids etc. In the second category the caves and the avens are the main components. The second mountainous range, which is limited by the Cerna Valley (towards east), are the Mehedinti Mountains. These start from Oslea peak and go along Cerna River until its confluence with the Danube. The western margin is abrupt on the Cerna side and the eastern one is softer to Mehedinti Platform side. They mainly consist of limestone and preserve several karst forms. There are also caverns and karst depressions. Part of the mountains comprise of granite and in the granite there has been created a human's head sculpture, which is about 10 meters and is known as "Sphinx from Banat" or "Cerna's Sphinx" (377km). The main mountain top, Domogled Mountain has an impressive beauty and consequently was declared a natural monument. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Page 2 of 4