Corund Aragonite Museum (Harghita, Transylvania, Romania)

Please turn ON English subtitle !
Visiting the "Aragonite Museum" in Corund (Korond) must begin with a visit to the former aragonite exploatation located nearby, in Dealul Melcului (Snail Hill), now a geological nature reserve and excellently arranged for tourist with wooden deck, platform of belvedere and explanatory panels. Basically we enter a kind of "canyon" which is the former good quality aragonite, already exploited. On the wall of the "canyon" we can still see beautiful deposits of aragonite of various colors. At the end of the "canyon" there is an exceptional geological phenomenon, namely a spring with salt water under pressure from which carbonate crusts are deposited. Details of this place can be seen in a previous video: • Aragonitul de la CORUN...
Corund aragonite is not pure, always being accompanied by variable amounts of calcite. The factor that dictates the deposition of aragonite and not calcite is the pressure.
Calcite and aragonite are polymorphic minerals (same chemical composition, but with different crystallographic structure) of calcium carbonate (CaCO3): calcite crystallizes in the rhombohedral (trigonal) system, and aragonite in the rhombic system. Calcite is a very common mineral, it forms a monomineral rock called limestone (or marble, metamorphosed limestone) that can form entire mountains. Unlike calcite, aragonite is more rare, heavier (specific gravity 2.9 g / cm3 compared to 2.7 g / cm3) and harder (3.5-4, compared to hardness 3 of calcite). Aragonite also differs in its radicular-acicular structure, unlike limestone (or marble) which is massive. In addition, aragonite is metastable, by heating at 410 °C passes to calcite.
The Aragonite Museum is on the road, opposite the former exploatation (Dealul Melcului and salted Baths Unicum), exactly in the former processing workshop. The museum most of the time is closed, but we were lucky with Mr. Pál Zoltán Ferenc, a professional guide specialized in the Corund area, probably the custodian of the museum, which he had just presents to a group of young people. You can find a telephone number on the panel next to the museum. The museum was established in 2012 in the former aragonite processing workshop, after Knop Vencel's successors recovered the building.
The story of the aragonite begins in 1908 when Knop Vencel, a Czech engineer at the gold mines in Zlatna, sees the deposits of aragonite in Corund. In 1914, at the age of 35, he resigned from Zlatna and set up the exploitation and processing of aragonite in Corund. Pieces made of aragonite, not cheap at all, were in great demand. The business is flourishing due to the fact that it had good craftsmen, Corund village having a long tradition in the art of ceramics. Pieces made of aragonite were even ordered by the Royal House of Romania. In a showcase we can even see the duplicate of a jewelry box ordered by Queen Maria. The business goes into decline after the First World War in which one of Knop Vencel's sons dies, himself falling prisoner. After the sudden death in 1941 of Knop Vencel, the activity continued until the nationalization of 1948. After 1950, the Romanian state resumed the exploitation, but using explosives for the extraction of aragonite, the deposit is quickly destroyed.
We can see both raw pieces of aragonite and, especially, in the showcases processed pieces of aragonite of a rare beauty: sets for office, vases, dishes, jewelry boxes, pipes, chess pieces, stick heads, ashtrays, decorative objects, etc. .Although aragonite is not even a semi-precious stone, but a decorative stone, it is called the "gemstone of the Szeklers" (or "Szekler diamond"), the ennoblement coming from the talent of the craftsmen who worked it.
Korondi Aragonit Múzeum

[@florinrotari1970]

Super fain. . ! Te salut prietene Lucian. . . !

[@LucianIonescu]

Mulțumesc! Te salut și eu! Scuze pentru „mica” întârziere.

[@emillasnariu4695]

Ceva Extraordinar:) bravo

[@LucianIonescu]

Mulțumesc!