Salty (Pannonian) Lakes

The Pannonian Lakes are a unique complex of salt lakes in the very centre of Tuzla – a city that took its name from salt. It has three artificial lakes and salt waterfalls on the site of a former town centre that collapsed from salt extraction. Tuzla is the only city in Europe with salt lakes and the only one in the world whose salt bathing area and beach lie in the centre.

The salt water, drawn from the depths of the former Pannonian Sea, has a salinity close to that of the sea (30–40 g/l) and is rich in minerals such as iodine, bromine and sulphur, which is why it is credited with healing properties. The first lake opened in 2003, and in summer the complex hosts up to ten thousand visitors a day. Besides swimming, there are salt waterfalls, beaches, sports courts, an outdoor gym, a children's park and an archaeological park with a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement.