Legend
Legends about Saint Ladislaus were widespread in the north and northwestern part of the Turda Gorge, like in the neighbouring Aranyos seat (Ro: Scaunul Ariesului, HU: Aranyosszék) territory. There are two natural formations that appear in the legends: the spring of Saint Ladislaus from the gorge and the King’s well (Hu: Királykútja). This well was mainly used by the villagers, who even today consider its water very good. In the creation legend of the well Saint Ladislaus appears in active and passive roles: in one of the versions the king’s horse sank his foot in the ground from where water gushed out – the horseshoe form that appears in the rock is said to be the visible trace of this. In the middle ages this spring appeared as one of the pilgrimage sites connected to the holy king. There was also a chapel nearby, and in the written sources it appears that in the period before the reformation, the families from Petreștii de Jos (Hu: Magyarpeterd) visited it every year on the day of Saint Ladislaus. In the past, the Hășdate (Hu: Hesdát) valley was probably the most important sacred place connected to the king within this region, being close to the east-west trade route. This also explains how the cult of the knight king and the pilgrimage site near the well from Petreștii de Jos (Hu: Magyarpeterd) could have become so widespread. Pelbartus Ladislaus de Temeswar, at the end of the 15th century, probably wrote about this place in his work titled Pomerium Sermonum de Sanctis.
The other legend, about Saint Ladislaus’ rosemary tree is probably a newer one: in the folk tradition it appears that the little tree grew from a seed that had fallen out of the king’s hat.
Natural Heritage
The Tureni Gorge is located just a few kilometres north-east of the Turda Gorge, but it is better preserved, wilder and more fabulous than its better-known brother. The eroding forces of the Racilor creek (Hu: Rákos-patak) formed this landforms-rich gorge, dotted with outstanding rock formations, arches, and wash-outs through long millennia. We can see bare cliffs as well as walls coated in green on our one and a half kilometre journey. There are thirty caves in the gorge and they have sheltered the nearby population in times of war and peril. The caves, cliffs, and waterfalls were all fancifully named by the ancestors of the people living here, and some of them are shrouded in the mist of fairy tales and legends. Most noticeable are the Dogs’ cliff, Saint Stephen’s statue, the Cathedral and the Waterfall of Saint Ladislaus.
The gorge’s flora is very rich, the botanists count at least 500 different species. Most of them are identical to those found in the Turda Gorge, though part of them are unique to this place due to its special microclimate. The limestone slopes are decorated by the rare Thymus comosus, the yellow flowered basket of gold (Aurinia saxatilis) and the protected houseleek (Sempervivum marmoreum). Although the surrounding woods have been replaced with farmland, the shrubs and forest patches inside the gorge have preserved the native woody plant species. Besides the dominant sessile oak (Quercus petraea), field maple (Acer campestre) and tatar maple (Acer tataricum), a few specimens of the protected Transylvanian and Greek whitebeam (Sorbus dacica and S. graeca) can also be found. Beautiful and protected butterfly species, the black and white striped and red patterned Jersey tiger (Callimorpha quadripunctaria) and the nacreous scarce fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) also live here. The king of the skies is the magnificent golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and sometimes the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) too can be seen circling above. The songs of the wood lark (Lullula arborea) and the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) are often heard in the valley.
Walking along the creek is hard, since there are no bridges or handrails built. Most people choose instead to walk to the top of the cliff to the right, which is not only more comfortable, but one can take in the landscape from a bird’s-eye view.