When was Băile Herculane first mentioned in writing?
1828
The oldest surviving written mention of Băile Herculane dates from 1828, 198 years ago.
Older than 17% of the 5,588 localities with a firm first mention.
Source: Wikidata (CC0), Suciu (1967–68), Documenta Romaniae Historica, Wikipedia; the date is the one the project picks
Where was Băile Herculane 100 million years ago?
25°–30° N
In the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth, the ground under Băile Herculane lay at 25°–30° north, depending on the plate-tectonic model (the project compares three). Today it is at 44.9° N. It has moved 1,944–2,258 km since.
The latitude band then; today at 44.9° N.
Source: Plate models Müller 2019, Merdith 2021 and PALEOMAP; GeoNames localities (CC BY 4.0)
3Mountains on the horizon
Which mountains can you see from Băile Herculane?
1,739 m
The highest summit in view from Băile Herculane is Vlascu Mic, 1,739 m high and 21 km away. In all, 2 summits above 1,000 m are in view.
Against Moldoveanu, Romania's highest summit (2,544 m).
The calculation takes the terrain, the curvature of the Earth and the bending of light into account, out to 450 km, from 30 m above the ground (the roof of a ten-storey block).
Source: Terrain from Mapzen/AWS Terrain Tiles, summits from OpenStreetMap; the calculation is the project's
How far is the sea from Băile Herculane?
404 km
The sea is 404 km away in a straight line. Space begins 100 km straight up (the Kármán line), so from Băile Herculane space is nearer than the sea.
74% of Romanians live within 404 km of the sea.
The distance starts from a point inside the commune or town.
Source: Natural Earth (public domain), GHSL 2025 population (JRC, CC BY 4.0)
Where do you come out if you dig a tunnel through the Earth from Băile Herculane?
1,467 km
Dig a straight tunnel through the centre of the Earth from Băile Herculane and after about 12,740 km you come out in the South Pacific Ocean, at 44.9° S, 157.6° W. The nearest land from there is 1,467 km away: the Chatham Islands (New Zealand).
The tunnel passes through no other town: below you there is only rock, then the Earth's core.
Source: Natural Earth (public domain); ellipsoid geometry as in the project
What peak ground acceleration does RTC 18-2026 list for Băile Herculane?
0.25 g
For the conventional scenario with a 10% probability of exceedance in 50 years, Table A.1 of RTC 18-2026, MDLPA's methodology for drawing up seismic-risk maps (in force from 11 October 2026), lists a peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 0.25 g for Băile Herculane. This value describes seismic hazard at locality level; it does not assess the risk or safety of any particular building.
51% of Romanians live in localities where the table gives a higher PGA value; 3% live in localities with the same value.
Source: MDLPA Order 1,037/2026, RTC 18-2026, Annex A, Table A.1 (Official Gazette 771 bis, 11 Sep 2026)
7Castles and manor houses
What is the nearest castle or manor house to Băile Herculane?
35 km
The nearest noble residence on Romania's List of Historic Monuments is Cula Tudor Vladimirescu, in Cerneți, 35 km away (1800). Within 25 km there are none; within 50 km there are 4 residences.
A conac is the manor house of a boyar or noble, a castle is fortified; a culă is an Oltenian tower house.
Source: List of Historic Monuments (National Heritage Institute), processed by the Castele project
What is the nearest hospital to Băile Herculane?
18 km
The nearest hospital with inpatient beds is in Orșova (120 beds), 18 km away in a straight line between the localities' centres. 90% of Romanians live closer to a hospital.
90% of Romanians live closer to a hospital.
A straight line is not the road.
Source: INS: hospital beds (SAN102C, 2024) and population (POP107D, 2023); the calculation is the project's
What is the nearest airport to Băile Herculane?
131 km
The nearest of the 17 airports with passenger traffic is Craiova, 131 km away in a straight line. 578,701 passengers passed through it in 2025, 8th among the country's airports.
over 99% of Romanians live closer to an airport.
Passengers are counted on landing and on take-off.
Source: Romanian Airports Association (2025 statistics), OurAirports (public domain); INS 2021 census population