An unusual art gallery can be visited this summer at the diving lake in Dalnic - Covasna County, where ten photographs of some of the local most representative churches have been placed underwater at a depth of about three metres.

The project, created in collaboration by the My Lake and the Visit Covasna associations, aims to promote the county's cultural heritage through an unconventional tourist experience, says its initiator, Szabo Kolos.

'This year we have ten pictures of ten churches from Covasna County, showcased three metres deep under water. (...) This is the second edition of the underwater gallery here in Dalnic and we hope to continue in the coming years (...) Last year there were 12 pictures from beautiful, well-known landscapes of this county (...) Usually, most people who come to the Dalnic diving lake are not from Covasna County, they come from Mures, Bucharest, Brasov etc., and together with Visit Covasna we decided to promote the county's beautiful places through this gallery too. Our goal is to tempt the tourists who come here to dive and see the pictures underwater to go visit the churches and other attractions in the area. Practically, all these photographs motivate them to go further. (...) We have direct contact with the priests, and tourists can go visit the churches they first saw underwater,' Szabo Kolos told AGERPRES.

The images can be admired only by the participants in the diving sessions organised at the lake, but visitors who prefer to stay on land can join a range of educational or entertainment programmes held along the shore.

'The pictures, as I said, are underwater, and whoever wants to see them must join this diving programme that lasts two to two and a half hours, during which we tour the lake underwater and where we have all kinds of surprises, including an underwater bar. During the session I provide instructions, explain how the diving equipment works, explain the safety measures, and then we go down,' Kolos added.

He noted that many visitors come to Dalnic simply to meet him and learn the story of the place.

'Many come to us at the lake, and although they do not want to dive, they just want to talk with me, to hear my story, and of course they are welcome, because I am open to telling them about all our projects, including the underwater gallery and the 'Experience for All' programme,' he said.

Kolos inherited his passion for diving from his father, Szabo Jeno, who more than a decade ago set up the artificial lake in Dalnic - located halfway between Sfantu Gheorghe and Targu Secuiesc - and established here a centre for underwater research and alternative therapy for children with disabilities.

During his student years, Szabo Jeno worked with the renowned oceanographer Jacques Yves Cousteau on an expedition assessing pollution levels in the Danube, and in 2007 he collaborated with the Mangalia Archaeology Museum as part of the team that discovered the submerged fortress of Callatis. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Malina Negrea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)