From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the Production of Open-pan Salt

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The Evolution of Salt Production: From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans

The production of open-pan salt, a process dating back over a millennium, has left a significant mark on the history of France, particularly in the regions of Franche-Comté and Bourgogne. This article delves into the evolution of this traditional method of salt production, focusing on two key sites: the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, near Besançon, was built by Claude Nicolas Ledoux. Its construction, begun in 1775 during the reign of Louis XVI, was the first major achievement of industrial architecture, reflecting the ideal of progress of the Enlightenment. The vast, semicircular complex was designed to permit a rational and hierarchical organization of work and was to have been followed by the building of an ideal city, a project that was never realized.

The Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains was active for at least 1200 years until stopping activity in 1962. From 1780 to 1895, its salt water travelled through 21 km of wood pipes to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans. It was built near the immense Chaux Forest to ensure its supply of wood for fuel. The Saltworks of Salins shelters an underground gallery from the 13^th century including a hydraulic pump from the 19^th century that still functions. The boiler house demonstrates the difficulty of the saltworkers’ labour to collect the “White Gold”.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (i): The Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans is the first architectural complex on this scale and of this standard designed as a place of work. This is the first instance of a factory being built with the same care and concern for architectural quality as a palace or an important religious building. It is one of the rare examples of visionary architecture. The Saltworks was the heart of an Ideal City which Claude-Nicolas Ledoux imagined and designed encircling the factory. The unfinished Utopian architecture of the Saltworks still carries the full impact of its futuristic message.

Criterion (ii): The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans bears witness to a fundamental cultural change in Europe at the end of the 18th century: the birth of industrial society. Besides being a perfect illustration of an entire philosophical current that swept Europe during the Age of Enlightenment, the Royal Saltworks heralded the industrial architecture that was to develop half a century later.

Criterion (iv): The saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans provide an outstanding technical ensemble for the extraction and production of salt by pumping underground brine and the use of fire for its crystallisation, since at least the Middle Ages through to the 20th century.

Encyclopedia Record: Salins-les-Bains

Salins-les-Bains, commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. It is located on the departmental border with Doubs, 34.8 km (21.6 mi) to the south-southwest of Besançon. In 2018, Salins-les-Bains had a population of 2,567.

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