Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans (by kerouac2)
Sept 9, 2016 11:29:48 GMT
Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2016 11:29:48 GMT
The saline royale (royal saltworks) was created in the latter part of the 18th century under the reign of Louis XV. The previous establishment was in the nearby town of Salins-les-Bains, but the saltworks there had been completely surrounded by the town and it was urgent to find a place with more space. Salt was much more important then than it is now, because besides human and animal consumption, it was the only way to preserve things such as meat or fish since there was no refrigeration, and that takes a lot of salt. Anyway, a location was found in the forest between the tiny villages of Arc and Senans. People absolutely never change because, just as there would be in the 21st century, there was a big outcry by various interest groups. The hunters said that their hunting would be spoiled, the forest workers said that their livelihood would be totally destroyed, the workers in Salins bitched about losing their jobs... all of the usual stuff.
The decision to build the new establishment was made in 1773. Meanwhile, the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux had accidentally on purpose been named Commissioner of the Saltworks of Lorraine and Franche-Comté in 1771 and he had already started drawing up tentative projects before he had any idea where the new saltworks would be, if the ground was level or not, or any other indications, so he let his imagination run wild without any constraints. He presented his project to the king in 1774, who was more or less on his deathbed, but another commission got in the way and rejected the project because it was considered too luxurious, particularly for the workers who apparently did not need to be housed in buildings with columns. A modified project was presented before the end of the year, and construction started in 1775. It was all finished by 1779 including stone roads leading to Switzerland and the canal of Dole, which took salt on the Rhine to Antwerp and the North Sea. It was a huge international enterprise.
The distance between Salins-les-Bains and the new saltworks was only 12.6km but it was necessary to build an underground brineduct running for 42km (due to the vagaries of the terrain) between the two places. That would be a pretty huge project now, but I can't even imagine how things like this were done in the 18th century. In any case, the new establishment was a great success and remained in service until 1895. Why did it close? Because the new-fangled railroads were bringing sea salt to everywhere on the continent.
The Saline Royale is considered to be Ledoux's masterwork, innovative and efficient and with decent housing for workers on site with room to grow crops and even providing some leisure activities for the families. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982 after quite a bit of tumult in the 20th century. A fire caused by lightning destroyed the roof of one of the main buildings in 1918. When the fine arts council in Paris wanted the buildings saved and restored in 1926, the salt company that still owned the site was furious. So they decreed the main buildings unsafe and dynamited them. The local departmental council was able to purchase the buildings in 1930 and set about slowly restoring them. But in 1939, the site was requisitioned to be a refugee camp for Spanish Republicans. At the end of 1939, the French army decided that they needed the place because trouble was brewing in the east, and in 1940 the German army also found it convenient as a base. Then they decided to transform it into an internment camp for gypsies. A couple of years later, it became a camp for German prisoners of war. So it has been a very busy place, but it wasn't until 1965 that it finally became an acknowledged cultural site and real renovation began.
A final fun fact: In July 2016, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd gave a concert there with 19,000 spectators so that should give you an idea of the size of the place.
The decision to build the new establishment was made in 1773. Meanwhile, the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux had accidentally on purpose been named Commissioner of the Saltworks of Lorraine and Franche-Comté in 1771 and he had already started drawing up tentative projects before he had any idea where the new saltworks would be, if the ground was level or not, or any other indications, so he let his imagination run wild without any constraints. He presented his project to the king in 1774, who was more or less on his deathbed, but another commission got in the way and rejected the project because it was considered too luxurious, particularly for the workers who apparently did not need to be housed in buildings with columns. A modified project was presented before the end of the year, and construction started in 1775. It was all finished by 1779 including stone roads leading to Switzerland and the canal of Dole, which took salt on the Rhine to Antwerp and the North Sea. It was a huge international enterprise.
The distance between Salins-les-Bains and the new saltworks was only 12.6km but it was necessary to build an underground brineduct running for 42km (due to the vagaries of the terrain) between the two places. That would be a pretty huge project now, but I can't even imagine how things like this were done in the 18th century. In any case, the new establishment was a great success and remained in service until 1895. Why did it close? Because the new-fangled railroads were bringing sea salt to everywhere on the continent.
The Saline Royale is considered to be Ledoux's masterwork, innovative and efficient and with decent housing for workers on site with room to grow crops and even providing some leisure activities for the families. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982 after quite a bit of tumult in the 20th century. A fire caused by lightning destroyed the roof of one of the main buildings in 1918. When the fine arts council in Paris wanted the buildings saved and restored in 1926, the salt company that still owned the site was furious. So they decreed the main buildings unsafe and dynamited them. The local departmental council was able to purchase the buildings in 1930 and set about slowly restoring them. But in 1939, the site was requisitioned to be a refugee camp for Spanish Republicans. At the end of 1939, the French army decided that they needed the place because trouble was brewing in the east, and in 1940 the German army also found it convenient as a base. Then they decided to transform it into an internment camp for gypsies. A couple of years later, it became a camp for German prisoners of war. So it has been a very busy place, but it wasn't until 1965 that it finally became an acknowledged cultural site and real renovation began.
A final fun fact: In July 2016, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd gave a concert there with 19,000 spectators so that should give you an idea of the size of the place.
Anyway, last week I found myself in front of the entrance 30 minutes before it opened.
Have you ever tried to represent the flow of brine in a stone carving? Neither have I.
I had 30 minutes to discover the village before visiting the saltworks.
Here is the town hall.
The coat of arms looks homemade.
And on I strolled.
The new school is quite modern and this place is now occupied by lawyers offices.
Let's make it a little more dramatic.
But the normal view is perfectly fine as well.
Have you ever tried to represent the flow of brine in a stone carving? Neither have I.
I had 30 minutes to discover the village before visiting the saltworks.
Here is the town hall.
The coat of arms looks homemade.
And on I strolled.
The new school is quite modern and this place is now occupied by lawyers offices.
Let's make it a little more dramatic.
But the normal view is perfectly fine as well.