1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Salins-les-Bains (French pronunciation:[salɛ̃lebɛ̃]), commonly referred to simply as Salins, is a commune in the Juradepartment in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comtéregion in Eastern France.[3] 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.
The town owes its name to its saline waters which shaped its history for centuries; they continue to attract visitors today, for the town's bedrock contains salt and gypsum deposits. In 2009 the historic saltworks were added to the list of UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites as an addition to the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans site, which was inscribed in 1982.[4]
Geography
Salins is situated in the narrow Valley of the Furieuse, between two fortified hills, Fort Belin and Fort Saint-André, while to the north rises Mont Poupet (851 m or 2,791 ft).
History
Salins was an important city in Celtic times and became a Romanoppidum[5] known as Salinae Sequanorum.[6]
In 1477 Salins was taken by the French and temporarily made the seat of the parlement of Franche-Comté by King Louis XI of France. The French re-took the town in 1668 and in 1674, and thenceforward it remained in their power. In 1825 the town was almost destroyed by fire. In 1871, it successfully resisted German troops in the Franco-Prussian War.
French composer Charles Galibert (1826–1858) was born in Salins-les-Bains.
Until the early-20th century, the slopes surrounding the town were largely covered in vines, which were however almost entirely abandoned after the phylloxera crisis of the mid-19th century decimated the vineyards. Little trace of this former activity remains today.
For much of the 20th century, the town was also famed for its potters, but today[citation needed] only three craftsmen continue to uphold this local tradition.
The extraction of salt at Salins-les-Bains began during the Middle Ages at the latest.[4] As early as 1115, there were two saltworks located at wells around the town, and because of the salt production, Salins-les-Bains was the largest town in Franche-Comté after Besançon in medieval times.[5] Deforestation in the region during the 17th and 18th centuries led to the creation of the Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans, at a more favorable location near a large forest.[4][5] However, the brine extracted from Salins would still be used, being channeled to the Royal Saltworks, 21 km away, for processing.[5] In 1962, the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains ceased all production.[4]
The town has a Romanesque church, St-Anatoile, which has been well restored, and a hôtel de ville from the 18th century. A 17th-century Jesuit chapel contains a library, established in 1593, and a museum.
Transportation
Salins-les-Bains is on the Paris to Lausanne (Switzerland) road. The closest railway station is in Mouchard, a few kilometres away.
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Jahn, Albert (1874). "Provincia Maxima Sequanorum, numero IV: Politisch-Geographisches und Historisch-Topographisches über die Provinz mit Bezug auf Burgundien: Die Westhälfte der Provinz mit Besançon u. s. w. grösstentheils burgundionisch". Die Geschichte der Burgundionen und Burgundiens bis zum Ende der 1. Dynastie (in German). Vol. 2. Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses. p. 360. Retrieved 27 November 2023. Im westjurassischen Provinztheile lagen auch die alt berühmten Salinae Sequanrorum (Salins) [...].
