A Royal Saltworks at Arc et Senans

Who would have guessed that to produce salt in the 18th century, such a magnificent complex was required?! Certainly not me!

Note: there are affiliated links down below. Amazon links for books about the Saltworks that you might enjoy if you want to know more. If you decide to purchase one of those books, I’ll get a small commission at no extra cost to you. And well, obviously there are also Booking affiliated links for the hotel…

There is more than meets the eyes at the Royal Saltworks at Arc et Senans. Behind the grandeur of the place, the maybe austerity of the architecture and the perfect planning, hides the vision of a humanist architect, Claude Nicolas Ledoux.

Pictures from the book I have about the Saltworks

A bit of history

We are stepping back in the 18th century, under the reign of Louis XV to be exact. Louis XV, grand son of Louis XIV, was called Louis the Beloved, for good reasons. During his reign, the Enlightenment period reached its peak with philosophers like Diderot, Montesquieu, Rousseau or Voltaire publishing their most important works. Other thinkers were also revisiting all sorts of areas like economy, finance, justice, and of course architecture. French revolution broke out 15 years after Louis XV’s death, under his grand-son reign, Louis XVI.

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux was one of the visionary architect of this Enlightenment period.

The saltworks was commissioned by the King himself. As you will learn there, salt was extremely important in the 18th century (not just in that century obviously) so the idea of a Royal Saltworks wasn’t that far-fetched.

The Royal Saltworks original plans were different but the ideas & ideologies behind them were the same.

The Saltworks were built between 1775 and 1779, right after the death of Louis XV and are an exceptional example of industrial architecture. You’ll see why down below!

As with any business and as it is still the case today, keeping up with new technologies is key. Unfortunately, the Saltworks became obsolete only 100 years after their construction and closed down. The site was abandoned, plundered and fires destroyed most of it. Luckily for us, it was restored to its formal glory in the 20th century.

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux & the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment period saw the rise of new doctrines centered around the ideas of individual liberty, religious tolerance & progress and were in opposition to the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church strict dogmas. It was kind of a thinking revolution and it preceded the actual French Revolution of 1789.

The Saltworks are an extraordinary physical representation of such times. Ledoux had plans for an ideal city of workers and craftsmen, living in harmony. A beautiful complex of great architecture quality never seen before for a factory, designed by a visionary architect.

As with many constructions from this period, the Greek and Roman architecture influence is present in the design of the Saltworks and obvious when standing in front of the entrance.

The Director’s house and the salt building

the guard building (the entrance)

the Dormitories (Berniers) Buildings

The back of the Director’s house

the stables

the Director’s house

Brine coming out of a cauldron

the zen garden

The Director’s house

the guards’ building entrance

the guard’s building by day

the salt building

artwork in the stables

The Saltworks today

The Royal Saltworks today live a different life than what was planned by Ledoux. What is great is that it offers a diversified experience to the visitors willing to seek knowledge and understanding. From the Director’s house where you will find different expositions to the Ledoux Museum where you will learn so much more about the place and its architecture. From the gardens which have been resurrected and give a glorious hommage to their past as vegetables garden, to the dormitories which have transformed into a hotel… You will be able to explore most of the buildings.

The Ledoux Museum

In the Ledoux Museum, you will see models of Ledoux work. The buildings that were built are on one side (even if some have been destroyed) and the buildings which remained projects are on the other side. It is quite fascinating to see how creative he was considering his time.

the model of the Royal Saltworks

The history of salt

With the salt museum, you will learn how precious salt was and how important it was for government to control the production. You will also learn about the different methods used across the world to extract or produce salt. The ingenuity of some of the methods still used today is definitively surprising.

The work and process used in Arc et Senans is also described and it was, to me, mind blowing to see how much work was required to produce something as simple and easily available today, as salt.

no pictures allowed in the salt museum! sorry

The UNESCO museum: we are Abu Simbel temples

The UNESCO museum is located on the basement of the Director’s house. To a fan of the UNESCO, like I, it wasn’t extraordinary. Just a few panels with quite a few explanations, a short movie… nothing particularly fancy. Still a bit interesting. I had forgotten that the first monuments saved by the UNESCO efforts were the temples of Abu Simbel. So just for that, it was worth it!

The cultural season and the artist in residence

There is a lot going on at the Royal Saltworks as it hosts plenty of diverse events from artists-in-residence to activities for children, conferences, concerts so forth.

One of the thing I particularly enjoyed during this visit was the exposition of the Vegetal City by Luc Schuiten. You can check out his site: www.vegetalcity.net. The exposition at the Saltworks has now ended but there is no doubt that there will be something just as beautiful when you’ll get a chance to visit.

the Sauteraile by Luc Schuiten

The Garden festival

The gardens were gorgeous by day and simply mesmerizing by night! Such gardens were used by the workers of the Saltworks to grow vegetables. They lived there with their family and such gardens were providing supplementary food. Ledoux had thought of everything!

Nowadays, students get to redo every year such gardens and although some structures are permanent, they get to express their creativity. The Green Chamber, a design by a Belgium student, was impossible to photograph (at least for me), but was the most fascinating. The lights shimmering through the circle of trees at night were hypnotic.

Some of the areas in the garden were inspired by the work of Luc Schuiten and completed his expo in a lively way.

Kerterre buildings

Staying at the hotel!

Well, for me, there are very few things better than staying in a UNESCO World Heritage site! Having it pretty much to myself? Yes that is better! It was just plain amazing!!

Royal Saltworks Hotel

I really can’t believe I was able to sleep there. And I especially can’t believe I was pretty much alone the whole evening, roaming around like if the place was my own. After hours spent photographing the gardens and all the buildings, I regained my room and felt asleep with an immense satisfaction!

That is the bonus of being able to travel off-season.

hotel window!

As I mentioned in my previous article about the Ronchamp Chapel, a wonder by Le Corbusier, when I left home, for this latest road trip, I was full of happiness. The visit of the Chapel brought me such peace, that I arrived at the Saltworks light as a feather. I was like a child at Disney Land, so excited and fulfilled! At that point, I was convinced this trip was just going to be the best! I had no idea of the challenges that were lying ahead of me. This was probably for the best…