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Origin and history

The Salins-les-Bains Saumoduct, built at the end of the 18th century, was a hydraulic structure designed to transport brine for 21 km, from the Salins-les-Bains saline (Jura) to the royal saline of Arc-et-Senans (Doubs). This project, initiated to remedy the absence of salt sources in Arc-et-Senans, was carried out according to the plans of the surveyor Denis François Dez. The brine, extracted from the saline of Salins, was transported via two parallel pipes – one for the large saline, the other for the small saline – initially made of fir, then replaced by cast iron in 1788 to limit losses.

The route of the Saumoduct followed the rivers of the Furiause and the Loue, crossing communes such as Rennes-sur-Loue and Port-Lesney. To secure the transport, six control houses were erected along the route, where gabelous (salt Customs) measured the flow and concentration of salt daily. These stations, known as chemin des gabelous, were aimed at fighting the false-salers, who drilled the pipes to steal the brine. A 500 m graduation building near the river allowed the brine to be concentrated before storage in a 900 m3 tank.

Among the remains still visible, the basin of Monplaisir (Salins-les-Bains) is a vaulted room with four openings (two arrivals, two departures), while the basin of Perrichon (Port-Lesney) and the passage under the road of Lyon (Rennes-sur-Loue) show partially modified structures. The cast iron pipes were dismantled during World War I to supply metal to the weapons plants. Since 2009, these remains have been listed as historical monuments, and a tourist trail, the Gabelous Trail, has been retracing their history since 2013.

The two salines (Salines-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans) are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (1982 and 2009), highlighting their importance in the industrial and architectural history of Franche-Comté. The saumoduct, buried to avoid frost and flight, illustrates the technical and logistical challenges of the time, where it was preferred to travel saltwater rather than transport a forest, as the architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, designer of the salt salt of Arc-et-Senans wrote.

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