Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The thermal establishment of Salies-de-Béarn, built in 1857, is renowned for its hyper-salted water source, one of the most concentrated in France (300 to 350 g salt/litre). This water, rich in 26 trace elements such as magnesium or calcium, was recognized in 1891 by the National Academy of Medicine for its benefits in rheumatology, gynaecology and paediatrics. The source, 200 million years old, owes its composition to the evaporation of an ancient sea and tectonic movements of the Pyrenees, which have created underground excavations through layers of salt.

The exploitation of the source has been supervised since the Middle Ages by the Corporation des Parts-Prenants de la Fontaine Salée, founded in 1587 and still active today. This corporation, governed by a decree of 1876, manages the operating rights granted in 1995 to SEM Catherine de Bourbon for 99 years. Membership in Shareholders is restricted to descendants of historical members or residents of Salies for more than six months. Salt and spring revenues financed the construction of the thermal baths, initially modest (15 cabins in 1857), before their extension in 1880.

The establishment experienced two major fires, in 1888 and 1893, requiring immediate reconstructions (openings in 1889 and 1894). Its architecture, inspired by the Roman baths, consists of a central body and two wings dedicated to thermal treatments and thermoludism. The doctor Charles Nogaret and Dr Brice de Coustalé de Larroque (physician of Napoleon III) played a key role in his development, attracting an easy clientele. Partly classified as a historic monument in 1997, the site remains a place of care thanks to the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of its waters.

The reputation of the thermal baths is also based on historical anecdotes, such as the healings observed in the 19th century in wounded people bathed in the salt fountain. Today, the establishment combines architectural heritage and medical modernity, perpetuating a centuries-old thermal tradition, while building on a unique management inherited from the Corporation des Parts-Prenants.

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