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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Salins-les-Bains Saumoduct in Arc-et-Senans, built at the end of the 18th century, was a 21 km underground pipe designed to transport brine from the Salins-les-Bains saline (Jura) to the Arc-et-Senans saline (Doubs). The latter, built between 1775 and 1779 near the forest of Chaux to remedy the shortage of wood in Salins, did not have salt springs. The project, led by surveyor Denis François Dez, was designed to save wood resources by concentrating brine through a 500-metre graduation building, prior to storage in a 900-m3 tank.

The route of the Saumoduct followed the rivers of the Furiause and the Loue, crossing communes such as Rennes-sur-Loue and Port-Lesney. Originally composed of hollowed tree trunks, the system was replaced in 1788 by cast iron pipes to limit losses. Six "houses of control" (including the one from Perrichon to Port-Lesney) mark the route, monitored by gabelous to fight theft of brine by the false saueriers. The masonry remains, such as the Perrichon basin, have been listed as historical monuments since 2009.

During the First World War, the cast iron pipes were dismantled to supply metal to the weapons plants. Today, the Gabelous Trail, built in 2013, traces this industrial heritage with 15 informative signs. Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans salines, as well as the remains of the Saumoduct, are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites (1982 and 2009), reflecting the technical and economic ingenuity of the period.

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