Salt pans and the salt making festival – a real treat

For centuries, the salt pans in the North Adriatic Sea had a large impact on the economy in the countries and city states in this area, including the Slovenian coast. Centuries ago, salt brought us wealth and on its basis the white town of Piran was constructed. A visit to the Sečovlje salt pans is almost a must today and the festival of salt making is a real treat.

Throughout history, salt had an extraordinary economic role and power – salt created empires, wars were fought over it and new trade routes discovered. Salt also co-created our civilisation. There used to be many small and large salt pans in the Bay of Trieste and in Istria (e.g. in Muggia, Koper, Izola, Lucija), but today only those in Sečovlje and Strunjan are still preserved.

The former economic role of the salt pans has been replaced today by their nature preservation and cultural role – the salt pans constitute an ecologically precious environment and a testimony of once rich Mediterranean cultural heritage and landscape. In 2001, Slovenia proclaimed the area of Sečovlje Salina a nature park, constituting today an important complement to the tourist attractions on the coast.

A visit to the salt pans is a pleasant diversification of one of the afternoons on the coast and if you ever happen to be there in the first week of May one should not miss the festival of salt making!

The Museum of Salt-making, located in the area of the old abandoned salt pans, is a place where the development of the salt pans can be admired and the way of life of salt workers throughout the centuries. A guided tour comprises a walk along the salt fields, an explanation of the salt making procedure, a presentation of the nature park (flora, fauna, cultural heritage), a view of the salt pans from the viewing platform, a scale model of the salt pans and a film at the multi-media centre; on the way back towards the exit, a visit of the salt shop (looking at an exhibition and purchasing souvenirs under the Piranske soline brand). The local TICs are pleased to direct visitors to the walking trails along the salt pans.

The salt making tradition becomes particularly lively on the occasion of the St. George`s Day celebration, marking the beginning of a new salt-making season. This year, the festival of salt making will take place for the ninth consecutive year. On Saturday, 7 May 2011, the focus of the festival will be on Tartini Square in Piran where a salt workers’ fair will be held. On Sunday, 8 May, after the St. George’s Day procession, a salt-making family will demonstrate the traditional departure of salt-making families from the port of Piran to the Sečovlje saltpans by boat. The visitors will be invited to move to the Sečovelje salt pans, to the square in front of the administrative building, where they will be able to taste Istrian delicacies and watch the performance of a folk dance group performing salt workers dances and games. Free guided tours of Lera and Fontanigge salt pans will be organised during the festival.

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