Free visit of the salt museum and exhibition

Open house

Terre de Sels, les salines de Franche-Comté au XXe siècle (Land of Salt, the saltworks of 20th-century Franche-Comté) highlights the region's saltworks from the early 20th century until their closure in the late 1960s.
The exhibition highlights the richness of this industry, which played an important role in the regional economy and in the daily lives of the people of Franche-Comté. In the 20th century, Franche-Comté had 9 salt works spread across almost the entire region, producing around 60,000 tonnes of salt a year:
Montmorot, Poligny, Châtillon-le-Duc-Geneuille, Montaigu-Perrigny, Montferrand-Pouilley-les-Vignes, Miserey, Gouhenans, Grozon and Salins. All of these salt works provided a livelihood for hundreds of workers.
For several months, the Saline team dug through the archives and went out into the field to meet enthusiasts, researchers, elected representatives and, above all, the heirs of the former men and women who worked in the salt works in the Doubs, Jura and Haute-Saône. Numerous previously unpublished archive documents, photos, illustrations, archive videos and recordings have come down to us to bring to life the history of the Comtois salt-making heritage.
The testimonies of the workers and the objects presented in the exhibition highlight this ancestral know-how and perpetuate the working memory of Franche-Comté.

In view of the richness of the exhibition, several areas have been created, covering a variety of themes including the operation of the Franche-Comté salt works in the 20th century and the end of the Comtois salt works.