Les Marais Salants
Between Land and Sea
The first salt marshes were created by man as early as the 9th century, and by the 15th century they existed as we see them today.
The harvesting technique, meanwhile, is much older and is thought to have been perfected by the Romans as far back as Antiquity. Until the 1900s, the salt marshes extended as far north as Pornichet.
When the weather was fine, salt workers harvested the white gold using age-old techniques. Today, many people in Batz work in the 459 hectares of salt marshes in the town.
In summer, when the tides are high, the water rushes into the salt marshes and continues its journey until it reaches the oeillets. Under the action of the wind and sun, the water evaporates and reaches a level of salinity that is ideal for harvesting flower of salt.
Discover the salt marshes at Batz-sur-Mer!
The salt marshes are an exceptional place to see and discover. But above all they remain a place of work and production, a wetland with a fragile ecological balance. Excessive visitor numbers and disrespectful attitudes risk jeopardising this heritage. The marshes are privately owned and several of our partner salt workers will be delighted to show you around their work and the salt marshes.
You can also explore the marshes by horse-drawn carriage and visit the salt-marsh villages.
How the salt marshes work
- winter and spring are devoted to maintenance work, followed by preparation of the marshes for the summer harvest
- In summer, at each spring tide, the salt worker fills the mudflat (reservoir) by opening the trapdoor that connects with the salt channel. He then circulates the water in a succession of basins (cobier, fards, adernes) where it progresses by gravity thanks to meticulous adjustments.
The water evaporates under the action of the wind and sun. The salinity increases in the eyelets where the salt crystallises.
The salt worker produces two types of salt:
- coarse salt, which is grey and harvested from the clay in the carnations.
- Flower of salt, fine and white, picked from the surface of the carnation.
The first salt marshes were created by man as early as the 9th century, and by the 15th century they existed as we see them today.
The harvesting technique, meanwhile, is much older and is thought to have been perfected by the Romans as far back as Antiquity. Until the 1900s, the salt marshes extended as far north as Pornichet.
When the weather was fine, salt workers harvested the white gold using age-old techniques. Today, many people in Batz work in the 459 hectares of salt marshes in the town.
In summer, when the tides are high, the water rushes into the salt marshes and continues its journey until it reaches the oeillets. Under the action of the wind and sun, the water evaporates and reaches a level of salinity that is ideal for harvesting flower of salt.
Discover the salt marshes at Batz-sur-Mer!
The salt marshes are an exceptional place to see and discover. But above all they remain a place of work and production, a wetland with a fragile ecological balance. Excessive visitor numbers and disrespectful attitudes risk jeopardising this heritage. The marshes are privately owned and several of our partner salt workers will be delighted to show you around their work and the salt marshes.
You can also explore the marshes by horse-drawn carriage and visit the salt-marsh villages.
How the salt marshes work
- winter and spring are devoted to maintenance work, followed by preparation of the marshes for the summer harvest
- In summer, at each spring tide, the salt worker fills the mudflat (reservoir) by opening the trapdoor that connects with the salt channel. He then circulates the water in a succession of basins (cobier, fards, adernes) where it progresses by gravity thanks to meticulous adjustments.
The water evaporates under the action of the wind and sun. The salinity increases in the eyelets where the salt crystallises.
The salt worker produces two types of salt:
- coarse salt, which is grey and harvested from the clay in the carnations.
- Flower of salt, fine and white, picked from the surface of the carnation.
Contact
route des Marais
44740 BATZ-SUR-MER
FRANCE
44740 BATZ-SUR-MER
FRANCE
Practical information
Category
Marsh - wetland / salt marshes
