Sečovlje Salt Pans - Dragonja River Valley

Sečovlje Salt Pans

The enchanting view of enclosed basins in the Northern Adriatic filled with shimmering sea water and white salt awakens our curiosity and painting inspiration. Of all the salt pans that once existed in the Gulf of Trieste, only the ones in Sečovlje and Strunjan remain today, where salt is still harvested in the traditional way. For centuries this protected landscape greatly influenced the economy of both the country and towns in the region: Sečovlje salt pans were the subject of political disputes and wars, since salt was a precious raw material and strategic merchant commodity, important for the conservation of food and production of gunpowder. Salt fields, canals and shores with stone walls, stairs and dams, salt houses with surroundings, paths, bridges and pumps provide a refuge for rare animal and plant species, and are therefore an album of the rich Mediterranean cultural heritage and landscape that is disappearing.

Within the complex of salt pans is a museum consisting of a typical salt house and salt reserves with supply canal for sea water which demonstrates the tradition of salt-making that originates from the 14th century. The museum also houses an ethnographic collection. 

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