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The famous story of salt from the Baie de Bourgneuf
The famous story of salt from the Baie de Bourgneuf
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Presentation
The famous story of salt from the Baie de Bourgneuf
FICHE_INFO_TITRE_ACCESSIBILITE
The town of
Villeneuve-en-Retz
has a long history of salt production, dating back to the
Middle Ages
... Once the largest salt marsh in France, its salt was exported all over Europe from the Port du Collet.
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Epicureans
Explorers of culture and know-how
Presentation
Bourgneuf : a long history of salt production
Welcome to the medieval capital of "
White Gold
", the former salt granary of the Kingdom of France and one of the most important ports on the Atlantic in the Middle Ages.
It was in the 11th century that the village of Bourgneuf-en-Retz (now Villeneuve-en-Retz) flourished thanks to the exploitation and marketing of salt in Europe, well before
Guérande
and
Noirmoutier
.
The "Bay of Brittany", now the
Bay of Bourgneuf
, became the largest salt-producing area in Europe until the 16th century, ensuring its prosperity and international renown. We could see more than 200 ships
from the Iberian Peninsula, the British Isles and Northern Europe docking in the ports of Ile de Bouin, Bourgneuf and Le Collet to load this rare commodity. Salt was as important in those days as oil is today.
Until the 18th century,
salt workers
produced 30,000 tonnes of salt a year, until the bay silted up and salt exports from the
Port du Collet
came to an end.
Today, following the restoration and reactivation of the salt marshes by enthusiasts in the 2000s, three salt workers operate around ten salt pans in Villeneuve-en-Retz and Moutiers-en-Retz.
Did you know ?
Salt was known as "white gold" because, in the Middle Ages, it was used not only as a seasoning but also as a means of preserving and conserving food, hence its high value.
A work of art from the air : the Millac saltworks
Located in the
Marais Breton Vendéen
at Villeneuve-en-Retz, the
Salines de Millac
site is full of treasures. Emmanuel and Nathalie have brought back to life a
historic salt marsh
that has now become a must-see in the Pays de Retz.
Mano will be on hand to share his passion with you on
guided tours
. From 15 June to 15 September, you can find out about the salt worker's job, how a salt marsh works and what flower of salt is.
Les Salines de Millac is also La
Salorge de Millac
, an authentic shop selling salt marsh products. We love the salts flavoured with spices, basil, seaweed, etc. But our heart goes out to the special court-bouillon culinary infusions, which give a unique flavour to our fish and shellfish
Our favourites :
The unique panorama of the marsh and its birds
Get up high and discover a work of art created by Mano: his logo among the carnations in the salt marsh
Boxes of 3 tins of salt sold in our Tourist Offices, bearing the effigy of our 7 coastal communes and including fleur de sel, fine salt flavoured with basil and fine salt flavoured with 5 berries
Discover
Ancient salt pans in Bourgneuf
From the 14th century onwards, buildings were constructed to store the salt harvested from the many salt marshes around Bourgneuf, so that it could be left to dry over the winter. The harvests from the salt marshes were deposited in the form of millstones known as "
mulons
", in what were known as "
salorges
": a vast wooden shed supported by stone masonry buttresses. The mulons sometimes wait in these salorges for several years.
Located at the entrance to the market town of Bourgneuf, the salorges, which today house the Tourist Office and
La Savonnerie de Marcel
, were for many years "salt granaries". However, the last old salorge in Bourgneuf is the one that houses the soap factory. While salt harvested from the marshes used to be dried here, today it's soaps 🧼 that dry here, sometimes made from
marine clay
from the Moutiers-en-Retz salt marshes... The story has come full circle.
Visit the "Tenue de Mareil" saltworks
Christophe Joguet,
salt worker at the "Tenue de Mareil"
saltworks, introduces you to salt from the
Marais de Lyarne
in Les Moutiers-en-Retz. He took over from Mélanie Daspremont, who now runs the Ileau saltworks in Villeneuve-en-Retz, at the end of 2023.
For the more inquisitive among you, Christophe offers guided tours in July and August, enabling you to observe the ancestral gestures of the salt worker and taste an exceptional salt, a testament to
know-how dating back to Gallic times
...
A little history :
During the Iron Age, salt was extracted by evaporating salt water in baked clay vessels placed on furnaces. A "firing" could last at least 24 hours, at the end of which the salt blocks were extracted by fracturing the vessels. You can discover these
Gallic salt
furnaces
on Christophe's tour !
Are you interested ?
The story of a salt worker in our region : the Ileau saltworks
After delegating the "Tenue de Mareil" saltworks to Christophe Joguet, Mélanie Daspremont, a salt worker in Bourgneuf-en-Retz, now runs another saltworks that she restored in 2017 and 2018 :
the Ileau saltworks
.
Passionate about her craft, she harvests and sells fleur de sel, coarse salt and flavored salts certified by
the "Nature et Progrès" label
guaranteeing 100% natural, local and fair-trade ingredients.
This new saltworks cannot be visited, as it is difficult to access due to its location in a protected natural area. However, you can support Mélanie by buying her products: her salt is available all year round at the tourist office in Les Moutiers-en-Retz, as well as in Villeneuve-en-Retz, La Bernerie-en-Retz, Préfailles, Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef and La Plaine-sur-Mer.
Supporting her
Our local salt is of the highest quality. You can find it in the recipes of our restaurateurs, patissiers and ice cream makers. We're all melting in front of the
Délices de L'air Marin
salted butter ice cream, made with salt from the Salines de Millac...
More ideas :
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Museum of the Pays de Retz
+33 2 40 21 40 83
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