The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Documents WHC-09/33.COM/8B and WHC-09/33.COM/INF.8B1,
2. Approves the extension of the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans to include the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains, on the basis of criteria (i), (ii) and (iv) and the new denomination From the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains to the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, the production of open-pan salt, France;
3. Adopts the following Statement of Outstanding Universal Value:
Brief Synthesis
The saltworks in Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans demonstrate outstanding universal value in terms of the extent of the chronological timeframe during which the extraction of salt continued in Salins, certainly from the Middle Ages, and probably from prehistoric times, through to the 20th century. Spa activity has extended its use until nowadays. The saltworks also demonstrate outstanding universal value in terms of the specific nature of salt production in Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans, based on a technique of tapping sources of salt deep underground, the use of fire to evaporate the brine, and the 18th century innovation of the creation of a 21km pipeline to carry the brine between the two sites. The saltworks express their value as well for the exceptional architectural quality of the Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans and its participation in the movement of ideas in the Age of Enlightenment. It is testimony to a visionary architectural project of a 'model factory.' Developed and built by the architect and supervisor of saltworks in Franche-Comté and Lorraine, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736-1806), Arc-et-Senans is the modern and Utopian extension of the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains.
Criterion (i): The Royal Saltworks at Arc-et-Senans is the first architectural complex on this scale and of this standard designed as a place of work. This is the first instance of a factory being built with the same care and concern for architectural quality as a palace or an important religious building. It is one of the rare examples of visionary architecture. The Saltworks was the heart of an Ideal City which Claude-Nicolas Ledoux imagined and designed encircling the factory. The unfinished Utopian architecture of the Saltworks still carries the full impact of its futuristic message.
Criterion (ii): The Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans bears witness to a fundamental cultural change in Europe at the end of the 18th century: the birth of industrial society. Besides being a perfect illustration of an entire philosophical current that swept Europe during the Age of Enlightenment, the Royal Saltworks heralded the industrial architecture that was to develop half a century later.
Criterion (iv): The saltworks of Salins-les-Bains and Arc-et-Senans provide an outstanding technical ensemble for the extraction and production of salt by pumping underground brine and the use of fire for its crystallisation, since at least the Middle Ages through to the 20th century.
Integrity and Authenticity
So far as its industrial and technical integrity is concerned, the historical enclosure of Salins-les-Bains is conserved as a distinct land area. The pumping installations and part of the saline water treatment structures (stoves) retain their integrity. The remaining above-ground buildings have been restored but without any alteration to their volume.
Changes over time mean that only fragments of the medieval complex remain, but the system governing the rapport between the production complex, the town, and the surrounding territory seems to have retained sufficient integrity. However, the disappearance of almost all the surrounding wall, leaving just the former entrance gate standing by itself, has broken down the separation between the saltworks and the urban fabric. Similarly, the new casino undermines the integrity of the site of the Great Saltworks because of its architecture and its location in the heart of the property. The remains of the Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains are authentic, notably those relating to the old pumps and brine treatment, and testimonies that are very rare in Europe. The modernist constructions added for the museum and the casino have respected the authenticity of the archaeological remains and the residual old buildings.
Management and protection requirements
The management system of the property is adequate; it has recently been institutionalized with a joint management authority and the guarantee of a management plan being implemented.
4. Recommends that the State Party give consideration to the following:
a) Publishing the designation decisions by the French Historical Monuments as requested in Salins-les-Bains and for the remains of the brine pipeline;
b) Disseminating the results of the studies and the options considered for urban traffic, parking areas, and redesignation actions for the urban centre of Salins-les-Bains, in order to foster the expression of the outstanding universal value of the property;
c) Considering a coordinated procedure for monitoring the two components of the property;
d) Not envisaging any new buildings or architectural changes in Salins-les-Bains as the architectural and landscape integrity has already been weakened.