A winter trip with a pinch of culture and unspoiled nature
Winter also has its
charm, even more so on the coast than in the mainland. During cold winter days
the Slovenian coast is the only haven where you can stroll in the sunshine
without getting chilled to the bone. During the day temperatures can reach 10
degrees Celsius, which is just the right temperature for a leisurely stroll
along the sea. The idyllic ambiance is accompanied by the smell of salt,
clear skies and the blue sea. Boats are rocking gently by the piers, seagulls
flying in the sky, the promenades have lost the summer crowds and await
invitingly.
Most visitors come to
the saltpans and nature parks during the summer, but late autumn and winter are
also great for a lovely trip. Especially for those who need a break from the
monotonous and often foggy and cold autumn weather. Visiting the saltpans is
more than just a day-trip to the seaside. In the saltpans of Sečovlje near the
mouth of the river Dragonja and the saltpans of Strunjan one can wander amongst
the numerous channels used for salt making. Winter is a quieter season and thus
ideal for birdwatching and getting to know salt-loving plants, which are
endemic to this type of environment.
Winter is ideal for visiting the
saltpans!
It is also a very important season for salt harvesting. Salt workers,
especially those who worked in the old saltpans, say that salt is made in
winter. The quality of the salt harvested during the summer months depends on
the conservation and maintenance of the salt pools. In the saltpans it is
always necessary to work with the weather, as the quantity of the salt harvest
depends on the knowledge of weather conditions, winds, tides, etc.
The saltpans keep winter lively!
The
visitors of Sečovlje saltpans can choose among three Salt worker's paths. The
first is in the part called Lera, where salt is still being produced. There are
guided tours available. Qualified nature conservation officers take us through
centuries of salt making in this area and acquaint us with the traditional
methods of salt production and its unique aspects that can’t be found anywhere
else in the world. The remaining two paths are in the southern part in the area
called Fontanigge, where salt production ceased after the Second World War.
Here we can visit the museum and have a closer look at the part of the saltpans
dedicated to nature. There are numerous options for walks in Fontanigge... The
saltpans also have a Museum of salt making, which is located near the Giassi
channel in one of the reconstructed salt worker’s houses. It has an exhibition,
a salt pool and its adjacent seawater conduit channel. The path to the Museum
of salt making takes you from the entrance gate along the Dragonja river and is
2.5 km long (one way). The Museun of salt making can be visited by sea with the
boat Solinarka, by bicycle, on foot and exceptionally also by bus.
The salpans of Strunjan – points of
interest
The saltpans of Strunjan also have marked pathways for visitors. The
circular educational path Strunjan and the sea is ideal for a stroll in late
autumn or winter. The informative boards are a great guide for a curious and
relaxed walk in nature. Those visitors who want to learn something new about
the natural and cultural peculiarities of the Nature park Strunjan can choose
among various educational paths in unspoiled nature: there’s a botanical path,
a geological path, a geographical path and a subaqueous path. All paths can be
visited with a guide, individually or in a group. The classic guided
sightseeing tour of the saltpans, the lagoon and the cliffs with the sea takes
at least 2 hours and is approximately 4 km long.
Visitors can also choose a shorter
1h guided tour of the cliffs or of the lagoon Stjuža with the saltpans, where
they’ll learn more about the production of salt. The shorter tour covers a
distance of approximately 1,5 km. The path along the lagoon takes us to the new
Visitors centre, where we can see an exhibition and a film about the park, the
formation of the saltpans, the traditional ways of salt making and the
characteristic flora and fauna that adapted to the salty environment.
Saltpans in Slovenia
Wide and shallow water surfaces in the calm Mediterranean climate have always
been full of life. Their inhabitants were not only salt workers, but also
animals and plants that adapted to the salty environment. The most unique are
the salt-loving plants or halophytes. Many of these turn red in autumn, after
they have extracted all the nitrogen from the nutrients’ deprived soil.
The saltpans are an ideal habitat for birds. Many diverse biotopes have formed in the embankments, where birds rest overnight or during winter. 296 species have been seen so far. The channels and ponds are inhabited by the tooth carp and during summer we can find the tiny (no more than a centimetre large) red saltpan shrimp.
Salt making, a tradition lasting millennia
In
this part of Slovenia salt making has been a tradition for thousands of years.
The saltpans of Sečovlje and Strunjan have preserved the traditional ways of
salt making. In the past there were numerous saltpans in the Gulf of Trieste,
but presently only those in Sečovlje and Strunjan are still preserved, which
makes their testimonial value even greater. Their importance in the aspect of
ethnological, technical, historical, settlement and landscape heritage is
exceptional. The saltpans of Strunjan and Sečovlje are the only saltpans along
the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea where salt is still produced with
traditional methods throughout the entire process, by daily gathering it in
brine on the biosediment - petola.
For centuries the
saltpans of the Northern Adriatic Sea exerted a great impact on the economy of
the states and city-states of this region. They were often the cause of
political disputes and wars, as salt was incredibly useful, a valuable raw
material and a strategic merchandise, important for the canning of food and the
production of gunpowder. Besides Piran’s old saltpans in Sečovlje, Lucija and
Strunjan, there used to be several smaller and larger saltpans in the Gulf of
Trieste and in Istria (in Muggia, Koper and Izola). They were marked not only
by political and economic interests, but also by the whimsicality of nature,
which at times completely prevented salt making for longer periods of time, or
endowed it with a super-abundant harvest at some other time. Today, the
economic role of saltpans is secondary to their value in terms of nature
conservation and cultural heritage:
- the salt harvested here is a delicacy for
gourmets thanks to its quality and high content of minerals,
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- the preservation
of salt making traditions sustains the conscience of cultural heritage,
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- the
saltpans area provides shelter for rare and special species of flora and fauna
and is at the same time a reserve of an ecologically precious environment and a
memory of a once rich Mediterranean cultural heritage and landscape, which are
rapidly disappearing.
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Fleur de sel
The
most precious product of the saltpans is fleur de sel. The tiny pyramidal
crystals are formed only in the calmest weather conditions and their colour
ranges from white to light pink. When the time of harvest comes, the saltpan
workers use a special net in a wooden frame to carefully collect only the upper
layer. The salt from Piran’s saltpans is very rich in minerals. Its distinctive
taste and quality are highly renowned among culinary experts and have earned it
a special place among the “fleur de sel” salt variety.