Fontaine salée de Salies-de-Béarn (crypte du Bayaà) et le sanglier

Salies-de-Béarn

Under the place du Bayaà, in the heart of Salies-de-Béarn, flows a water ten times saltier than the sea. It is said that the town was born thanks to it. According to the legend, hunters wounded a wild boar that fled into a marsh; it was found dead, its coat covered with salt crystals. Before dying, it is said to have said in Béarnais that, if it had not died there, no one would live there. The period in which the legend was recorded is not dated with certainty: one specialised website speaks of a 17th-century legend, another places it at the time of Gaston Fébus. What is attested is the salt: on 11 November 1587 a regulation reserved the spring to the families of the place, the Parts-Prenants, who drew water to salt at home. In the 19th century the basin was covered with a pillared vault to prevent pollution. A law of 1840 imposed 500 tonnes of salt a year: the first saltworks was built in 1842, and today's dates from 1899. The baths opened in 1857, and the local salt is used to cure Bayonne ham. Today one goes down into the crypt on wooden walkways, where the water once gushed in the open air.

Getting there: The crypt (vaulted basin of the spring) can be visited by reservation, in a small group (11 people), place du Bayaà; price and days to be checked (€4.50 in 2023). Photography forbidden and the place not accessible to wheelchairs. The saltworks (avenue du docteur Jacques Dufourcq) are open to the public in season. Coordinates: crypt of the Fontaine Salée in OpenStreetMap.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound