Seča Trail Above the Sečovlje Salt Pans

Interesting Facts

The Sečovlje and Strunjan salt-pans are the only ones in this part of the Adriatic, where salt is still being produced and where the traditional procedure of its production has survived till this very day.

The salt pans in the northern Adriatic have had a major impact on the economies of the countries and urban states of the area for centuries. They were the subject of political disputes and wars because of salt and its usefulness. It was a valuable raw material and a strategic commodity important for food canning and gunpowder production.

Many years ago there were other large and small salt pans in the villages of Sečovlje, Lucija and Strunjan in the Gulf of Trieste and Istria (e.g. in the villages of Milje, Koper, Izola, Lucija). They were marked not only by political and economic interests, but also by the unpredictable nature.

In the past, salt deficiency has had a major impact on human health.

The salt trade was a very important activity, as this commodity was so valuable that it was used in some places as a medium of exchange. The Latin term "salarium argentum" (salt money) referred to the part of the salary received by every Roman soldier, and it has been preserved for so long in our history that it even gave rise to the English word "salary".

Supposedly, the Egyptians were the first to figure out how to use it. Salt was used to mummify the dead, solidify the colors of clothing, and for fish and olives. The first mighty Roman road Via Salaria was built in the honour of salt.

Listen to a fairy tale about an Istrian shepherd and fairies.