Salt Festival in Ston – Europe’s Oldest Salt Pans – Set to Start

Festival of Salt in Ston (Photo: Visit Ston)

A four-day-long festival dedicated to the ancient tradition of salt production will take place in Ston in the south of Dalmatia next week.

The 2nd edition of the Festival of Salt will be held from 30 August – 2 September 2018 at the Ston salt pans, which are the oldest in Europe and the largest preserved pans in the history of the Mediterranean.

“The idea of creating this festival in Ston was inspired by the salt story and the Dubrovnik Republic, which based its progress on, among other things, the production and trade of this important item in the diet of people”, organisers said.

Ston salt pans have remained unchanged since the 14th century and still today it is an important economic entity and a unique monument of culture and tourist attraction in the area.

(Visit Ston)

The tradition of harvesting salt has been passed on for over 4,000 years and since then salt is produced in the same way with only the assistance of the sea, sun, and wind. Ston salt pans consist of 58 pools divided into 5 groups as the whole sat producing process has to go through five stages which last one to two months depending on weather conditions.

There are nine pools for the crystallization process and all but one Mundo (world) are named after saints (Francis, Nicholas, Balthazar, Anthony, Joseph, John, Peter and Paul).

Next week’s festival, which is free to attend, will offer creative workshops, local crafts from Ston, Peljesac and Dubrovnik, lectures, degustations and concerts. More details about the festival here.

Ston salt pans the oldest in Europe (Photo: Solana Ston)