Temporary exhibition – 200 years on, a look back at an event that shook the town of Salins-les-Bains and shaped its future.
About this event in the Jura in Salins-les-Bains
Temporary exhibition
In 1825, a terrible fire devastated almost the entire town of Salins-les-Bains. A true catastrophe, this event had national repercussions and mobilised the whole country and renowned artists. Causes, consequences, mobilisation, reconstruction: 200 years on, a look back at an event that shook the town and shaped its future.
A town in flames, a region mobilised, a memory reconstructed An unprecedented exhibition devoted to one of the most significant events in the history of Salins: the devastating fire of 27 July 1825. In just two days, the flames ravaged more than 400 houses, destroying a third of the town, leaving 726 families homeless and disrupting thousands of lives.
This catastrophe, visible from more than 40 kilometres away, would mark a turning point in the town’s urban, social and architectural history. 200 years later, the Grande Saline presents an exhibition tracing the origins, tragic course, far-reaching consequences and memory of this dramatic event, which has never been forgotten…
1825: a vulnerable town Before the fire, Salins retained a medieval layout: closely packed houses, narrow alleyways, timber buildings and roofs covered in tavaillons (wooden shingles). The alarm had been raised as early as 1819 by the town council, which highlighted the risk of a major fire.
27 July 1825 A chimney fire in rue du Pavillon starts the blaze. Carried by a strong northerly wind, embers set neighbouring roofs alight. In less than an hour, 10 buildings are on fire. In two days, two-thirds of the town disappear.
The scale of the losses · 400 houses destroyed · 726 families affected · 2,850 people left homeless · Flames visible from 40 km away · Melted glass objects, rubble blocking 800 metres of streets
An exhibition combining archives and emotion The exhibition unfolds across several chronological and thematic sections:
- A hand-operated pump on loan from the musée des Sapeurs Pompiers du Jura - Pierre Morisot in Saint-Aubin
- Objects melted or distorted by the heat, direct and poignant witnesses to the ferocity of the fire
- Reproductions of engravings and drawings made by great artists such as Ingres or Cicéri to help with reconstruction
- Documents recounting donations from across France and reconstruction measures,
- Items of 19th-century firefighting equipment
- A remarkable painting showing the power of the fire and the residents fleeing