www.delawareonline.com : The News Journal : BUSINESS : Croatia's saltworks goes back centuries HOME The News Journal Local Business Sports High School Sports Life & Leisure Opinion U.S./World Technology Obituaries Celebrations Traffic Weather School closings Government Births Lottery Police news Archive Delaware Info Forums Entertainment Homes Cars Jobs Classifieds Delaware Directory Help Advanced search Subscribe now Auctions Coupons Interact Feedback Contests TODAY IS Thursday, September 04 , 2003 Croatia's saltworks goes back centuries Harvesting dates to Roman times By SNJEZANA VUKIC Associated Press 08/24/2003 STON, Croatia -- They do it as their fathers did, and their fathers before them, and their forefathers over the centuries: Harvest salt by shovel at one of the oldest of the few remaining natural saltworks in Europe. The saltworks in Ston, a coastal town just north of Croatia's Adriatic pearl, Dubrovnik, are said to date back to Roman times. But the first written mention was in 1272 in the Statutes of the Ragusan Republic - a small, independent state around Ragusa, as Dubrovnik was known. The statutes set strict rules for the production, storage and sale of Ston's salt. It is Ston Bay's configuration that makes it a perfect place for the harvesting of salt. The sea flows in and some of the salty water is caught in "pools" toward the shore. As the water moves through the series of pools, it evaporates, helped by dry winds and high temperatures, and becomes saltier. In the last row of 12 very shallow pools - each named long ago after local saints - salt is ready for collecting. Today, as long ago, workers dig the salt out with shovels and load it onto mine cars that carry it to the warehouse. "It's only the sea, sun and winds, nothing else," says owner Svetan Pejic. "The salt here is pure, natural, ecological." For hundreds of years in the Ragusan Republic, which existed until 1808 and occupation by Napoleon's army, salt was "white gold" and Ragusa based much of its prosperity on salt exports. Salt was so valuable that Ragusan law required the warehouse keys be guarded round the clock and every sale of salt had to be observed by two witnesses. There were harsh penalties for those who violated the rules - and hefty rewards for those who turned them in. It is believed that the 5.5-kilometer (3.3-mile) stone wall around Ston was built to protect the saltworks. Only 17 people work at the saltworks today, but for generations the town's people did little but dig for salt. At the main collection times, the work was compulsory for all residents of Ston and nearby areas. They were paid in salt or gold. Later, when Croatia was a part of Yugoslavia, Ston's salt was distributed all over the then communist-ruled federation of six republics. At its peak, the saltworks produced more than 6,000 tons a year. Pejic bought the works when Croatia's government began selling off state property after seceding from Yugoslavia. Although the saltworks is not profitable and can't compete with mechanized salt mines, Pejic says it still has an important role to play. "It will remain here, if only for tourists, so they can collect it themselves and take home the purest salt in the world," he says. AP/DARKO BANDIC Workers in Ston, Croatia, scratch the salt from the bottom of the pools. Said to date from Roman times, the salt was once Croatia's largest export. Seventeen workers continue the tradition today. A P B U S I N E S S Updated every 30 minutes MORE >> Stocks Higher After Upbeat Economic Data Productivity Soars in Second Quarter Ex-Goldman Sachs Economist Is Indicted Health Lawsuit Vs. McDonald's Is Tossed Troubled Federal Pension's Deficit Soars Back-To-School Shoppers Spur Retail Sales Best Buy Raises 2nd-Quarter Outlook Callaway Gets Approval to Buy Top-Flite Del Monte Profit Sags; Job Cuts Announced Trade Ministers to Hold Meeting in Mexico S P O N S O R S F I N A N C E • Savings Rates • Loan Rates • Mortgage Rates S P E C I A L S • Best in the Business 2003 • Year-end stocks 2002 TOP OF PAGE [HOME] [NEWS JOURNAL] [ENTERTAINMENT] [HOMES] [CARS] [JOBS] [CLASSIFIEDS] [DIRECTORY] [HELP] [TO ADVERTISE] [CONTACT US] [SEARCH] Copyright ©2003, The News Journal. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service (updated 12/19/2002)