The renowned French architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (1736 - 1806), built the Saline Royale complex in the 1770's, under orders from Louis XV, for the production of salt. At this time salt was used mainly for conserving foodstuffs, glass and silverware manufacture, agriculture and medicine. Its sale was subject to a heavy and unpopular official tax, the "gabelle", which made a major contribution to the state finances. Salt was therefore of fundamental economic importance.

It is an elegant vision of a utopian work environment at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Although never completely finished, it consists of 11 buildings used for the production and warehousing of salt as well as housing trades important to the operation and was also home to the workers. This vast, semicircular complex was designed to permit a rational and hierarchical organization of work and was to have been followed by the building of an ideal city, a project that was never realized. It fell into obsolescence with the rise of modern technologies and was closed down in 1895. Abandoned, looted and damaged by fire in 1918, the site was bought by the department of Doubs in 1927. The department took it away from a certain ruin by carrying a restoration program. Today, the Saline is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has enjoyed this status since 1982.

There are exceptional details in the construction of the complex that could be considered futuristic for the time and raised the bar substantially for commercial architecture of the era. Brine was piped 14 miles from its source to Saline Royale via wooden pipes. The site was chosen for its proximity to the source of fuel, Forêt de Chaux (Forest of Lime). Operations ceased at the saltworks in 1895. There is also a museum nearby containing 60 small-scale models of Ledoux's visionary works. His buildings can be found in major French cities as a legacy to his genius.

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