Saltmakers’ Festival on St. George’s Day

The town of Piran has a rich history, deeply intertwined with salt making, which shaped its economic and cultural development for centuries. The salt pans near the town, especially Sečovlje and Strunjan, were key to trade and prosperity. Salt was a precious commodity, also known as “white gold,” linking the people of Piran with the Republic of Venice. Today, salt making preserves traditional extraction methods, and the salt is protected as a premium local product.

The “Saltmakers’ Festival” is one of the most significant tributes to the history and identity of the town and its residents. Since the people of Piran chose St. George as their patron saint in 1343—who, according to legend, saved the town and its citizens from a catastrophic storm—the event held before the start of the salt-making season is called the “Saltmakers’ Festival on St. George’s Day.”

The salt-making season used to end around St. Bartholomew’s Day, August 24th, when salt-making families would slowly return to their homes after a Thanksgiving mass for the harvest.

“With this festival, the people of Piran want to pay tribute to everyone who has been part of this thousand-year story. We want to show every visitor to our medieval town how important and priceless salt making and coexistence with the sea truly are. Only those who are informed and aware will continue to preserve this heritage. Remember, in every grain of Piran salt you use, a piece of our soul and history is reflected.” – Slobodan Simič Sime

Friday, April 24, 2026

Piran, Vegetable Square – Local celebration (organized by the Local Community of Piran)

08:30 Preparations for the celebration: clean-up campaign, arranging flower beds, cleaning wall cabinets, etc.

14:00 Istrian marenda (snack) cooking competition

15:00 Piran delicacies from pots and grill

15:30 Cultural programme with Piran associations

16:00 Mora cantada competition

17:00 Tombola piranese (Piran-style bingo), in cooperation with the Italian Community Giuseppe Tartini Piran

18:00 Tug of war competition

19:00 Announcement of the winner of the Istrian marenda cooking competition

19:00–22:00 Piran festivity with live music

Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum Piran

09:30 Children’s “salty workshops” and guided museum tour (reserved for schools)

Parish Church of St. George, Piran – free guided tours (in cooperation with the Parish of Piran)

11:00 reserved for schools
16:00 reserved for a group
Advance registration required at: ks.piran@siol.net

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Tartini Square, Piran

9:00–18:00 Fair with stalls offering local delicacies, produce and souvenirs
10:00 Salt Workers’ Run for adults and children, and a family hike
10:00–10:15 Ceremonial parade from Vegetable Square to Tartini Square
10:30 Opening of the 22nd Salt Workers’ Festival (Feast of St. George) with cultural programme
11:30 Free guided tours of Piran (in Slovenian, Italian and English; meeting point in front of the Venetian House)
11:30–14:30 Calligraphy workshop in mud and salt with Loredana Zega
11:45 Announcement of results and awards ceremony for the Salt Workers’ Run
13:30–15:30 Performance by the band Ne me jugat
15:00 Dance duet The Last Salt Worker
15:30 Prize draw 1, 2, 3 – Let’s Run Through the Streets
15:45 Dance-acrobatic performance by Flip Piran Dance with the Wind

Square in front of Tartini Theatre

12:00–18:00 Culinary promenade featuring seafood, wines and drinks; music by DJ Merenge

Pier behind Tartini Theatre

13:30–15:00 Presentation and demonstration of a vintage diving suit

Bell Tower and Parish Church of St. George

16:00 Recital Grains of Salt and presentation of poetry collections by Jurij Marussig, accompanied by violinist Andrej Huterer
20:00 Annual concert of the Georgios Mixed Choir with guest Ljoba Jenče

Herman Pečarič Gallery

19:00–22:00 Intermedia programme Experience the Salt Crystal – images, sounds and tastes of salt

Sečovlje Salina Nature Park – Lera

7:00–19:00 Open to visitors
11:00, 13:00, 14:00 Free guided tours

Sečovlje Salina Nature Park – Fontanigge

9:00–17:00 Open to visitors
10:00–16:00 Salt-making Museum
11:30, 12:30, 15:30 Free guided tours

Strunjan Salina Nature Park

11:00 Free guided tour of the salt pans and Stjuža lagoon

Museums and Exhibitions

Piran Aquarium – 10:00–17:00
Piran Underwater Activities Museum – 10:00–17:00
Shell Museum Piran – 11:00–17:00
Tartini House – 10:00–18:00; at 16:30 kamishibai performance The Legend of St. George
Mediadom Pyrhani – 14:00–17:00; from 11:30–13:15 expert lectures on salt-making
Sergej Mašera Maritime Museum Piran – 9:00–17:00; at 15:00 lecture on Piran salt pans during the Austro-Hungarian period
Monfort Exhibition Space, Portorož – 10:00–17:00
Church of Our Lady of Health (Punta) – exhibition Stations of the Cross by Jurij Selan, 10:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00

Workshops and Presentations (Tartini Square)

Throughout the day, various creative workshops for children and families, presentations of salt-making heritage, culinary workshops, maritime heritage demonstrations and activities for the youngest will take place.

Free Transport

Free circular shuttle buses will operate on the route Piran – Portorož – Lera – Fontanigge. Seating is limited.

Nedelja, 26. 4. 2026, Piran

Tartini Square

8:00–15:00 Stalls: fair of local delicacies and natural products

9:00 Performance by the Piran Wind Orchestra, conducted by Iztok Babnik

9:30 Performance by the Georgios Mixed Choir Piran and Giuseppe Tartini Mixed Choir Piran-Pirano

9:40 Procession with the statue of St. George, patron saint of the town and parish of Piran, to the Church of St. George, accompanied by members of the Piran Fire Brigade, the Piran Wind Orchestra, the bishop and confirmation candidates

Parish Church of St. George

10:00 Holy Mass

Pastoral Cultural Centre Georgios

11:10 Gathering with homemade delicacies prepared by Piran households and music by the Piran Wind Orchestra

12:30 Procession with the Salt Workers’ Family – La Famea dei salineri, accompanied by the Piran Wind Orchestra, to the pier

Fishing Pier (in front of Tartini Theatre)

12:30 Arrival of the vessel topo Stari maček, with which the Salt Workers’ Family will depart to the salt pans

13:15 Departure of the Salt Workers’ Family by boat to the salt pans, accompanied by the rowing group Voga Veneta Piran-Pirano

Tartini House

10:00–18:00

• Museum collection of the birthplace of composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini
• Presentation of cultural groups reviving Piran’s heritage: Salt Workers’ Family – La Famea dei Salineri, Al tempo di Tartini, and Voga Veneta Piran-Pirano
• Exhibition of a model and photographs of the barchin, a traditional salt-making vessel
• Exhibition of a restored table used for filling salt bags and photographs from the Maritime Heritage Festival in Sète (France), where representatives from Piran and Koper presented salt-making traditions and Tartini

16:00 Meeting point in front of Tartini House: guided tour of Piran’s most beautiful wells with Daniela Paliaga. In medieval Piran, until 1935 (when the Istrian water supply system was introduced), rainwater collected in wells was the only source of drinking water.

Mediadom Pyrhani

10:00–17:00, free entry

*All museums, the Aquarium, Dolphin Centre, lighthouse, Tartini House, Coastal Galleries Piran and the Parish Church of St. George with the bell tower are open according to the Sunday schedule.

Participants in the 22nd Salt Festival on the occasion of St. George’s Day:

Abakkum Institute for Landscape, Culture and Art Piran, Aquarium Piran – Science Center of the University of Primorska, Art – Association for the Promotion of Dance, Italian Self-Governing Community of Piran, Italian Community “Giuseppe Tartini” Piran, Mixed Choir G. Tartini Piran, Anbot Piran – Association for the Preservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, Vrtnica Fine Arts Association, Citizens of the Town of Piran Association, MePZ St. Lucia Association, Ne me jugat Association, Portorož Choir Association, Emilija Pavlič, FLIP Acrobatics and Dance Group, Folklore Group Val Piran, GEPŠ Piran, Local Community Piran, Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, Strunjan Nature Park, Cultural Association Sloga – Šaltin Group St. Peter, La Famea dei salineri – Saltmakers’ Family, LASR Feral and LAS Green Istria, Loredana Zega, Mediteranum Piran, Morigenos – Slovenian Marine Mammal Society, Marko Hrvatin, primary schools: Ciril Kosmač Piran, Sečovlje, Lucija and Scuola elementare V. e D. de Castro Piran, Nika’s Tiny House, Piran Wind Orchestra, Maritime Museum “Sergej Mašera” Piran, Piran Volunteer Fire Brigade, Saltmakers’ Choir (MePZ Bonaca DU Piran, MePZ Georgios, MoPZ Pergula, St. Lucia, MoPZ Pergula and Portorož Choir), Loredana Ruzzier, SOLINE Salt Production Ltd., Piran Sports Association, Taperin Tourism Association Sečovlje, UP Turistica, Vasko Vidmar, Voga Veneta Piran, Watermellow Benjamin Vukovič s.p., Institute for the Preservation of Maritime Heritage Portorož – Museum of Underwater Activities Piran, Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, Piran Regional Unit, Association of Cultural Societies Piran and JSKD Piran Branch, Science and Research Centre Koper, Parish of Piran, Youresea Institute, Association of Historic Towns of Slovenia (Idrija and Tržič).