June 2025
Vichy, the French Great Spa Town, celebrated an important anniversary – 200 years of the Vichy pastille!
Since its creation in 1825 by chemist Jean-Pierre-Joseph d’Arcet, the Vichy pastille has spanned the ages and remained an essential symbol of Vichy to this day.
It is an iconic product with an octagonal shape, made of salts extracted from the Chomel Spring. The pastilles are taken for their digestive properties and are flavoured with sugar and mint, lemon or aniseed.
Artists from across The Great Spa Towns of Europe came together and each made a giant decorated pastille, often inspired by their own spa town. These pastilles are now positioned in the Parc des Sources, which visitors can explore on a unique discovery trail. Each pastille has a description and a QR code to learn more about the artist, their town and the artwork.
The artists commissioned were:
- Cornelia König – Baden bei Wien, Austria
- Édouard de Ponthier – Spa, Belgium
- Vlasta Šlégrová – representing Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně and Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic
- Kamila Müllerová – Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
- Pierre XZXZ – Vichy, France
- Daniela Polz – Bad Ems, Germany
- Brigitte Nowatzke-Kraft – Baden-Baden, Germany
- Katja Then – Bad Kissingen, Germany
- Stefano De Ponti – Montecatini Terme, Italy
- Joanne Slade – City of Bath, UK
Alongside this unique series of artistic commissions, the City of Vichy ran a detailed programme, including exhibitions, guided tours, cabaret show, conferences, escape games and more.
A historical and entertaining exhibition, entitled “The Pastille in all its forms“, is running until November 2025. It informs visitors about the manufacturing secrets of the sweet, its inventor, the chemist from Arcet and the economic importance and success of this remedy that became a candy. It also told the story of the competition between Vichy manufacturers and foreign pastilles and concluded with contemporary culinary recipes based on the pastille. Archival documents, tablet-making machines and all kinds of packaging gathered around the Chomel Spring, from which the precious salts that go into its composition are extracted.
Find out more at https://www.ville-vichy.fr/200-ans-pastille-vichy
