Luxeuil-les-Bains () is a
commune in the
Haute-Saône department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
region of
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
History
Luxeuil (sometimes rendered Luxeu in older texts) was the Roman Luxovium and contained many fine buildings at the time of its destruction by the
Huns under
Attila
Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...
in 451. In 590,
St Columban here founded the
Abbey of Luxeuil, afterwards one of the most famous in
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
. In the 8th century, it was destroyed by the
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
; afterwards rebuilt, monastery and town were devastated by the
Normans,
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
, and
Muslims in the 9th century and pillaged on several occasions afterwards. The burning of the monastery and ravaging of the town are commonly used to illustrate the point that no place in Europe was safe during the invasions.
The abbey schools were celebrated in the Middle Ages and the abbots had great influence; but their power was curtailed by the
emperor Charles V
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...
and the abbey was suppressed at the time of the
French Revolution.
Climate
Population
Town twinning
Luxeuil-les-Bains is
twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with:
*
Wallingford, England and Bad Wurzach, Germany
Notable people
*
Allann Petitjean, footballer
See also
*
Communes of the Haute-Saône department
References
* H Beaumont, ''Etude hist. sur l'abbaye de Luxeuil'', 890-1790 (Lux. 1895)
* Grandmongin and A Garnier, ''Hist. de la mile et des thermes de Luxeuil'' (Paris, 1866), with 16 plates.
*
External links
New tourist office website(in French)
(in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luxeuillesbains
Communes of Haute-Saône
Spa towns in France
Sequani