Luxeuil-les-Bains

Luxeuil-les-Bains (French pronunciation: [lyksœj le bɛ̃]) is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté west of Mulhouse in eastern France.

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 in 451.

In 590, St Columban here founded the Abbey of Luxeuil, afterwards one of the most famous in Franche-Comté.

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 and the abbey was suppressed at the time of the French Revolution.