12. Bains-les-Bains or La Vôge-les-Bains to Luxeuil-les-Bains

It was the Romans, great lovers of the thermal benefits, who exploited the springs as early as the 1st century AD. They built the first pools on the site of the present Roman Bath (1845), on the eponymous square.
This is how the resort was born, which then took the name of its raison d'être: Balneum. The medals found embedded in the foundations of the Roman Bath attest to this ancient occupation.
In the Middle Ages the village was placed under the temporal authority of the Lords of Fontenoy who controlled the territory until the French Revolution.
The Baths of Bains-Les-Bains open onto vast and very luminous "Art Deco" treatment areas. The Spa specialises in the treatment of rheumatic conditions (osteoarthritis, degenerative and/or inflammatory rheumatism, osteo-articular trauma) and cardio-arterial diseases, thanks to its waters with recognised virtues (hyperthermal between 33 and 53 degrees, sodium, bicarbonate and silica-rich). In the 19th century mineral water was bottled and marketed under the name of Saint-Colomban. Today 5000 people a year take advantage of the benefits of thermal waters.
Enjoy a moment of relaxation in the waters of Bains-les-Bains.

The old maps mention two churches in the village, the church of the priory Saint-Pancrace and the church Saint-Martin located at the Vieille Cure.
In 2016, archaeological surveys uncovered the foundations of the choir of the church of St. Martin and the sarcophagi. A Roman road passed through the village and the site of the Vieille Cure was located near this road.
The site is located on the Via Columbani, on the Via Saint-Martin. An explanatory plaque has been installed at the crossroads of rue Saint-Martin and rue du Vay. Today it is a dwelling house (private property) which carries in its attic the traces of Gothic arcatures of the old church.
Heading towards the St-Pancrace priory by the rue Marquiset, visit the 19th century church with its stained-glass windows, a Merovingian or Carolingian sarcophagus from the Vieille Cure and a 16th century baptistery.

Saint-Pancrace Priory of Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil
The Life of Saint Colomban, written around 640, relates that Colomban, faced with the influx of vocations in his community of Luxeuil, decided to found a third monastery on a place rich in water and fertile land. Around the year 600 the monastery was the granary of Luxeuil.
Over the centuries the monastery, under the authority of a prior appointed by the abbot of Luxeuil, became the owner of many lands as far as the Haute-Marne.
Like the Abbey of Luxeuil, the priory was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries. It seems that not all the buildings were completed and after the Revolution the remaining buildings were sold to different owners including a foundry which considerably modified the site but preserved the refectory on the ground floor and a first floor which still bears the traces of monks' rooms or chambers. The prior's house with its park that you can see from outside has been preserved. Private property cannot be visited.

With hot springs at 63° the site was occupied by man long before the Gallo-Roman period. In the 18th century, ex-votos discovered during construction work and exhibited in the Museum attest to traditions prior to the Christian era.
During the first and second centuries Luxovium prospered, merchants and craftsmen settled down as the Gallo-Roman stelae of the Alderman's Tower Museum, the most important collection in Franche-Comté, testify.
The destructive invasions of the 3rd to 5th centuries darkened Luxovium's rich past. On the arrival of the Irish monks at the end of the 6th century there is mention of the thermal baths at Luxeuil in the Vita Columbani.
The thermal waters were probably exploited during the Middle Ages but it was not until the 18th century that a thermal building was built on the springs, captured by the Romans, which filled the alabaster-covered basins still present in the 18th century.
In 1768 the new thermal establishment is inaugurated, today the building is classified Historical Monument, it is the oldest in France. During the centuries, the interior underwent many improvements following the degradation of the sandstone by humidity. Still today, important investments are made every year to maintain the services and comfort desired by the curists.
Do not hesitate to take a moment of relaxation in the thermal swimming pool or to take advantage of the beneficial treatments for the muscles of a seasoned walker.

Luxeuil ceramics: a major activity in the ancient city of Luxovium.
The kiln workshop is located behind the present municipal cemetery. On this small hill several springs gush out, the clay soil and the wood from the forest justify this location.
In the 1980s, Philippe Kahn and a few volunteers unearthed this exceptional site.
The site has 9 kilns, some of which are well preserved, such as the terracotta tubular pipe kiln, which made it possible to increase the firing temperature to obtain a shiny and robust sigillé, very rare in the north of Lyon.
A furnace for amphoras is a testimony to this activity which allowed the transfer of liquids, wines, oils...
Originally the site occupied more than one hectare but the extension work on the cemetery around 1950 reduced the archaeological area.
Visits are organised by the Tourist Office.

This belfry was built at the end of the 15th century by Henri Jouffroy, son of a rich Luxembourg merchant. In 1552 the notables moved into the building to hold council and thwart the decisions of the Abbot of the monastery concerning the management of the town.
In 1673, the council decided by decree that all objects discovered during excavations in the town were to be deposited in the Aldermen's Tower. This decree means that the Musée de la Luxeuil is one of the oldest museums in France.
An important collection of Gallo-Roman stelae and Gallic ex-votos are on display.

In 2006 an early Christian church complex was discovered on the Place de la République in Luxeuil-les-Bains. A major archaeological work camp took place from 2006 to 2010 with archaeologists from all over Europe and the Americas under the direction of Sébastien Bully, a CNRS archaeologist.
The Vita Columbani written around 640 mentions Luxovium as an abandoned castrum. Recent archaeological research is undertaking an in-depth rereading of the conditions in which the first monks settled, demonstrating a continuity of occupation of the settlement and the presence of the first Christian community by reusing elements of the early Christian and ancient monuments. The Place de la République (former Place Saint-Martin) revealed the presence of a funerary church dating from the end of the 5th and beginning of the 6th century. Colomban will make it the funerary church of his new monastery, more than a hundred sarcophagi on 600 m2 have been discovered.
The &cclesia, the site's interpretation centre, will open in May 2020.
Luxeuil's rich archaeological heritage still leaves beautiful discoveries for future generations on the Place de Baille, next to the current site, a church dedicated to Notre-Dame dating from the same period as the church of Saint-Martin was discovered recently. The site will be able to be valued by the generations to come.

Around 593, Colomban and his companions obtained permission from King Childebert to found a new monastery in the castrum of Luxovium.
It is likely that the first monastic buildings were on the site of today's abbey. The various reconstruction works of the abbey have erased the traces of the first monastery buildings.
The present monastic complex was built in the 17th and 18th centuries as part of a restructuring of the monastic movement initiated by the reform of Saint-Vanne and Saint-Hydulphe.
Today it is a Diocesan House which accommodates pilgrims and a private college which welcomes 220 pupils. The architecture of the House, its past impregnated with prayer, manual and intellectual work, offers an ideal setting for reflection, silence and renewal. Visits are organised by the Southern Vosges Tourist Office.
More information : Wikipedia

The particular fame of the lace of Luxeuil is essentially due to the enormous diffusion which it knew under the second empire. Until the Second World War, embroidery occupied dozens, even hundreds of female workers in the town and the surrounding communes.
At the conservatory: discovery of lacemakers at work and exhibition of needlework and original creations. Practice of lace and introductory and advanced courses.
Free visit from 2pm to 5.30pm on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Free entrance.
More informations : la Dentelle de Luxeuil website

From the 14th to the 15th centuries the town of Luxeuil was independent from the County of Burgundy. Merchants benefited from a favourable tax regime compared to that of the County of Burgundy. This must have been the main reason for the establishment of a Lombard family, the Jouffroy, trading in cloth between Flanders and Lombardy. They left us the two most beautiful buildings of the city, the house known as the house of Cardinal Jouffroy and the Aldermen's Tower which houses a museum. Its stone balcony is one of the oldest in France, observe the facade with its richly decorated gargoyles.
The Maison du Bailly (Thiadot Hotel, 15th and 16th centuries) and the house known as "François 1er" (which has no connection with the King of France) are worth a visit.
QR codes are affixed to the buildings for your information.

When, in 590, Saint Columban, a monk from Ireland, decided to found a monastery among the ruins of the ancient Luxovium, his first concern was to build a church, probably a modest one, around which the cells of his first disciples were grouped. Since that time, several churches have been rebuilt following destruction and fires, but always on the same site. Since no archaeological excavations have been carried out in the basilica, it is difficult to reconstruct the history of this church. During the laying of the hot-air galleries at the end of the 19th century remains of walls not symmetrical to those of the church were discovered and many sarcophagi.
The construction of the present building began in 1215 and was completed in 1330. While cathedrals were being built in France, the monks preferred the rigour and austerity found in Cistercian churches of that time. The Gothic style rubbed shoulders with the Romanesque style reflecting the architectural evolution of the buildings in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Admire the most beautiful organ case in the region dating from 1617, still in perfect condition. The pulpit comes from Notre-Dame de Paris deposited in the 19th century at the request of Viollet-le-Duc who judged the piece of furniture to be not in conformity with the Gothic style of the Parisian cathedral. The choir stalls come from the cathedral of Saint-Etienne de Besançon destroyed by Vauban to build the citadel.
The Cloister
Together with the former abbey church, the pink sandstone cloister is the last medieval element of the Benedictine monastery of Luxeuil.
On the keystones of the vault, one can discover the coats of arms of three successive abbots who contributed to its construction in the 15th century. Although one of its wings was amputated during the Revolution and all but one of its arcature decorations were removed, it offers visitors an ideal setting to stroll around admiring the south façade of the abbey palace, begun in 1550 and completed a century later.