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Bagnères-de-Luchon

Bagnères-de-Luchon (French: [baɲɛʁ lyʃɔ̃]; Occitan: Banhèras de Luishon), also referred to as just Luchon, is a commune and spa town in the Haute-Garonne department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.

Bagnères-de-Luchon
Banhèras de Luishon (Occitan)
The Luchon Valley from the Cable Car
Location of Bagnères-de-Luchon
Bagnères-de-Luchon
Bagnères-de-Luchon
Coordinates: 42°47′30″N 0°35′41″E / 42.7917°N 0.5947°E / 42.7917; 0.5947
CountryFrance
RegionOccitania
DepartmentHaute-Garonne
ArrondissementSaint-Gaudens
CantonBagnères-de-Luchon
Government
 • Mayor (2023–2026) Éric Azémar[1]
Area
1
52.80 km2 (20.39 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
2,152
 • Density41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
31042 /31110
Elevation611–2,737 m (2,005–8,980 ft)
(avg. 630 m or 2,070 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.[3]

Geography edit

Bagnères-de-Luchon is located on the Spanish border some 50 km south-west of Saint-Gaudens and 40 km south of Montréjeau at the end of a branch line of the Southern railway at the foot of the central Pyrenees. To the south the Luchonnais Mountains form a natural barrier and there is no crossing point into Spain. Access to the commune is by the D125 road from Salles-et-Pratviel in the north which passes through the town and continues south through the commune to its termination in the mountains. The D618A branches off the D125 south of the town and goes east to Saint-Mamet continuing to the Spanish border at the Col du Portillon leading to the Val d'Aran. The D618 goes west from the town to Saint-Aventin. The D46 goes north-east to Sode. The D125C goes north by north-west to Moustajon.[4]

The town is located in a valley at the confluence of the L'One river from the west and the Pique river from the south. Numerous streams flow into these rivers including the Ruisseau de Sahage into L'One, the Ruisseau de Bagnartigue, the Ruisseau de Jean, the Lys, the Ruisseau des Barguieres, the Ruisseau de Laus d'Esbas, the Ruisseau de Garante, the Ruisseau de Sajust, the Ruisseau de Layrous, the Ruisseau de Roumingau, and the Ruisseau du Port de Venasque all flowing into the Pique. The Ruisseau de Bouneu forms much of the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Lys. There are several high mountain lakes in the south of the commune which feed the Pique including the Boums de Port and the Étang de la Frèche.[4]

Transport edit

 
The railway station

The Gare de Luchon railway station is the SNCF terminal station for the Montréjeau to Gourdan-Polignan and Luchon line that also connects to Toulouse via Montréjeau. On weekends (daily in summer), a night train connects Bagneres-de-Luchon directly to Paris. The Montréjeau to Bagnères-de-Luchon train line was suspended in 2014. The connection is now made by bus.

A Gondola lift since 1993 has connected Bagneres-de-Luchon to Superbagnères. It replaced the Chemin de fer de Luchon à Superbagnères (Luchon to Superbagnères railway) rack railway (Strub system) which operated from 1912 to 1966.

There is also a small public aerodrome in the commune just east of the town where the Aeroclub de Luchon is based.

Climate edit

The commune is located on a slope that ensures a drier climate. Winter temperatures range from −10 to 10 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures range from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. The northerly wind brings more anticyclonic conditions and south-west or north-west winds are very often a harbinger of a disturbance (rain or snow). Sometimes the north and south winds are reversed causing storms on the valley which are sometimes strong with hail due to the moist air in the south and dry air in the north.

Climate data for Luchon (altitude 618 m, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1994–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.5
(74.3)
25.5
(77.9)
26.2
(79.2)
30.2
(86.4)
35.3
(95.5)
39.6
(103.3)
38.0
(100.4)
38.9
(102.0)
35.7
(96.3)
31.1
(88.0)
26.4
(79.5)
25.7
(78.3)
39.6
(103.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2)
11.4
(52.5)
14.5
(58.1)
16.6
(61.9)
19.6
(67.3)
23.0
(73.4)
25.0
(77.0)
25.4
(77.7)
22.2
(72.0)
19.3
(66.7)
13.5
(56.3)
10.6
(51.1)
17.6
(63.7)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.2
(39.6)
5.1
(41.2)
8.1
(46.6)
10.5
(50.9)
13.9
(57.0)
17.3
(63.1)
19.2
(66.6)
19.2
(66.6)
15.9
(60.6)
12.9
(55.2)
7.5
(45.5)
4.7
(40.5)
11.5
(52.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.6
(29.1)
−1.1
(30.0)
1.7
(35.1)
4.5
(40.1)
8.1
(46.6)
11.5
(52.7)
13.4
(56.1)
13.0
(55.4)
9.6
(49.3)
6.5
(43.7)
1.6
(34.9)
−1.2
(29.8)
5.5
(41.9)
Record low °C (°F) −15.9
(3.4)
−17.2
(1.0)
−14.6
(5.7)
−3.9
(25.0)
−2.1
(28.2)
2.0
(35.6)
4.9
(40.8)
4.5
(40.1)
0.1
(32.2)
−5.7
(21.7)
−10.1
(13.8)
−13.6
(7.5)
−17.2
(1.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 99.7
(3.93)
76.9
(3.03)
75.5
(2.97)
91.2
(3.59)
100.6
(3.96)
71.6
(2.82)
63.7
(2.51)
54.9
(2.16)
58.2
(2.29)
65.3
(2.57)
106.1
(4.18)
76.8
(3.02)
940.5
(37.03)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10.8 9.4 10.3 12.1 12.0 9.4 7.7 7.9 8.4 9.1 11.1 9.7 117.8
Source: Météo-France[5]

Toponymy edit

The name Bagnères-de-Luchon comes in part from its hydrotherapy (bagnères = baths) and the other part from a local god (Lixon or Illixon).

After some confusion the Académie Julien Sacaze confirmed that Lixon is the correct Roman name for Luchon and not Ilixon.

History edit

 
Plan of Luchon in 1914
 
View of Luchon in 1908 (Eugène Trutat)
 
Ferruginous spring, in Bagnères-de-Luchon, by Joseph Latour

The town has existed for more than 2,000 years. The presence of a population has been attested since Neolithic times at least in the Saint-Mamet Cave. The presence of Stone circles also attests to an ancient occupation.[7]

It is often claimed that Pompey, returning from a policing expedition in Spain in 76BC (where he founded the city of Pamplona named after him), stopped in the area and founded the new city of Lugdunum Convenarum where he brought together the scattered Convènes tribe: this was the future Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. However, extensive archaeological investigations have failed to find any evidence of this. During the Augustan period, the town was substantially Romanised and expanded.[8]

One of his soldiers who suffered from a skin disease immersed himself in the thermal waters of Luchon and its "Onésiens" baths where he discovered their thermal properties. After 21 days (the traditional and still current duration of a cure) he came out completely healed.

In 25 BC Tiberius Claude dug three pools and developed thermal baths. The baths had a modest motto: "Balneum Lixonense post Neapolitense primum" (the Luchon baths are the best after those of Naples) which is still today the motto of the town. Julius Caesar spoke of the region his "Commentaries".

The invasions of the Goths and Visigoths passed through the region as well as the incursions of the Moors. People took refuge in the high valleys of Larboust or Oueil. Traces of these invasions remain in some local myths and legends.

Charlemagne and Gaston Phoebus gave the area a special status of a border March with a certain amount of autonomy between France and Spain.

The area was relatively untouched by the Hundred Years' War, as well as by the suppression of Catharism and the Protestant Reformation. People remained loyal to a 'modified' Catholicism, which it took the bishops of Saint-Béat centuries to rein in; priests lived in communities, sometimes armed and married, and were poorly educated and poorly trained. They extorted payment for funeral Masses in the form of well-watered meals, and they were loyal to the interests of their house of origin, rather than to Rome.

In 987 the village of "Banières" and its thermal baths around its church was described as quite successful. At Toussaint there was a major fair which did not have, however, the fame of that of Saint-Béat, which benefited more from trade with Spain.

Around 1200 the hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem installed a commandery at Frontés, between Montauban and Juzet-de-Luchon. The goal was to control the passage to the mountain, which was a secondary road on the Camino de Santiago, and to organize hospices for pilgrims and merchants who risked their lives in winter. The building of the Hospice de France dates from this period and is the only trace remaining of the Knights Hospitaller. The opening of the Port de Venasque Pass followed later.

Then commenced a continuous struggle for centuries between the Knights hospitaller and the people who were guided by their priests. The objective quickly became more economic than religious and it was not a question of sharing taxes. Finally the order abandoned the region.

There have always been very few nobles in the region where the peasantry has always fought for their survival. The old treaties of Lies et passeries[9] gave the people of both sides of the mountain free movement and free trade even if the kingdoms were at war. Any boycott would have little support as it would easily decimate the population. These treaties were systematically renewed and imposed on kings and bishops. A popular form of elected representation existed: the consuls. It was thus possible to speak of Pyrenean republics.

The kings of France sought to put an end to this situation which seemed to them abnormal.

In 1759 Baron Antoine Mégret d'Étigny, intendant of Gascony, was sent to Luchon. He began by creating a passable road using collective labour and expropriations. He was forced to appeal to a company of dragoons to hold the population in check as they were unaccustomed to such authoritarian treatment. In 1761 he reorganized the baths and gave them a foundation for their future development. In 1763 Marshal Duke of Richelieu came to take the waters and he returned in 1769 with much of the Court. The spa was launched. The Baron also developed forestry to provide timber for the navy and charcoal for forges. He died in 1767 at the age of 47, ruined and disgraced.

His successor gave his name to the Alleys of Étigny, the main artery of the town, and in 1889 a statue in his likeness was still displayed in front of the baths.

The French Revolution and the French empires had little impact in Luchon.

Many famous visitors came to Luchon, attracted by the popularity of the thermal waters which was launched by the Empress Eugenie or by the beginnings of "Pyreneism" by Count Russell-Killough. Lamartine, José-Maria de Heredia (who also lived in Marignac, a village near Luchon where he was inspired by the Pic du Gar for his collection of poems Les Trophées), Prince Napoleon III, the Prince Imperial, Edmond Rostand, Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, Octave Mirbeau, and Stephen Liégeard. Moulay Mohammed (the future Mohammed V of Morocco), Alfonso XIII of Spain, Sacha Guitry, Francis Carco, and François Mauriac were some of the more illustrious guests.

The arrival of the railway in 1873 and the construction of the casino in 1880 further developed the popularity of the town where upscale and cosmopolitan tourists came until the Roaring Twenties. Social benefits such as paid leave and social security then democratized the tourist population.

A hydroelectric power plant was in place as early as 1890 by the La Luchonnaise company.

The Tour de France made the town one of its obligatory stages since its inception.

The opening of the mountain hotel of Superbagnères (finished work in 1922), then connected by a rack railway and today by gondola, completed the spa town with a winter sports resort. In the 1968 Winter Olympics, Ingrid Lafforgue was successful. Her twin sister Britt Lafforgue was successful at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

The commune was mentioned with the nickname "Queen of the Pyrenees" by Vincent de Chausenque in 1834 in his book Les Pyrénées ou voyages pédestres (The Pyrenees or Hiking journeys).

Luchon mineral water has been marketed throughout France.

Excavations have uncovered traces of three large pools lined with marble with circulating hot air and steam.

Cyclone Xynthia at the end of February 2010 caused the death of 50 people in France and hit Luchon and its region. The winds blew at 200 km/h on the peaks which caused substantial damage.

Heraldry edit

 
Arms of Bagnères-de-Luchon
Blazon:

Or, a mountain Sable mouvant from dexter where a jet of water spurts into a bath Azure the whole on a terrace in base Sable; in chief parti per pale, 1 of Gules charged with 4 otelles Argent, 2 of Azure with a votive altar the same with the inscription ILIXIONI DEO V.S.L.M. in roman capital letters of Sable.



Administration edit

List of successive mayors[10]

Mayors from the French Revolution to 1919
From To Name
1790 Bernard Cazat
1791 1793 Julien Rey
1793 1793 Etienne Sourd-Sacarrere
1793 1795 Henri Colomic
1795 1799 Bernard Cazat
1799 1800 Paul Boileau
1800 1800 Pierre Jean Soulerat
1800 1805 Bernard Cazat
1805 1807 Gabriel Nadau
1807 1808 Pierre Gascon
1808 1814 Etienne Sengez
1814 1815 Henry Colomic
1815 1816 Gabriel Soutiran
1816 1830 Paul Boileau
1830 1830 Bertrand Saint Martin
1830 1830 Arnaud Soulerat
1830 1841 Pierre Azemar
1841 1848 Mathieu Soulerat
1848 1870 Charles Tron
1870 1871 Bertrand Baque
1871 1871 Edouard Azemar
1871 1872 Charles Tron
1872 1874 Edouard Azemar
1874 1875 Bernard Larrieu
1875 1878 Charles Tron
1878 1884 Edouard Azemar
1884 1886 Lucien Colomic
1886 1892 Aimé Trescazes
1892 1894 Edouard Azemar
1894 1912 Paul Bonnemaison
1912 1914 Gabriel Estradere
1914 1919 Jean Bigourdan
 
The Town Hall
Mayors from 1919
From To Name
1919 1944 Guillaume Germes
1944 1944 Rémy Comet
1946 1947 Alain Bochet
1947 1971 Alfred Coste Fleuret
1971 1974 Albert Castaigne
1974 1995 Jean Peyrafitte
1995 2008 René Rettig
2008 2020 Louis Ferré
2020 2026 Éric Azémar

Twin towns edit

Bagnères-de-Luchon has twinning associations with:[11]

Demography edit

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Luchonnais or Luchonnaises in French.[12]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 1,164—    
1800 1,080−1.06%
1806 1,396+4.37%
1821 1,683+1.25%
1831 2,077+2.13%
1836 2,385+2.80%
1841 2,629+1.97%
1846 2,770+1.05%
1851 2,770+0.00%
1856 3,016+1.72%
1861 3,294+1.78%
1866 3,921+3.55%
1872 3,829−0.39%
1876 4,012+1.17%
1881 4,256+1.19%
1886 3,729−2.61%
1891 3,528−1.10%
1896 3,720+1.07%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 3,260−2.61%
1906 3,465+1.23%
1911 3,415−0.29%
1921 3,635+0.63%
1926 3,820+1.00%
1931 3,884+0.33%
1936 3,591−1.56%
1946 4,105+1.35%
1954 3,666−1.40%
1962 3,888+0.74%
1968 4,123+0.98%
1975 3,484−2.38%
1982 3,498+0.06%
1990 3,094−1.52%
1999 2,900−0.72%
2009 2,600−1.09%
2014 2,445−1.22%
2020 2,222−1.58%
Source: EHESS[13] and INSEE[14]
 
The War Memorial

Economy edit

Culture and heritage edit

Civil heritage edit

The commune has a number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:

  • The Villa Pyrène at 13 Allée des Bains (19th century) [15]
  • The Villa Luisa at Boulevard Charles-Tron (1884) [16]
  • The Villa Edouard at 2 Boulevard Edmond-Rostand (1864) [17]
  • The Château Lafont at Allées d'Etigny (18th century) [18] houses the Pays de Luchon museum.
  • The Chalets Spont at 56 Allées d'Etigny (19th century) [19]
  • The Charles Tron Residence at 1 Avenue Galliéni (1854) [20]
  • The Villa Santa Maria at 14 Boulevard Henri-de-Gorsse (1840) [21]
  • The Chambert Thermal Baths at Cours de Quinconces (1854). [22] The Baths contain two items that are registered as historical objects:
  • The Casino (1878) [25] was built in brick-stone in a conventional classical historicist style and expanded in 1929 with the addition of Art Deco decor on the front facade. The Casino Park is designed around a serpentine body of water with an artificial cave.
  • A Stone circle (Neolithic) [26]
  • A Stone row (Neolithic) [27]
Other sites of interest
Civil heritage Photo Gallery

Religious heritage edit

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

  • The Chapel of Saint Étienne Portal at Quartier de Barcugnas (12th century). [28] The Chapel contains a Statuette of the Virgin and child (14th century)  which is registered as an historical object.[29]
  • The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (1847) [30] is a Romanesque Revival building built on the site of the old Romanesque church. The murals are by Romain Cazes. The Church contains two items that are registered as historical objects:
    • A Chalice (17th century) [31]
    • A Bronze Bell called Abraham (1596) [32]
Religious heritage picture gallery

Thermal springs edit

Bagnères-de-Luchon is celebrated for its thermal springs. There are 48 springs which vary in composition but are chiefly impregnated with sodium sulphate, and range in temperature from 17 °C to 65 °C. The discovery of numerous Roman remains attests to the antiquity of the baths which are identified with the Onesiorum Thermae of Strabo. Their revival in modern times dates from the latter half of the 18th century, and was due to Antoine Mégret d'Étigny, intendant of Auch.[33]

There is a more modern entrance to the baths next to the older buildings. The bathing experience consists of repeated spells within a hot sulphurous atmosphere in caves that run approximately 100 metres inside the Superbagnères mountain in a cool swimming pool within the entrance building. It was these sulphur springs that led to a twinning of the settlement with Harrogate in 1952.

Bagnères-de-Luchon is celebrated as a fashionable resort. Of the promenades, the finest and most frequented are the Allées d'Étigny, an avenue planted with lime-trees, at the southern extremity of which is the Thermes, or hot baths. The road is lined with bars and restaurants.

Thermal Baths Picture Gallery

Cultural events and festivities edit

 
Poster by Jules Chéret for the Festival of Flowers for 10 August 1890.
  • Film festivals: the Luchon Television Film Festival
  • The Festival of Flowers.
  • The Rencontres lyriques de Luchon (Music Festival of Luchon).

In literature and film edit

Bagnères-de-Luchon is mentioned briefly in the short ghost Story, "Cannon Alberic's Scrap-Book" by M.R. James published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904.

It is also the setting for an early scene in François Mauriac's novel Le Noeud de Vipères, published in 1932.

The town is the setting and subject for the 2018 film Things Fall Where They Lie.[34]

Sports edit

Superbagnères is a ski resort located on the territory of Saint-Aventin commune to the south-west of the town only accessible from Bagnères-de-Luchon. Historically it was connected to the town by a railway being the second resort in France to install a rack railway but today it is connected with a gondola lift. Each cabin holds up to four people and takes about ten minutes to reach the summit, running in summer as well as winter. It is not possible to ski back down to Luchon, except in times of exceptional snow for talented locals who know the woods.

Cycling is a popular sport in the region in the summer. The climbs of Superbagnères, Col de Peyresourde, Port de Balès, Col de Menté, Col du Portillon and the Col de Portet d'Aspet are all nearby.

Bagnères-de-Luchon has been a permanent stage on the Tour de France since its inception in 1910.

 
9th green at the Luchon golf course

In addition to the Tour de France the pro series race Route du Sud also passes through Luchon with a stage finishing in Superbagnères in 2008 and Luchon in 2009.

Luchon is also a mountain biking destination. Its position at the confluence of two valleys gives a wide variety of routes up into the mountains – although most of them start with a large climb (the gondola can carry mountain bikes). There is one mountain biking guide organisation based in Luchon itself and another further down the valley. (See external links).

Luchon also offers a golf course, tandem paragliding (from Superbagnères), tennis courts, and an aerodrome with gliding.

Luchon has a nine-hole golf course close to the town centre. It dates to the early 1900s, making it one of the oldest golf courses in the department. In 2008 the "Club de Golf Luchon" celebrated its 100-year anniversary.

Notable people linked to the commune edit

 
The Statue of Étigny
 
Edmond Rostand.
  • Antoine Mégret d'Étigny (1719–1767), intendant of the generality of Gascony, Béarn, and Navarre. The commune named the Allées d'Étigny, the main street in the town, after him and a statue stands in front of the thermal baths.
  • Nérée Boubée (1806–1862), naturalist, entomologist, geologist, and teacher at the University of Paris, died at Luchon.
  • Théodore Gobley (1811–1876), pharmacist and chemist, member of the Académie Nationale de Médecine, established the chemical structure of phospholipids, died in Bagnères-de-Luchon on 1 September 1876 at the Hôtel des Bains, cour d'Etigny, where he was staying with his family.
  • Stéphen Liégeard (1830–1925), French writer and poet, author of Twenty days as a tourist in Luchon country (1874)
  • Auguste Scheurer-Kestner (1833–1899), chemist and Senator, died in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Jean-Marie Mengue (1855–1939), sculptor, born in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Henri Gadeau de Kerville (1858–1940), zoologist, botanist, and archaeologist, died in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Henry de Gorsse or Henri de Gorsse (1868–1936), man of letters, playwright, screenwriter, and songwriter, born at Luchon.
  • Edmond Rostand (1868–1918), playwright who spent 22 summers in Luchon in his youth where he composed Les Musardises. In Cyrano de Bergerac, Act IV, Scene VI, the author was inspired by the place names in the Luchon Valley, among others, to name his Gascon cadets: there is one called a "Knight of Antignac-Juzet".
  • Jules Brévié (1880–1964), colonial administrator, Governor-General of French West Africa (AOF), and of French Indochina, Minister, born in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Georges Lucien Guyot (1885–1973), wildlife artist, his work "Bear of the Pyrénées" is in the Thermal Baths grounds.
  • Jean Arlaud (1896–1938), doctor and mountaineer.
  • Lys Gauty (1908–1994), singer, took over management of the Luchon Casinor in 1950 and created the Festival of the Voice.
  • Michel Warlop (1911–1947), jazz violinist, died in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Guy Lapébie (1916–2010), racing cyclist, died in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Alexis Kanner (1942–2003), Anglo-Canadian actor, born in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Britt Lafforgue and Ingrid Lafforgue, ski champions, born in 1948 in Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  • Nicole Peyrafitte, multi-disciplinary artist, born in 1960 in Bagnères-de-Luchon.

Literature edit

Bagnères-de-Luchon is a location mentioned in the M.R. James ghost story Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904.

See also edit

Bibliography edit

  • Nérée Boubée, Promenade de Bagnères au lac d'Oô. Reprinted 2009, Éditions Aux pages d'antan, 88 p. (in French)
  • Anne Dupic, Économie et démographie dans la commune de Bagnères-de-Luchon, 1815–1870, mém. de maitrise, Université Toulouse II, 1976 (in particular noted the difficulty of measuring the true impact of tourism development for the local population). (in French)
  • Philippe Francastel, Luchon et ses vallées, Éditions Privat, 1999 ISBN 2-7089-9123-X (in French)
  • Philippe Francastel, Le Pays de Luchon – poésie et lumière, Atlantica, 2004 ISBN 2-84394-711-1 (in French)
  • Jean-Bernard Frappé, Autrefois Bagnères de Luchon, 2 tomes, Atlantica, 2001 ISBN 2-84394-432-5 (in French)
  • Henri Gadeau de Kerville, Autour du canton de Bagnères-de-Luchon (France et Espagne), Toulouse, Privat, 1928 (in French)
  • Henri Gadeau de Kerville, Bagnères-de-Luchon et son canton (Haute-Garonne), Toulouse, Édouard Privat, 1925 ; Lorisse, 2003 ISBN 9782843733543 (in French)
  • Alban et André Leymarie, Le Chemin de fer à crémaillère de Luchon à Superbagnères, 1912–1966, Éditions Lacour-Olle, 2006 ISBN 2-7504-0702-8 (in French)
  • Henri Pac, Luchon et son passé, Éditions Privat, 1984 ISBN 2-7089-2385-4 (in French)
  • Anne Samson, Thermes tragiques, ISBN 2-9501-3090-9 (a detective novel set in Luchon) (in French)
  • Patrick Turlan, Bagnères-de-Luchon à la Belle époque. Pau, imprimerie Ipadour, 1999, 63 pp., [Many reproductions of old postcards of Luchon.], Preface by Henri Dénard (General Councilor for the Canton of Luchon). (in French)
  • Patrick Turlan, La fête des fleurs de Bagnères-de-Luchon à la Belle époque. Pau, imprimerie Ipadour, 1999, 32 pp., [Many reproductions of old postcards of Luchon. History of Guides...], Preface by Jean Peyrafitte (former senator-mayor of Luchon). (in French)
  • Ernest Philippe Lambron, , N. Chaix, Paris, 1863–1864, 1152 pages, consulted on 6 June 2014 (in French)

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Bagnères-de-Luchon in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
  4. ^ a b "Bagnères-de-Luchon". Bagnères-de-Luchon.
  5. ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991–2020 et records" (PDF). Météo-France. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  6. ^ Géoportail, IGN (in French)
  7. ^ Bagnères-de-Luchon official website (in French)
  8. ^ Rome in the Pyrenees. Lugdunum and the Convenae from the first century B.C. to the seventh century A.D. Simon Esmonde Cleary 2007 Routledge ISBN 9781134091034
  9. ^ Agreements between rural communities in the Spanish and French valleys in the Pyrenees
  10. ^ List of mayors of France (in French)
  11. ^ National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (in French)
  12. ^ Le nom des habitants du 31 - Haute-Garonne, habitants.fr
  13. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Bagnères-de-Luchon, EHESS (in French).
  14. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  15. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA31000061 Villa Pyrène at 13 Allée des Bains (in French)
  16. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA31000091 Villa Luisa at Boulevard Charles-Tron (in French)
  17. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA31000060 Villa Edouard at 2 Boulevard Edmond-Rostand (in French)
  18. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094277 Château Lafont at Allées d'Etigny (in French)
  19. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00125564 Chalets Spont at 56 Allées d'Etigny (in French)
  20. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094280 Charles Tron Residence at 1 Avenue Galliéni (in French)
  21. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA31000077 Villa Santa Maria at 14 Boulevard Henri-de-Gorsse (in French)
  22. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094281 Chambert Thermal Baths at Cours de Quinconces (in French) 
  23. ^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM31001124 Sarcophagus (in French)
  24. ^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM31000334 Altar and Sarcophagus (in French)
  25. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA31000035 Casino (in French)
  26. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094278 Stone circle (in French)
  27. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094275 Stone row (in French)
  28. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094276 Chapel of Saint Étienne Portal at Quartier de Barcugnas (in French)
  29. ^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM31000333 Statuette: Virgin and child (in French)
  30. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00094279 Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (in French)
  31. ^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM31000332 Chalice (in French)
  32. ^ Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM31000032 Abraham Bronze Bell (in French)
  33. ^   One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bagnères-de-Luchon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 202.
  34. ^ //https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5243582/

External links edit

  • Tourism office website 13 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  • Bagnères-de-Luchon official website (in French)
  • Aeroclub de Luchon website (in French)
  • Bagnères-de-Luchon on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
  • Bagnères-de-Luchon on the 1750 Cassini Map

bagnères, luchon, french, baɲɛʁ, lyʃɔ, occitan, banhèras, luishon, also, referred, just, luchon, commune, town, haute, garonne, department, occitanie, region, south, western, france, banhèras, luishon, occitan, communethe, luchon, valley, from, cable, carcoat,. Bagneres de Luchon French baɲɛʁ de lyʃɔ Occitan Banheras de Luishon also referred to as just Luchon is a commune and spa town in the Haute Garonne department in the Occitanie region of south western France Bagneres de Luchon Banheras de Luishon Occitan CommuneThe Luchon Valley from the Cable CarCoat of armsLocation of Bagneres de LuchonBagneres de LuchonShow map of FranceBagneres de LuchonShow map of OccitanieCoordinates 42 47 30 N 0 35 41 E 42 7917 N 0 5947 E 42 7917 0 5947CountryFranceRegionOccitaniaDepartmentHaute GaronneArrondissementSaint GaudensCantonBagneres de LuchonGovernment Mayor 2023 2026 Eric Azemar 1 Area152 80 km2 20 39 sq mi Population 2021 2 2 152 Density41 km2 110 sq mi Time zoneUTC 01 00 CET Summer DST UTC 02 00 CEST INSEE Postal code31042 31110Elevation611 2 737 m 2 005 8 980 ft avg 630 m or 2 070 ft 1 French Land Register data which excludes lakes ponds glaciers gt 1 km2 0 386 sq mi or 247 acres and river estuaries The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom 3 Contents 1 Geography 1 1 Transport 1 2 Climate 2 Toponymy 3 History 3 1 Heraldry 4 Administration 4 1 Twin towns 5 Demography 6 Economy 7 Culture and heritage 7 1 Civil heritage 7 2 Religious heritage 7 3 Thermal springs 7 4 Cultural events and festivities 7 5 In literature and film 7 6 Sports 8 Notable people linked to the commune 9 Literature 10 See also 11 Bibliography 12 References 13 External linksGeography editBagneres de Luchon is located on the Spanish border some 50 km south west of Saint Gaudens and 40 km south of Montrejeau at the end of a branch line of the Southern railway at the foot of the central Pyrenees To the south the Luchonnais Mountains form a natural barrier and there is no crossing point into Spain Access to the commune is by the D125 road from Salles et Pratviel in the north which passes through the town and continues south through the commune to its termination in the mountains The D618A branches off the D125 south of the town and goes east to Saint Mamet continuing to the Spanish border at the Col du Portillon leading to the Val d Aran The D618 goes west from the town to Saint Aventin The D46 goes north east to Sode The D125C goes north by north west to Moustajon 4 The town is located in a valley at the confluence of the L One river from the west and the Pique river from the south Numerous streams flow into these rivers including the Ruisseau de Sahage into L One the Ruisseau de Bagnartigue the Ruisseau de Jean the Lys the Ruisseau des Barguieres the Ruisseau de Laus d Esbas the Ruisseau de Garante the Ruisseau de Sajust the Ruisseau de Layrous the Ruisseau de Roumingau and the Ruisseau du Port de Venasque all flowing into the Pique The Ruisseau de Bouneu forms much of the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Lys There are several high mountain lakes in the south of the commune which feed the Pique including the Boums de Port and the Etang de la Freche 4 Transport edit nbsp The railway station The Gare de Luchon railway station is the SNCF terminal station for the Montrejeau to Gourdan Polignan and Luchon line that also connects to Toulouse via Montrejeau On weekends daily in summer a night train connects Bagneres de Luchon directly to Paris The Montrejeau to Bagneres de Luchon train line was suspended in 2014 The connection is now made by bus A Gondola lift since 1993 has connected Bagneres de Luchon to Superbagneres It replaced the Chemin de fer de Luchon a Superbagneres Luchon to Superbagneres railway rack railway Strub system which operated from 1912 to 1966 There is also a small public aerodrome in the commune just east of the town where the Aeroclub de Luchon is based Climate edit The commune is located on a slope that ensures a drier climate Winter temperatures range from 10 to 10 degrees Celsius and summer temperatures range from 10 to 35 degrees Celsius The northerly wind brings more anticyclonic conditions and south west or north west winds are very often a harbinger of a disturbance rain or snow Sometimes the north and south winds are reversed causing storms on the valley which are sometimes strong with hail due to the moist air in the south and dry air in the north Climate data for Luchon altitude 618 m 1991 2020 normals extremes 1994 present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high C F 23 5 74 3 25 5 77 9 26 2 79 2 30 2 86 4 35 3 95 5 39 6 103 3 38 0 100 4 38 9 102 0 35 7 96 3 31 1 88 0 26 4 79 5 25 7 78 3 39 6 103 3 Mean daily maximum C F 10 1 50 2 11 4 52 5 14 5 58 1 16 6 61 9 19 6 67 3 23 0 73 4 25 0 77 0 25 4 77 7 22 2 72 0 19 3 66 7 13 5 56 3 10 6 51 1 17 6 63 7 Daily mean C F 4 2 39 6 5 1 41 2 8 1 46 6 10 5 50 9 13 9 57 0 17 3 63 1 19 2 66 6 19 2 66 6 15 9 60 6 12 9 55 2 7 5 45 5 4 7 40 5 11 5 52 7 Mean daily minimum C F 1 6 29 1 1 1 30 0 1 7 35 1 4 5 40 1 8 1 46 6 11 5 52 7 13 4 56 1 13 0 55 4 9 6 49 3 6 5 43 7 1 6 34 9 1 2 29 8 5 5 41 9 Record low C F 15 9 3 4 17 2 1 0 14 6 5 7 3 9 25 0 2 1 28 2 2 0 35 6 4 9 40 8 4 5 40 1 0 1 32 2 5 7 21 7 10 1 13 8 13 6 7 5 17 2 1 0 Average precipitation mm inches 99 7 3 93 76 9 3 03 75 5 2 97 91 2 3 59 100 6 3 96 71 6 2 82 63 7 2 51 54 9 2 16 58 2 2 29 65 3 2 57 106 1 4 18 76 8 3 02 940 5 37 03 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 10 8 9 4 10 3 12 1 12 0 9 4 7 7 7 9 8 4 9 1 11 1 9 7 117 8 Source Meteo France 5 Toponymy editThe name Bagneres de Luchon comes in part from its hydrotherapy bagneres baths and the other part from a local god Lixon or Illixon After some confusion the Academie Julien Sacaze confirmed that Lixon is the correct Roman name for Luchon and not Ilixon History edit nbsp Plan of Luchon in 1914 nbsp View of Luchon in 1908 Eugene Trutat nbsp Ferruginous spring in Bagneres de Luchon by Joseph Latour The town has existed for more than 2 000 years The presence of a population has been attested since Neolithic times at least in the Saint Mamet Cave The presence of Stone circles also attests to an ancient occupation 7 It is often claimed that Pompey returning from a policing expedition in Spain in 76BC where he founded the city of Pamplona named after him stopped in the area and founded the new city of Lugdunum Convenarum where he brought together the scattered Convenes tribe this was the future Saint Bertrand de Comminges However extensive archaeological investigations have failed to find any evidence of this During the Augustan period the town was substantially Romanised and expanded 8 One of his soldiers who suffered from a skin disease immersed himself in the thermal waters of Luchon and its Onesiens baths where he discovered their thermal properties After 21 days the traditional and still current duration of a cure he came out completely healed In 25 BC Tiberius Claude dug three pools and developed thermal baths The baths had a modest motto Balneum Lixonense post Neapolitense primum the Luchon baths are the best after those of Naples which is still today the motto of the town Julius Caesar spoke of the region his Commentaries The invasions of the Goths and Visigoths passed through the region as well as the incursions of the Moors People took refuge in the high valleys of Larboust or Oueil Traces of these invasions remain in some local myths and legends Charlemagne and Gaston Phoebus gave the area a special status of a border March with a certain amount of autonomy between France and Spain The area was relatively untouched by the Hundred Years War as well as by the suppression of Catharism and the Protestant Reformation People remained loyal to a modified Catholicism which it took the bishops of Saint Beat centuries to rein in priests lived in communities sometimes armed and married and were poorly educated and poorly trained They extorted payment for funeral Masses in the form of well watered meals and they were loyal to the interests of their house of origin rather than to Rome In 987 the village of Banieres and its thermal baths around its church was described as quite successful At Toussaint there was a major fair which did not have however the fame of that of Saint Beat which benefited more from trade with Spain Around 1200 the hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem installed a commandery at Frontes between Montauban and Juzet de Luchon The goal was to control the passage to the mountain which was a secondary road on the Camino de Santiago and to organize hospices for pilgrims and merchants who risked their lives in winter The building of the Hospice de France dates from this period and is the only trace remaining of the Knights Hospitaller The opening of the Port de Venasque Pass followed later Then commenced a continuous struggle for centuries between the Knights hospitaller and the people who were guided by their priests The objective quickly became more economic than religious and it was not a question of sharing taxes Finally the order abandoned the region There have always been very few nobles in the region where the peasantry has always fought for their survival The old treaties of Lies et passeries 9 gave the people of both sides of the mountain free movement and free trade even if the kingdoms were at war Any boycott would have little support as it would easily decimate the population These treaties were systematically renewed and imposed on kings and bishops A popular form of elected representation existed the consuls It was thus possible to speak of Pyrenean republics The kings of France sought to put an end to this situation which seemed to them abnormal In 1759 Baron Antoine Megret d Etigny intendant of Gascony was sent to Luchon He began by creating a passable road using collective labour and expropriations He was forced to appeal to a company of dragoons to hold the population in check as they were unaccustomed to such authoritarian treatment In 1761 he reorganized the baths and gave them a foundation for their future development In 1763 Marshal Duke of Richelieu came to take the waters and he returned in 1769 with much of the Court The spa was launched The Baron also developed forestry to provide timber for the navy and charcoal for forges He died in 1767 at the age of 47 ruined and disgraced His successor gave his name to the Alleys of Etigny the main artery of the town and in 1889 a statue in his likeness was still displayed in front of the baths The French Revolution and the French empires had little impact in Luchon Many famous visitors came to Luchon attracted by the popularity of the thermal waters which was launched by the Empress Eugenie or by the beginnings of Pyreneism by Count Russell Killough Lamartine Jose Maria de Heredia who also lived in Marignac a village near Luchon where he was inspired by the Pic du Gar for his collection of poems Les Trophees Prince Napoleon III the Prince Imperial Edmond Rostand Gustave Flaubert Guy de Maupassant Octave Mirbeau and Stephen Liegeard Moulay Mohammed the future Mohammed V of Morocco Alfonso XIII of Spain Sacha Guitry Francis Carco and Francois Mauriac were some of the more illustrious guests The arrival of the railway in 1873 and the construction of the casino in 1880 further developed the popularity of the town where upscale and cosmopolitan tourists came until the Roaring Twenties Social benefits such as paid leave and social security then democratized the tourist population A hydroelectric power plant was in place as early as 1890 by the La Luchonnaise company The Tour de France made the town one of its obligatory stages since its inception The opening of the mountain hotel of Superbagneres finished work in 1922 then connected by a rack railway and today by gondola completed the spa town with a winter sports resort In the 1968 Winter Olympics Ingrid Lafforgue was successful Her twin sister Britt Lafforgue was successful at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships The commune was mentioned with the nickname Queen of the Pyrenees by Vincent de Chausenque in 1834 in his book Les Pyrenees ou voyages pedestres The Pyrenees or Hiking journeys Luchon mineral water has been marketed throughout France Excavations have uncovered traces of three large pools lined with marble with circulating hot air and steam Cyclone Xynthia at the end of February 2010 caused the death of 50 people in France and hit Luchon and its region The winds blew at 200 km h on the peaks which caused substantial damage Heraldry edit nbsp Arms of Bagneres de Luchon Blazon Or a mountain Sable mouvant from dexter where a jet of water spurts into a bath Azure the whole on a terrace in base Sable in chief parti per pale 1 of Gules charged with 4 otelles Argent 2 of Azure with a votive altar the same with the inscription ILIXIONI DEO V S L M in roman capital letters of Sable Administration editList of successive mayors 10 Mayors from the French Revolution to 1919From To Name 1790 Bernard Cazat 1791 1793 Julien Rey 1793 1793 Etienne Sourd Sacarrere 1793 1795 Henri Colomic 1795 1799 Bernard Cazat 1799 1800 Paul Boileau 1800 1800 Pierre Jean Soulerat 1800 1805 Bernard Cazat 1805 1807 Gabriel Nadau 1807 1808 Pierre Gascon 1808 1814 Etienne Sengez 1814 1815 Henry Colomic 1815 1816 Gabriel Soutiran 1816 1830 Paul Boileau 1830 1830 Bertrand Saint Martin 1830 1830 Arnaud Soulerat 1830 1841 Pierre Azemar 1841 1848 Mathieu Soulerat 1848 1870 Charles Tron 1870 1871 Bertrand Baque 1871 1871 Edouard Azemar 1871 1872 Charles Tron 1872 1874 Edouard Azemar 1874 1875 Bernard Larrieu 1875 1878 Charles Tron 1878 1884 Edouard Azemar 1884 1886 Lucien Colomic 1886 1892 Aime Trescazes 1892 1894 Edouard Azemar 1894 1912 Paul Bonnemaison 1912 1914 Gabriel Estradere 1914 1919 Jean Bigourdan nbsp The Town Hall Mayors from 1919 From To Name 1919 1944 Guillaume Germes 1944 1944 Remy Comet 1946 1947 Alain Bochet 1947 1971 Alfred Coste Fleuret 1971 1974 Albert Castaigne 1974 1995 Jean Peyrafitte 1995 2008 Rene Rettig 2008 2020 Louis Ferre 2020 2026 Eric Azemar Twin towns edit See also List of twin towns and sister cities in France Bagneres de Luchon has twinning associations with 11 nbsp Harrogate United Kingdom since 1953 nbsp Sitges Spain since 1981 nbsp Benasque Spain since 1990 nbsp Vielha Spain since 1990 Demography editThe inhabitants of the commune are known as Luchonnais or Luchonnaises in French 12 Historical populationYearPop p a 17931 164 18001 080 1 06 18061 396 4 37 18211 683 1 25 18312 077 2 13 18362 385 2 80 18412 629 1 97 18462 770 1 05 18512 770 0 00 18563 016 1 72 18613 294 1 78 18663 921 3 55 18723 829 0 39 18764 012 1 17 18814 256 1 19 18863 729 2 61 18913 528 1 10 18963 720 1 07 YearPop p a 19013 260 2 61 19063 465 1 23 19113 415 0 29 19213 635 0 63 19263 820 1 00 19313 884 0 33 19363 591 1 56 19464 105 1 35 19543 666 1 40 19623 888 0 74 19684 123 0 98 19753 484 2 38 19823 498 0 06 19903 094 1 52 19992 900 0 72 20092 600 1 09 20142 445 1 22 20202 222 1 58 Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki org Source EHESS 13 and INSEE 14 nbsp The War MemorialEconomy editHydrotherapy Thermes de Luchon Winter sports Superbagneres Mineral water TourismCulture and heritage editCivil heritage edit The commune has a number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments The Villa Pyrene at 13 Allee des Bains 19th century nbsp 15 The Villa Luisa at Boulevard Charles Tron 1884 nbsp 16 The Villa Edouard at 2 Boulevard Edmond Rostand 1864 nbsp 17 The Chateau Lafont at Allees d Etigny 18th century nbsp 18 houses the Pays de Luchon museum The Chalets Spont at 56 Allees d Etigny 19th century nbsp 19 The Charles Tron Residence at 1 Avenue Gallieni 1854 nbsp 20 The Villa Santa Maria at 14 Boulevard Henri de Gorsse 1840 nbsp 21 The Chambert Thermal Baths at Cours de Quinconces 1854 nbsp 22 The Baths contain two items that are registered as historical objects A Sarcophagus Gallo Roman nbsp 23 An Altar and Sarcophagus Gallo Roman nbsp 24 The Casino 1878 nbsp 25 was built in brick stone in a conventional classical historicist style and expanded in 1929 with the addition of Art Deco decor on the front facade The Casino Park is designed around a serpentine body of water with an artificial cave A Stone circle Neolithic nbsp 26 A Stone row Neolithic nbsp 27 Other sites of interest The Arboretum de Joueou The Leon Elissalde Aeronautical Museum at the Aerodrome Civil heritage Photo Gallery nbsp The Villa Pyrene nbsp The Villa Edouard nbsp The Villa Luisa nbsp The Charles Tron Residence nbsp Plaque on the Chateau Lafont nbsp The Chalet Spont nbsp The Casino nbsp The mountains from the Casino nbsp The Lake in Quinconces Park nbsp The covered market nbsp Sawmill in Luchon near 1840 by Eugene de Malbos Religious heritage edit The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments The Chapel of Saint Etienne Portal at Quartier de Barcugnas 12th century nbsp 28 The Chapel contains a Statuette of the Virgin and child 14th century nbsp which is registered as an historical object 29 The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption 1847 nbsp 30 is a Romanesque Revival building built on the site of the old Romanesque church The murals are by Romain Cazes The Church contains two items that are registered as historical objects A Chalice 17th century nbsp 31 A Bronze Bell called Abraham 1596 nbsp 32 Religious heritage picture gallery nbsp The Chapel of Saint Etienne nbsp The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption nbsp The Portal of the Church nbsp The Church Organ nbsp The Pulpit nbsp The Chapel of the Sacred Heart in the Church nbsp Stained glass in the Church nbsp The Church nave Thermal springs edit Bagneres de Luchon is celebrated for its thermal springs There are 48 springs which vary in composition but are chiefly impregnated with sodium sulphate and range in temperature from 17 C to 65 C The discovery of numerous Roman remains attests to the antiquity of the baths which are identified with the Onesiorum Thermae of Strabo Their revival in modern times dates from the latter half of the 18th century and was due to Antoine Megret d Etigny intendant of Auch 33 There is a more modern entrance to the baths next to the older buildings The bathing experience consists of repeated spells within a hot sulphurous atmosphere in caves that run approximately 100 metres inside the Superbagneres mountain in a cool swimming pool within the entrance building It was these sulphur springs that led to a twinning of the settlement with Harrogate in 1952 Bagneres de Luchon is celebrated as a fashionable resort Of the promenades the finest and most frequented are the Allees d Etigny an avenue planted with lime trees at the southern extremity of which is the Thermes or hot baths The road is lined with bars and restaurants Thermal Baths Picture Gallery nbsp The Baths in 1899 nbsp The Thermal Baths nbsp Stained glass in the baths nbsp Stained glass in the baths nbsp A scene from 1899 Luchon with a woman in a wheelchair accompanied by a male attendant Cultural events and festivities edit nbsp Poster by Jules Cheret for the Festival of Flowers for 10 August 1890 Film festivals the Luchon Television Film Festival The Festival of Flowers The Rencontres lyriques de Luchon Music Festival of Luchon In literature and film edit Bagneres de Luchon is mentioned briefly in the short ghost Story Cannon Alberic s Scrap Book by M R James published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904 It is also the setting for an early scene in Francois Mauriac s novel Le Noeud de Viperes published in 1932 The town is the setting and subject for the 2018 film Things Fall Where They Lie 34 Sports edit Superbagneres is a ski resort located on the territory of Saint Aventin commune to the south west of the town only accessible from Bagneres de Luchon Historically it was connected to the town by a railway being the second resort in France to install a rack railway but today it is connected with a gondola lift Each cabin holds up to four people and takes about ten minutes to reach the summit running in summer as well as winter It is not possible to ski back down to Luchon except in times of exceptional snow for talented locals who know the woods nbsp Ski slopes in the summer nbsp Superbagneres Chapel Cycling is a popular sport in the region in the summer The climbs of Superbagneres Col de Peyresourde Port de Bales Col de Mente Col du Portillon and the Col de Portet d Aspet are all nearby Bagneres de Luchon has been a permanent stage on the Tour de France since its inception in 1910 nbsp 9th green at the Luchon golf course In addition to the Tour de France the pro series race Route du Sud also passes through Luchon with a stage finishing in Superbagneres in 2008 and Luchon in 2009 Luchon is also a mountain biking destination Its position at the confluence of two valleys gives a wide variety of routes up into the mountains although most of them start with a large climb the gondola can carry mountain bikes There is one mountain biking guide organisation based in Luchon itself and another further down the valley See external links Luchon also offers a golf course tandem paragliding from Superbagneres tennis courts and an aerodrome with gliding Luchon has a nine hole golf course close to the town centre It dates to the early 1900s making it one of the oldest golf courses in the department In 2008 the Club de Golf Luchon celebrated its 100 year anniversary Notable people linked to the commune edit nbsp The Statue of Etigny nbsp Edmond Rostand Antoine Megret d Etigny 1719 1767 intendant of the generality of Gascony Bearn and Navarre The commune named the Allees d Etigny the main street in the town after him and a statue stands in front of the thermal baths Neree Boubee 1806 1862 naturalist entomologist geologist and teacher at the University of Paris died at Luchon Theodore Gobley 1811 1876 pharmacist and chemist member of the Academie Nationale de Medecine established the chemical structure of phospholipids died in Bagneres de Luchon on 1 September 1876 at the Hotel des Bains cour d Etigny where he was staying with his family Stephen Liegeard 1830 1925 French writer and poet author of Twenty days as a tourist in Luchon country 1874 Auguste Scheurer Kestner 1833 1899 chemist and Senator died in Bagneres de Luchon Jean Marie Mengue 1855 1939 sculptor born in Bagneres de Luchon Henri Gadeau de Kerville 1858 1940 zoologist botanist and archaeologist died in Bagneres de Luchon Henry de Gorsse or Henri de Gorsse 1868 1936 man of letters playwright screenwriter and songwriter born at Luchon Edmond Rostand 1868 1918 playwright who spent 22 summers in Luchon in his youth where he composed Les Musardises In Cyrano de Bergerac Act IV Scene VI the author was inspired by the place names in the Luchon Valley among others to name his Gascon cadets there is one called a Knight of Antignac Juzet Jules Brevie 1880 1964 colonial administrator Governor General of French West Africa AOF and of French Indochina Minister born in Bagneres de Luchon Georges Lucien Guyot 1885 1973 wildlife artist his work Bear of the Pyrenees is in the Thermal Baths grounds Jean Arlaud 1896 1938 doctor and mountaineer Lys Gauty 1908 1994 singer took over management of the Luchon Casinor in 1950 and created the Festival of the Voice Michel Warlop 1911 1947 jazz violinist died in Bagneres de Luchon Guy Lapebie 1916 2010 racing cyclist died in Bagneres de Luchon Alexis Kanner 1942 2003 Anglo Canadian actor born in Bagneres de Luchon Britt Lafforgue and Ingrid Lafforgue ski champions born in 1948 in Bagneres de Luchon Nicole Peyrafitte multi disciplinary artist born in 1960 in Bagneres de Luchon Literature editBagneres de Luchon is a location mentioned in the M R James ghost story Canon Alberic s Scrap Book published in Ghost Stories of an Antiquary in 1904 See also editCommunes of the Haute Garonne department List of works by Eugene GuillaumeBibliography editNeree Boubee Promenade de Bagneres au lac d Oo Reprinted 2009 Editions Aux pages d antan 88 p in French Anne Dupic Economie et demographie dans la commune de Bagneres de Luchon 1815 1870 mem de maitrise Universite Toulouse II 1976 in particular noted the difficulty of measuring the true impact of tourism development for the local population in French Philippe Francastel Luchon et ses vallees Editions Privat 1999 ISBN 2 7089 9123 X in French Philippe Francastel Le Pays de Luchon poesie et lumiere Atlantica 2004 ISBN 2 84394 711 1 in French Jean Bernard Frappe Autrefois Bagneres de Luchon 2 tomes Atlantica 2001 ISBN 2 84394 432 5 in French Henri Gadeau de Kerville Autour du canton de Bagneres de Luchon France et Espagne Toulouse Privat 1928 in French Henri Gadeau de Kerville Bagneres de Luchon et son canton Haute Garonne Toulouse Edouard Privat 1925 Lorisse 2003 ISBN 9782843733543 in French Alban et Andre Leymarie Le Chemin de fer a cremaillere de Luchon a Superbagneres 1912 1966 Editions Lacour Olle 2006 ISBN 2 7504 0702 8 in French Henri Pac Luchon et son passe Editions Privat 1984 ISBN 2 7089 2385 4 in French Anne Samson Thermes tragiques ISBN 2 9501 3090 9 a detective novel set in Luchon in French Patrick Turlan Bagneres de Luchon a la Belle epoque Pau imprimerie Ipadour 1999 63 pp Many reproductions of old postcards of Luchon Preface by Henri Denard General Councilor for the Canton of Luchon in French Patrick Turlan La fete des fleurs de Bagneres de Luchon a la Belle epoque Pau imprimerie Ipadour 1999 32 pp Many reproductions of old postcards of Luchon History of Guides Preface by Jean Peyrafitte former senator mayor of Luchon in French Ernest Philippe Lambron Les Pyrenees et les eaux thermales sulfurees de Bagneres de Luchon N Chaix Paris 1863 1864 1152 pages consulted on 6 June 2014 in French References edit Repertoire national des elus les maires in French data gouv fr Plateforme ouverte des donnees publiques francaises 30 November 2023 Populations legales 2021 The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies 28 December 2023 Bagneres de Luchon in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom Archived 10 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine in French a b Bagneres de Luchon Bagneres de Luchon Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991 2020 et records PDF Meteo France Retrieved 21 August 2022 Geoportail IGN in French Bagneres de Luchon official website in French Rome in the Pyrenees Lugdunum and the Convenae from the first century B C to the seventh century A D Simon Esmonde Cleary 2007 Routledge ISBN 9781134091034 Agreements between rural communities in the Spanish and French valleys in the Pyrenees List of mayors of France in French National Commission for Decentralised cooperation in French Le nom des habitants du 31 Haute Garonne habitants fr Des villages de Cassini aux communes d aujourd hui Commune data sheet Bagneres de Luchon EHESS in French Population en historique depuis 1968 INSEE Ministry of Culture Merimee PA31000061 Villa Pyrene at 13 Allee des Bains in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA31000091 Villa Luisa at Boulevard Charles Tron in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA31000060 Villa Edouard at 2 Boulevard Edmond Rostand in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094277 Chateau Lafont at Allees d Etigny in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00125564 Chalets Spont at 56 Allees d Etigny in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094280 Charles Tron Residence at 1 Avenue Gallieni in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA31000077 Villa Santa Maria at 14 Boulevard Henri de Gorsse in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094281 Chambert Thermal Baths at Cours de Quinconces in French nbsp Ministry of Culture Palissy PM31001124 Sarcophagus in French Ministry of Culture Palissy PM31000334 Altar and Sarcophagus in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA31000035 Casino in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094278 Stone circle in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094275 Stone row in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094276 Chapel of Saint Etienne Portal at Quartier de Barcugnas in French Ministry of Culture Palissy PM31000333 Statuette Virgin and child in French Ministry of Culture Merimee PA00094279 Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in French Ministry of Culture Palissy PM31000332 Chalice in French Ministry of Culture Palissy PM31000032 Abraham Bronze Bell in French nbsp One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Bagneres de Luchon Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 3 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 202 https www imdb com title tt5243582 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bagneres de Luchon Tourism office website Archived 13 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Bagneres de Luchon official website in French Aeroclub de Luchon website in French Bagneres de Luchon on Geoportail National Geographic Institute IGN website in French Bagneres de Luchon on the 1750 Cassini Map Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bagneres de Luchon amp oldid 1202238918, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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