Bagneres-de-Luchon
Bagneres-de-Luchon | ||
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region | Occitania | |
Department | Haute-Garonne | |
Arrondissement | Saint-Gaudens | |
Canton | Bagnères-de-Luchon ( Chef-lieu ) | |
Community association | Pyrénées Haut Garonnaises | |
Coordinates | 42 ° 47 ' N , 0 ° 36' E | |
height | 611-2,737 m | |
surface | 52.80 km 2 | |
Residents | 2,312 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 44 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 31110 | |
INSEE code | 31042 | |
Website | Bagneres-de-Luchon | |
Bagnéres-de-Luchon - View of the town |
Bagnères-de-Luchon (also Luchon ) is a southern French town and a municipality with 2,312 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the former county and province of Comminges (today: Département Haute-Garonne in the Région Occitania ; until 2015 Region Midi- Pyrénées ); the place is known as a thermal bath and winter sports resort ( Superbagnères ).
Location and climate
Bagnères-de-Luchon is located in the valley of the Pique , at the confluence of its left tributary Neste d'Oô , which is also called One here , in the middle of the French Pyrenees near the Spanish border and the Val d'Aran at an altitude of approx. 630 m . The climate is temperate to warm; Rain (approx. 875 mm / year) falls over the year.
Population development
year | 1800 | 1851 | 1901 | 1954 | 1999 | 2017 | ||
Residents | 1080 | 2770 | 3260 | 3666 | 2900 | 2312 | ||
Sources: Cassini and INSEE |
The steady population growth since the 19th century is mainly due to the growing importance of spa tourism and the simultaneous loss of jobs in the countryside as a result of the mechanization of agriculture ( rural exodus ). Its importance as a health resort has been declining since the 1960s.
economy
In earlier times agriculture and cattle breeding were practiced for self-sufficiency , but because of its thermal springs and since it was connected to the French railway network (1873), the place has been transformed into a health resort.
history
The Romans already knew and used the thermal springs. In the early and late Middle Ages, Charlemagne and Gaston Fébus gave the border region a certain degree of independence. The place was on a branch of the Way of St. James ; a pilgrims' hospice (Hospice de France) is about 1385 m above sea level.
Attractions
See also: List of Monuments historiques in Bagnères-de-Luchon
- Kurhaus Thermes Chambert (1848–1854)
- Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Church (1847–1857; facade 1890)
- Chapel of Saint-Étienne de Barcugnas (12th / 14th century)
- Villas (19th century)
Others
Bagnères-de-Luchon was a stage location of the Tour de France several times .
Personalities
- born here
- Jules Brévié (1880–1964), colonial administrator and politician
- Britt Lafforgue (* 1948), ski racer
- Ingrid Lafforgue (* 1948), ski racer
- Maurice Lafforgue (1915-1970), ski racer
- famous visitors
Alphonse de Lamartine , Victor Hugo , José-Maria de Heredia , Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , Edmond Rostand , Gustave Flaubert , Guy de Maupassant , Octave Mirbeau , Stéphen Liégeard , Prince Moulay Mohammed , Alfons XIII. , Sacha Guitry , Francis Carco , François Mauriac et al
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes de la Haute-Garonne. Flohic Editions, Volume 1, Paris 2000, ISBN 2-84234-081-7 , pp. 213-238.