) 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. 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. 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 Claudius 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 in 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
Way of Santiago de Compostela, 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 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 ==Administration==