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. In the 8th century, it was destroyed by the
Saracens; afterwards rebuilt, monastery and town were devastated by the
Normans,
Magyars, and
Muslims in the 9th century and pillaged on several occasions afterwards. 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. ==Climate==