Luchon… 2000 years of hydrotherapy!

A two-thousand-year-old reputation which recognizes the therapeutic virtues of the waters of Luchon.

Its letters of nobility date back to the time of the Romans who developed the city, then called ILIXON (goddess of water), and dug the first thermal pools.

Ilixo, god of springs, gives his name to the valley of Luxon or Luchon. The town born near the springs was called Bagnères, from balnearia, balnearium (baths, bathing rooms). Later, the name associating Bagnères de Luchon was used to designate the town itself of Bagnères in the Luchon region.

Four different sources were exploited during antiquity, notably thanks to the construction of a cave. The baths themselves consisted of three superimposed swimming pools fed by more modest basins which perhaps served to cool the waters.

The baths of Luchon are the first after those of Naples (Balneum Lixonense post Neapolitense Primum)

After six centuries of opulence, the barbarian invasions dealt a fatal blow to the reputation of Luchon which sank into oblivion, the baths being used only by the local population.

In the 18th century, Jacques BARRAU, consul of the city, submitted to the Intendant of the province, Antoine MEGRET, Baron d'ETIGNY, his project to restore Luchon to its past prestige.

In 1759, Baron d’ETIGNY visited the town and fell under its spell. He built a building for the Baths, made an alley, which bears his name, to connect the Baths to the city. In addition to numerous buildings and works of art, d'ETIGNY made the old communication routes passable, a guarantee of development. In 1761, he organized a complete medical service, with a surgeon, a doctor and an apothecary, responsible for ensuring the care and hygiene of spa guests.

In 1763, the notoriety of Luchon was strengthened thanks to the arrival of the Duke of RICHELIEU who promoted it at the court of Versailles and obtained subsidies from the king which allowed d'ETIGNY to develop the city and the baths from Bagnères de Luchon.

The thermal baths in the 19th century

From 1804 to 1815, several establishments were created: RICHARD baths, FERRAS baths, QUEEN baths.

In 1830, the city acquired these 3 establishments.

In 1857, after the destruction of the QUEEN's baths by a fire, the city after some turpitude created the SOULERAT baths which became part of the city's purse. The popularity of baths is growing, learned chemists, hydrologists and doctors are improving and techniques are evolving.

The architect Edmond CHAMBERT proposes his thermal baths project to the town of Bagnéres-de-Luchon. The first stone of the future establishment was laid on August 22, 1848. An important factor was the analysis of existing sources. The search for new sources by drilling was carried out by experienced scientists and doctors. The new establishment was inaugurated on July 20, 1857. In the thermal park there was a swimming pool: former radioactive baths on the current location of the spa guest's house. These baths had properties specific to the treatment of osteoarthritis and skin lesions.

From 1860, care and facilities evolved, treatment of the respiratory tract strengthened with the creation of sprays, huming, etc. Doctors performed the first insufflations.
This is almost 2000 years of history of the Bagnères-de Luchon baths which ended in the 19th century with the CHAMBERT thermal baths.

In 1867, the Prince Imperial, son of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, stayed in Luchon and was treated at the Thermal Baths in a small wooden building reserved for him.
The reputation of Luchon was thus made and the Luchon Thermal Baths developed.

In 1929, the sulfurized Radio Vaporarium was created, revealing 1,200 meters of galleries, a natural hammam designed and used by the Romans, which wind through the rock.

In 1954, the Pavillon du Prince Impérial was built on the site of the small wooden building today Pavillon des Buvettes.

In 1969, the Vaporarium, unique in Europe, was enhanced by the construction of the current building and was modernized in 2010 with a total renovation.

The Thermes de Luchon have continued to evolve through the restructuring and renovation of care services, the evolution of therapeutic techniques, the creation of the “Luchon Forme et Bien-Etre” fitness space. », and drilling which made it possible to tap the thermal springs at depth, thus preserving the constant purity of these 14,000 year old waters.

After twenty centuries of history, Luchon still finds itself in the place assigned to it by STRABON, a Greek geographer, who proclaimed the sources of Luchon “the excellent waters” from the beginning of our era.

Antoine Mégret d'Étigny, born in Paris on November 28, 1719, died in Auch on August 24, 1767, is a French administrator, intendant of the generality of Gascony, Béarn and Navarre.

He is particularly known for his administration of Auch and Pau1, and for having revived the thermal baths of Bagnères-de-Luchon.

In 1759, Baron Antoine Mégret d'Étigny began by creating a motorable road in Luchon, through corvees and expropriations. He must call on a company of dragons to keep the population, unaccustomed to such authoritarian treatment, at bay.

In 1761, he reorganized the thermal baths and gave them the foundations for their future development. In 1763, he had Marshal du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu, come and take the waters; a visit during which, during work around the springs on the site of the thermal baths, a votive cippe dedicated to the nymphs of the place was found in the presence of d'Etigny and du Plessisnote 1.5. The latter returned in 1769 with a large part of the court. The spa resort is launched!
D’Étigny also develops the exploitation of forests, wood being an essential raw material for the navy, and charcoal for the forges.

Luchon will be named after the Allée d'Étigny, the main artery of the city, and a statue of him will be erected there in 1889 in front of the thermal baths where it is still located.

Another statue, more faithful to reality, is located on the alleys of Étigny in Auch.

French and Val d'Aran authorities gathered again on May 20 at the foot of the stele created by the Aranese artist Gloria Corona and erected last year at Plan d'Arrem in Fos to celebrate the 501st anniversary of treatise on “Lies and Passeries.” Every year from now on, a ceremony will recall the agreements made between the rural communities of the corresponding Spanish and French valleys in the Pyrenees.

In 1513, these agreements having regulated the use of woods, water and pastures. This treaty in fact marked a sort of perpetual peace between rural people whose kings were continually at war.

“Our approach today is to perpetuate this anniversary date,” underlined Michel Ladevèze, president of the tourist office of the canton of Saint-Béat, who announced that in 2015 a more festive ceremony would be organized between Commingeois and Aranese friends.

Francis Dejuan, new mayor of Fos, also emphasized the strong links which brought the two territories together and the importance today of working together and in the same direction in terms of tourism. “We must develop our common assets,” he said.

From the 16th century to the 21st

Eduardo Valdecantos, general councilor of Val d'Aran and responsible for business, labor and territory, was present.

Alongside Anna Diaz, Val d'Aran tourism advisor, he spoke about freedom to defend, his good relationship and the work carried out with the president of the Community of Communes Joël Gros, but also about the need to think and work together.

“This 16th century treatise is an example. It must be the basis of our future work and bring new life for the years to come”, explained in turn Joël Gros, surrounded by Romy Lagouge, deputy of senator Bertrand Auban, Annie Ayral, mayor of Melles and vice-president of the CC in charge of heritage.

He recalled the partnership work carried out this winter between the Mourtis resort and the Thermes de Lés. He said that several joint projects were being studied, such as bringing the cycle path to Vielha, setting up a bus line to travel to the Val d'Aran...

This FR3 report, a true treasure for future generations, was filmed in the heart of the central Pyrenees, in the village of Oô, where time seems to have frozen, leaving behind memories imbued with simplicity and human warmth. It was February 1975, a time when the Pig Festival stood like a rare gem, a glimmer of joy in the frigid darkness of the season.

At that time, television and the pig festival were the only distractions breaking the monotony of winter days in this mountain village of 105 souls, enveloped in silence, without commerce or modern artifice. Daily life oscillated between the cycles of summer and winter, a harmonious dance between summer agriculture and artisanal or monitor professions during the freezing months.

The pig festival, a sacred moment, managed to reignite the flame of the community. While the snow fell in light flakes, the inhabitants worked with fervor... Another special moment, the vigil, brought together the village elders, guardians of the wisdom accumulated over the seasons.

Today, images of this bygone era persist in memories, evoking a time when the simplicity of life in the mountains was the common thread of an existence rich in emotions and human connections. Winter in Oô was much more than a cold season, it was a moment engraved in hearts, a bittersweet nostalgia that still resonates across generations.