The largest church in the north of Haute-Saône is also the oldest building in the town of Luxeuil-les-Bains, listed as a Historic Monument since 1846. Having retained its function of Benedictine abbey until the French revolution, it has since been the parish church of the city. In 1924, it received the title of minor basilica, awarded by the Holy See to distinguish the most remarkable shrines both for their architecture and for their place in history. The influence of Saint-Colomban and the monastery of Luxeuil in the early Middle Ages justifies this honorary designation, but lovers of medieval art also find their happiness there.
The construction of the current basilica dates back to the beginning of the 13th century and was consecrated on December 7, 1340. It took more than a century to complete this vast church.
In the ancient abbey church of Luxeuil, the enhancement of Romanesque aesthetics in the full Gothic age undoubtedly reflects a desire to return to Benedictine austerity, as the Cistercian movement advocated at the time. It therefore remains for the visitor to take a moment of silence, so that these stones polished by centuries of passage and Gregorian chants, deliver a part of their history.
