Martigny-les-Bains () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administra ...

in northeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It acquired its present name only in 1880s, before which it was called Martigny-lès-Lamarche. The modern name highlights the

thermal springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

and spa facilities which remain a defining feature of the place. Inhabitants are called Octoduriens.

Geography

Martigny-les-Bains is positioned in the south-west of Grand Est and at the western end of the Vosges Plain, forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) to the south of the administrative centre of the arrondissement, Neufchâteau, approximately six kilometres (four miles) to the north-east of

Lamarche Lamarche () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 507 communes of the Vosges department of France. The communes cooperate in the ...

, and twenty-two kilometres to the north of another noted spa town,

Bourbonne-les-Bains Bourbonne-les-Bains () is a commune in the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France in the region Grand Est.

(''"Aquae borvonis" in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times''). The village occupies a sheltered plateau. On the higher ground forests of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and beech alternate with conifer plantations. The village is protected by the topography from the worst extremes of wind and temperature. The railway which since 1881 has provided a connection with

Vittel Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand. History In 1854, after visiting the baths at nearby ...

and

Contrexéville Contrexéville () is a commune of north-eastern France, in the Vosges département. Inhabitants are called ''Contrexévillois''. The mineral springs of Contrexéville have been known locally for many years, but became generally known only toward ...

skirts the village on its north-western side. Some fifteen kilometres to the west the Autoroute A31 offers access to the autoroute network for the age of mass motorisation, while five kilometres to the east, roughly parallel with the autoroute and the railway line, the remnants of a Roman road provide evidence that the district has been much transited over many centuries. The altitude above sea level at the station is 370 meters, equivalent to 114 meters higher than the valley of the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

at Les Thons, just fourteen kilometres (nine miles) to the south-south-east. The commune is close to the watershed that separates the catchment areas of the rivers

and

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. The commune includes within its confines the sources of the

Anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

and Mouzon rivers which set off in opposite directions before they connect between Pompierre and Circourt after about thirty kilometres (nineteen miles). The valley of the Mouzon, which sets off in a westerly direction before turning to the north, flows over relatively flat plateau land rather than in some form of a gorge: claims appropriate to a spa village are made for the health giving properties of the air here.

History

Following the successive wars against

that characterised the seventeenth century, the village consisted of two parts, namely Martigny-Saint-Remy and Martigny-Saint-Pierre. The nearby village of Saint-Pierre had been destroyed by the Swedes who were in the pay of the

French king France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

at this time: the inhabitants turned up as refugees in Martigny-Saint-Remy and constructed the quarter which became known as Martigny-Saint-Pierre, including a church of which the remains survived until recently.