Saint-Maurice, Switzerland  Saint-Maurice, or Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, is a small city located in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It is also the capital of the district and of the municipality of Saint-Maurice. The district of Saint-Maurice (district) is composed with 9 municipalities (commune, Gemeinde): Collonges, Dorénaz, Evionnaz, Finhaut, Massongex, Salvan, St-Maurice, Vernayaz and Vérossaz. On 1 January 2013, the former municipality of Mex merged into the municipality of Saint-Maurice. The city of Saint-Maurice is the site of the Roman outpost of Agaunum and the mediaeval St. Maurice's Abbey, which has become a famous high school in Switzerland ("Collège de Saint-Maurice"). Saint-Maurice is located at the entrance a pass leading to the upper part of the Rhône valley. As such, it has a strategic importance, and defence work were built from the 15th century to control this access. The Fortress Saint-Maurice was constructed in the surrounding mountainsides from 1880 through 1995. Saint-Maurice is first mentioned in 200 as "Acaun[ensis] [quadragesimae] Gal[liarum]". In respect to Saint Maurice, the name was changed from "Acaunum" () to Saint-Maurice in 1003. Some traces of a Bronze Age settlement were found at the foot of the rocky spur in town. There was a Roman era town at Saint-Maurice, but very little is known about the actual layout of it. There was a customs post at Acaunum, where an import and export tariff of 2.5% was levied. The town probably had a shrine to water nymphs. According to tradition, Saint Maurice and his southern Egyptian companions of the Theban Legion were martyred in Acaunum during the reign of Maximian (286-310). Around 360-370 Theodul, the first Bishop of Valais, built a basilica in Acaunum in their honor. The basilica became a popular pilgrimage site. In 515, the King of Burgundy Sigismund founded the Abbey, which he endowed with rich land. In 523, the town was invaded by the Franks, followed in 574 by the Lombards and in the mid-10th century, by the Saracens.