History
In the mid-1920s, while searching for a place to build his summer home, Paul-Louis Weiller explored the French Riviera at the controls of an airplane. He discovered the site, located on the pointe de la Galère in the village of Cabasson at Bormes-les-Mimosas. [1]
The area, which he purchased, extended over 70 hectares (170 acres), included a forest of maritime pines and cork oak trees near a beach, where, in 1347, queen Joanna I of Naples, comtesse de Provence disembarked. In 1928, Weiller commissioned Barry Dierks to build on the site a Modernist villa capable of accommodating 30 guests. [2]
Until the year before his death in 1993, Weiller continued to receive at the villa La Reine Jeanne international dignitaries from the world of politics, arts and letters, as well as industrialists and giants of the financial world. During the summer of 1969, President Georges Pompidou, who was vacationing at the Fort de Brégançon, was a regular guest at his neighbor's dinner table. [3]
Likewise, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, who owned the adjoining villa, La Tour sarrasine, was a frequent guest. It was at Cabasson that Weiller's granddaughter, Sibilla, met Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg, youngest son of the Grand Duke. The two were married in 1994. [4]
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 1968—the longest tenure in the position's history.
Henri is Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He has reigned since 7 October 2000. Henri is the eldest son of Grand Duke Jean and Princess Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium. He is a first cousin of King Philippe of Belgium. In 2019, Henri's net worth was estimated around US$4 billion.
Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg is the fourth child and only daughter of Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
Françoise Rosay was a French opera singer, diseuse, and actress who enjoyed a film career of over sixty years and who became a legendary figure in French cinema. She went on to appear in over 100 movies in her career.
Bormes-les-Mimosas is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, southeastern France.
The Javal family originated in Alsace. They benefited from Napoleon I's policy of openness toward Jews, and in the 19th century experienced a remarkable ascent, with family members becoming prominent bankers, industrialists, physicians, public officials and artists. Dr Dov Weisbrot says "In the twentieth century, the name Javal was equal in prestige with those of Pereire, Fould, and Rothschild."
Marie Antoinette Queen of France is a 1956 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Jean Delannoy who co-wrote the screenplay with Pierre Erlanger and Bernard Zimmer. The film stars Michèle Morgan and Richard Todd. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.
The Fort de Brégançon is a medieval fortress, located 35 metres (115 ft) above sea level on an islet off the French Riviera, connected by a short causeway to the mainland, in the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas, Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It has been the official retreat of the President of the French Republic since 1968.
Charles Spaak was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s. He was the son of the dramatist and poet Paul Spaak, the brother of the politician Paul-Henri Spaak, and the father of the actresses Catherine Spaak and Agnès Spaak.
Paul-Louis Weiller was a French industrialist and philanthropist.
Barry Dierks was an American architect of the Modernist movement. He was active in France, principally on the French Riviera from 1925 to the 1950s
The villa Le Trident is a Modernist villa built by the American architect Barry Dierks (1899-1960) for himself and his partner, Colonel Eric Sawyer on the pointe de l’Esquillon in Théoule-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes on the French Riviera.
The château de l'Horizon is a Modernist villa that was constructed in 1932 by the American architect Barry Dierks for the actress Maxine Elliott. The villa is located on shores of the Golfe-Juan at Vallauris.
The villa Aujourd’hui is a Modernist villa built by the American architect Barry Dierks (1899-1960) for the Palm Beach, Florida socialite, Mrs. Audrey Chadwick. Located in Antibes and built in 1938, the villa Aujourd’hui is one of the most distinctive of Dierks’ Riviera homes and was one of the last expressions of the Modernist style to have been built on the Riviera prior to the outbreak of World War II.
Pamela is a 1945 French historical drama film directed by Pierre de Hérain and starring Fernand Gravey, Renée Saint-Cyr and Georges Marchal.
The Captain is a 1946 French historical adventure film directed by Robert Vernay and starring Pierre Renoir, Claude Génia, and Jean Pâqui. It was based on a novel by Michel Zévaco. The film's sets were designed by René Renoux. It is a swashbuckler set in the reign of Louis XIII.
Lazare Weiller was a French engineer, industrialist and politician. He was born in Alsace and received a technical education in England and in his cousin's copper factory in Angoulême. He was very interested in the physical sciences, particularly the use of electricity to transmit sound and images. He proposed a system for scanning, transmitting and displaying images that was the basis for experiments by various television pioneers. He sponsored early aviation experiments by the Wright brothers. He founded several companies including a telephone wire manufacturer, a taximeter manufacturer, the first Parisian cab company to use automobiles, an aircraft company and a wireless telegraphy company. He was a deputy during World War I (1914–18) and then a senator until his death.
Lycée Michelet, is an establishment located in Vanves (Hauts-de-Seine), bringing together middle school, general education high school and classe préparatoire aux grandes écoles in buildings classified as Monument historique and surrounded by a park of 17 hectares. It originated from the 1853 establishment of the "Petit collège of Lycée Louis-le-Grand".
Alice Anna Weiller was a French hostess and art collector who was appointed to the Legion of Honour. The wife of Lazare Weiller, she took an interest in aviation. During the Second World War, she was interned at Drancy and deported to Auschwitz, where she was murdered.
Mimosa Echard is a French visual artist who lives and works in Paris.
