Bormettes

Bormettes is a district of the town of the Londe-the-Moors. Its history, which often merges with that of Londe, its architecture, it is the single city mining cottage of the South of France, and its soft quietude in the shade of the plane trees make of them to one of the most appreciated places of Londe the Moors.

Localization and access

The district of Bormettes is located at the south-east of Londe, on left bank of Maravenne between the Miramar Port and the district of Argentière. One can reach it, in addition to by the De Gaulle Avenue, very the agréble pedestrian way, the “Walk of Annamites”.

History

Etymology

The name of the “Bormettes” comes from the tribe of Bormani, of the ligure celto which were established with the circumference of bay of Hyères. They thus logically gave their name to the district of the “Bormettes” and the commune of “Bormes- the Mimosas”.

The Roman epoch

It is at this period that one finds the traces of a first human establishment, close to the Hill of the Hospital. This could be established thanks to excavations carried out at the XIXeme century, where one found the remainders of an agricultural domain, a fundi, and various agrarian tools. One can deduce from it that the Romains practiced the exploitation of the vine, corn and the olive-tree, on the territory from the current district from the “Bormettes”.

The Middle Ages

On the Holy Peak Martin, is built towards XIIIeme century a strengthened site which sheltered in a transitory way a small village. Very close, on the hill of the Hospital, one can suppose that there were an old people's home or a leper-house of VIIe, but the German armies having bombarded the site, one has only one watercolour representing a monastic building. Nevertheless a legend londaise tells that in thanks of care received in an old people's home of bay of Hyères (perhaps thus that of Bormettes), three knights would have taken down a cross of their badge and would have offered it to the Hospitaliers. Towards XI-XIIe, the grounds of the “Bormettes” are acquired by the monasteries of Montrieux and Verne. The first, following a fire in XVIe, are withdrawn letting the seconds acquire these fields and built a castle with wine vocation there. This last quickly becomes important and the monks thrive in the trade of the olive oil in spite of a destruction of the field at the time of the War of succession of Spain.

Horace Vernet

With the nationalization of the goods of the clergy, Pierre Laure (ancestor of Joseph, first mayor londais) becomes purchaser of the field. In 1855, it is bought by Horace Vernet, painter official of Louis-Philippe and Napoleon III, charmed by the beauty of the site. It made there build on the ruins of an appendix of the field a splendid medieval castle composed of various heteroclite buildings of which a Saint-Victor vault.

Red-headed Victor and mining

After the death of Horace Vernet, a Marseilles financial rich person, Victor Red-headed, future mayor of Londe, buys the field and the fact of restoring in a Andalusian style, increasing it of a wing and a keep and decorating it of an exotic park, one of most beautiful of the Riviera. In addition, Victor Roux discovers by chance a zinc and lead seam in Argentière. In 1881, the Company of the Mines of Bormettes is created, the exploitation starts in 1885, instigating the sector and the city. The prosperous Company, the mines increase requiring the construction of a railway allowing the transport of the employees and the ore until Argentière whose layouts skirts the Walk of Annamites (in reference to the workmen of Indo-China which built the way) as well as a foundry. But in the Twenties, the seam becomes exhausted, the company declines to stop completely in 1929.

The Schneider Company

At that time, the Schneider Company and Co (today Schneider Electric) establish its arms factory in Bormettes by repurchasing the grounds of Victor Roux. To be able to test the launching of torpedo, one created a platform of artificial launching, with broad of Léoube, called “the sewing machine” because of his pace by londais. Then in 1912, the research department settles in Bormettes involving the construction of an imposing building, close to the beach of Tamaris which will manufacture parts for the army. It is at that time that the current village is built. Indeed, of 1913 to 1920, Henri-Paul Schneider builds residences around the factory for his workmen; 103 maisonnettes and 11 villas leave ground. This single city mining cottage azuréenne is equipped progressively with a food co-operative, a school, a village hall, a post office, a bakery of a bar, public showers, of a sports hall (…), so that Bormettes having water, the gas and electricity as of their creation, having thanks to the farms of the co-operative of a food service at very low price, and all the necessary one to the daily life, lived in quasi autarky compared to Londe the Moors.

Per hour of current

The Castle of Bormettes was sold by the army to France Telecom in 1972 after it passed owners as owners, sometimes ubuesques (in 1929, a false German company, the Omininium Astrolabe of the East, in fact a folding screen for the Germanic secret services, being used with espionner the factory as torpedes).

The factory of Bormettes stopped functioning in 1993. It is today with the abandonment, even if a project of rehabilitation is considered.

The district of Bormettes does not have beauccoup not changed to him, even if its periphery somewhat urbanized (Miramar Port, sea front), the unit remaining rural. It counts about 80 families, grew rich by a crib and a school éponyme. Its soft quietude is disturbed only once per annum, the week following Pentecost, by traditional Fête of Bormettes, on the shaded place of plane trees. The history and the charm of this district do of him one of the major tourist attractions of the City of the Londe-the-Moors.

The Festival of Bormettes

It is held on the place François Belot, every year, of Saturday of Pentecost until next saturdays. The principalse attraction which make the joy of the passers by, fishing with ducks, the bumper cars, the horse-gears, are laid out in “U” vis-a-vis the theater.

Gallery

Random links: