Villa Bethania

The Villa Bethania was constructed between 1901-1902 as part of the former estate of the Abbé Bérenger Saunière, the former parish priest of Rennes-le-Château between 1885-1909. [Jacques Rivière, "Le Fabuleux trésor de Rennes-le-Château", Editions Belisane (1983).] It was never occupied until after the death of Bérenger Saunière in 1917.

Marie Denarnaud lived in Villa Bethania following the death of Abbé Saunière but found it extremely hard to pay the property taxes - being forced to lend money from friends over a period of decades as well as keeping rabbits in the Villa until Noel Corbu bought Saunière's former estate in 1946 and settled all her debts. [Claire Corbu, Antoine Captier, "L'Heritage de l'abbé Sauniere" (Editions Belisane, 1985).]

During Easter 1955, Villa Bethania was turned it into a restaurant by Noel Corbu called the "Hotel de la Tour" and who, in order to attract customers, popularised many myths surrounding the area, later responsible for influencing the 1967 book "L'Or de Rennes" by Gérard de Sède, that became a touchstone transforming the subject matter into a genre of its own, spawning hundreds of titles on the subject matter in France and in Britain. [Bill Putnam, John Edwin Wood, "The Mystery of Rennes-le-Château, A Mystery Solved" (Suttons Publishers, 2003).]

Villa Bethania is decorated with religious symbolism of the Sacred Heart in the form of stained-glass windows and a large statue of Jesus Christ above the entrance.

Notes

See also

* Noel Corbu
* Rennes-le-Chateau
* Berenger Sauniere