A very old building ... "Hôtel de la Chasse"
The origins of the Halles go back to 1137,
at this time Louis VI décided to create a marketplace
that would one day become a prosperous food market.
The market was transferred from the Place de Grève (today Place de l'Hotel de Ville)
to the quartier Les Champeaux.


In 1183 King Philippe II bought the land
and arranged the construction of the first "Halles"
to house the first food "shops".



Among the oldest streets in Paris there is:

- Rue Saint Honoré (before Rue de la Chaussetterie)
which was extended by
- Rue de la Ferronnerie (until 1229 Rue des Charrons)

and just arround their connecting point

- Rue des Déchargeurs (until 1300 siège des Dechargeurs)
- Rue and Impasse des Bourdonnais
- Rue de la Lingerie
- Rue de la Limace


agrandir le plan de 1300 reconstitue en 1899 par l'historien Fernand Bournon

At the corner of Rue des Bourdonnais
and Rue de la Limace
20 m away from Rue Saint Honoré
was located since an unknown date before 1400
a large house.


At this time Richard Neufville
(1350 - 18 fev 1401)
was a sea fish merchand
in the Halles food market.
He brought fish from Cherbourg and sold it in Paris.

He and his family move into the large house
on Rue de la Bourdonnais
most probably around 1370.
The house is transmitted from generation
to generation.

Apparently the house had no particular architectural interest.
During it's first years it was called
"Hotel de la Chasse"
(which means Hunting Mansion)
Nobody would know today why this name was given,
maybe at this time Paris was still so small
that one could hunt wild animals
in the environment.

Social Ascension
of the Hôtel de Villeroy

As the fish business is prosperous
there is money to "educate" the young Neufville,
later the Neufville de Villeroy children.

Along the years the younger generations
start to to make a "political career"
and they occupy functions in the Kingdom of France.


- Richard II Neufville
(?? - ??)
fish merchand in the Halles food market,
later maître d'Hotel for the Duke Philippe de Bourgogne.



coat of Arms - there is no image for Nicolas II de Villeroy
- Nicolas I de Neufville
(?? - 1549)
becomes State Secretary of Finance.

Nicolas is the nephew and heir of Pierre Legendre (1465-1524),
Tresurer of France.
Pierre Legendre owned the spectecular Hotel Le Gendre
located on n° 31 rue des Bourdonnais.
The house was full of Renaissance Artworks.
(The building was detroyed in 1841
beeing on the grounds of today's Rue de Rivoli).

The Neufville family
become the Neufville de Villeroy family.
The Louvre, residence of the Kings of France
is only 10 minutes walking distance from their house.


coat of Arms - there is no image for Nicolas II de Villeroy
- Nicolas II de Neufville, Seigneur de Villeroy
(?? - 1553)
becomes Secretary of the King.


Nicolas III de Villeroy, statue par le sculpteur Mathieu Jacquet
- Nicolas III de Neufville de Villeroy called "le Gendre"
(1525 - 1598),
Tresurer of the State Savings and Advisor of the King
his wife is Jeanne Prudhomme.


In 1546 is born Madeleine de l'Aubespine.
Madeleine is the daughter of Claude II de l'Aubespine (14?? - 1559),
Secretary of King Francois I.
more on the Aubespine family (page 3).

Growing up Madeleine is interested
in poetry and litterature.
She falls in Love with Nicolas IV de Villeroy.

Nicolas IV de Villeroy


enlarge the map made by Olivier Truschet in 1552

Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon
during the times of
Nicolas and Madeleine de Villeroy
Nicolas IV de Neufville de Villeroy and Madeleine de l'Aubespine

- Nicolas IV Neufville de Villeroy (1542 - 1617)	Madeleine de l'Aubespine (1546 - 1596)

1561 Madeleine de l'Aubespine marries Nicolas IV.
After their marriage their house is enlarged and redecorated.
Neighbouring grounds are acquired
towards Rue des Déchargeurs.

Madeleine and Nicolas IV have a common friend

Catherine de Medici,
Italian Princess, widow of King Henri II
and mother of the 3 Kings Francois II, Charles IX and Henry III

Madeleine becomes her "Lady in Waiting".

Nicolas IV becomes her political advisor
and he helps the regent to govern the Kingdom of France
during her long 30 years reign.
As the Queens sons are unable to govern,
the decisions are taken by Catherine de Medici.


The Queen comes to the Hotel de Villeroy
very frequently,
either to discuss political issues with Nicolas IV de Villeroy
or to assist the litterary circles organised by Madeleine de Villeroy.

According to the legend
a tunnel existed (and partly still exists)
beween the Louvre and the Hotel de Villeroy ...


Pierre de Ronsard
and other well known poets of that time
participate in the litterary meetings
that take place at the Hotel de Villeroy,
among them
Rémy Belleau, Philippe Desportes,
Marie Legendre or Marie de Gournay.



Henri IV
1589 Nicolas IV becomes
minister of foreign affairs of King Henri IV,
the first King of the Bourbons.


jeune roi Louis XIII vers en 1617 par Frans Pourbs
1610 Nicolas IV becomes minister of King Louis XIII


agrandir le plan fait par Olivier Truschet en 1575

Nicolas et Madeleine de Villeroy
had numerous other houses
- Chateau de Villeroy à Mennecy au Sud de Paris (destroyed ... the parc remains)
- Chateau de Conflans in the East of Paris (destroyed ... nothing remains)

Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon
during the times of
Nicolas V de Villeroy
childhood place of the young
Louis XIV


Charles de Villeroy, made in 1610 by Daniel Dumonstier
Charles Neufville de Villeroy (1566 - 1642)
son of Nicolas IV de Villeroy
he doesn't spend much time in Paris
becomes governor of Lyon in 1608.

his second wife is Jacqueline de Harlay (marriage in 1596)



Nicolas V de Villeroy around 1650, estampe by Philippe de Champaigne, Musée des Beaux Arts Dôle
Nicolas V de Villeroy
is one of their children.
Nicolas V doesn't spend that much time with his parents,
he is educated at the court of King Louis XIII
and an "enfant d'honneur".
(Louis XIII is the father of Louis XIV and the hsuband Anne of Austria).
After the death of his grandfather Nicolas IV de Villeroy en 1617
Nicolas V inherits the Hotel de Villeroy in Paris.


Nicolas V disposes of considerable wealth
and he wants to "modernize" his family house
which is to modest in his eyes.


In 1640 Nicolas V tears down the Hotel de Villeroy.
The basements remain
and a new House,
the Hotel de Villeroy Bourbon is construted.
Unbeleivable but the name of the architect is still unknow
(Cremerie de Paris continues searching).



One of the many mysteries of the Hotel de Villeroy Bourbon
is that the name of the architect is still unknown,
Cremerie de Paris keeps searching.



According to the legend
an under earth chapel still exists below the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon...


1646, 3 ans after the death of Louis XIII
Nicolas V de Villeroy is nominated to become the educator
of a rather turbulant young child
that lives at the nearby Palais Royal,
15 minutes walking distance from the Hôtel de Villeroy Bourbon:


Louis XIV, le futur Roi Soleil
Louis XIV
has spend some years of his childhood
between the Palais Royal and the Hotel de Villeroy Bourbon / VB.
He was attached to his educator Nicolas V de Villeroy.

Louis XIV also loved to play with a child that fasinated him
even though the child was still very small
6 years younger than the young king himself,
a child with whom a lifetime friedship comes alife ...
Francois Neufville de Villeroy.

Also part of the group
Philippe d'Orleans (the younger brother of Louis XIV)
and Catherine de Villeroy (the older sister of François de Villeroy).

Louis XIV and his brother Prince Philippe

Anne d'Autriche and her young sons Louis and Philippe

enlarge the map made by Jan Janssonius in 1657


François de Villeroy and Louis XIV around 1700
François de Neufville de Villeroy (1644 - 1730)
(fils de Nicolas V)
et le roi Louis XIV vers 1700

In the courtyard of the Crèmerie de Paris
and the gardens of the Palais Royal
was born a strong, undestructable friendship
that connects the King to
François de Villeroy.

This friendship last for a lifetime
to the point that
Louis XIV (1638 - 1715)
designates François de Villeroy,
to become the educator of his heir,
his great grandson,
King Louis XV (1710 - 1774).

more on the Neufville de Villeroy family





In 1671 the Villeroy family sells the Hôtel de Villeroy in Paris.
The family follows Louis XIV to Saint Germain en Laye.
In 1682 Francois and Catherine de Villeroy follow him again
to the court of Versailles ...
But the increadible story of the Hotel de Villeroy
continues

...


The Hôtel de Villeroy continues
to have a magic attraction
on most various talents
from all kinds of backgrounds
going through the borders of time ...

after the departure of the Villeroy family
The house has know quite a turbuent history:


enlarge the map made in 1736 by Louis Bretez
118 avant l'existance de la Rue des Halles ...
1671 - 1738 Hôtel de la Poste ... click here
1738 - 1789 before the French Revolution ... little information is known
1789 - 1804 after the French Revolution ... little information is known
1804 / 1854 - 1870 construction of Rue de Rivoli / Rue des Halles
1870 - 1970 Pavillons Baltard, Halles Centrales, first Cremerie ... click here
1970 - 1986 Trou des Halles ... click here


Inestimable merits of an unknown person


In the 1970s les Pavillons Baltard have been destroyed
to build the first Forum des Halles shopping center.
The magnificiant buildings of the numbers 24 to 32 rue des Halles
have also been destroyed to build a hideous appartment block.

The 2 chateaux de Villeroy has been destroyed
always for the same reason
greed for money
and real estate speculation & promotion.

The destiny of the Hôtel de Villeroy was different.
In the 1970 real estate promoters
had the project to tear everything down
in order to build a large car parking complex.

The Hôtel de Villeroy had become the property of the
"La Belle Jardiniere" department store
that had gone into liquidation
after massive speculation by the Willot brothers.
Not having been renovated for years
the Hôtel de Villeroy was in very poor condition.
The entire Les Halles distric was in a inbetween situation called Le Trou des Halles.

There is an unknow person that saved the house from destruction.
Crémerie de Paris has heard about this person by some old people
living in the area.
Eventually a retired school teacher
that was in love with Paris.
Without much financial possibilites
he/she has been fighting a long way
to save the house
agains powerful real estate promotors.

He/She managed to get the building listed as a
Monument historique
and thus stopped a projet born in the environment of
Président Georges Pompidou
who liked to "faire place à la modernité"
(create space for modernity).

Cultural impact of a mysterious
number "5"
located on the iron staircase of the "escalier d'honneur"
of the Hotel de Villeroy


In 1640 Nicolas "5" de Villeroy requests a mysterious double number "5"
to be forged into the central staircase of his "hôtel particulier".

Centuries later this place fascinates
fashion icons and designers ...


Picture taken by Eugène Atget in the year 1908.

The first know picture of the "5" symbol
goes back to 1908 ... taken Eugène Atget,
sometimes calles "father of photography".


The escalier d´honneur of the Hôtel de Villeroy and Coco Chanel ...


In 1919 Coco Chanel discovered the "5" symbol
on the staircase.
Chanel was a client of the first Cremerie de Paris.

Cremerie de Paris opened in 1870,
from 1924 to 1970 the name changed to "Emmental SA"
and the place specialized in Emmental cheese.


Known for the quality of it's cheese
many famous people from the 19th century came there as clients.
From time to time the owner of the shop (in French Cremier)
enjoyed to show the beautiful staircase to special clients.

The editor of this article has done a lot of research to find out more
of the Cremerie's lost history ...
Many stories are still unknown
exept ...



Aimee de Heeren came to the Cremerie de Paris during the last years of her life.
She is a legend in the history of Brazil and she fascinated many personalities of the 20th century,
like Bendor, the Duke of Westminster who was also the boyfriend of Coco Chanel,
the inventor Thomas Edison, the four Kennedybrothers and the first man on the moon.

... at the end of the 1990s
the Cremerie was the home of one the first Internetcafe in Paris.

A friend of Coco Chanel,
a Lady that was almost a hunderd years old,
but still full of life,
had the unusual idea (for people of her generation)
to come to the cafe to get some
Internet Lessons ...

Thanks to these lessons
she was able to transmit many of her unusual souvenirs,
among them long evening walks
with Coco Chanel through the center of Paris,
and sometimes through the courtyard of the
Hotel de Villeroy.

Souvenirs ...
She had a lot of them ...
Aimée de Heeren was exceptionally beautiful.
Destiny and her beauty had made her become
in the late 1930s the "Secret First Lady" of Brazil
and in the early 1940s the girlfriend of Joseph Kennedy Jr,
JFK's older brother ....


According to Aimée de Heeren
the "5" symbol on the staircase of the Hôtel de Villeroy
had fascinated her friend Coco Chanel
but nobody knew the meaning ...
The history of the Hôtel de Villeroy
was hardly known.


Coco Chanel n'a pas apelle son fameux parfum n°5
d'après cet escalier.
Non le chiffre 5 était déja un chiffre "porte bonheur"
dans l'enfance de Coco Chanel.
C'est ainsi qu'elle a été très intriguée
de le retrouvé dans un endroit aussi mysterieux.

The two Ladies went there to speak
"about everything and nothing"
but also about Bendor, the second Duke of Westminster,
a boy friend they have had in common.
Coco Chanel was very lonely and the Cremerie de Paris
remined her about her youth
and her early years in perfumes.

According to Coco Chanel
all important Paris fashion people of that time
knew the Halles Centrales
and the Cremeries located on rue des Halles.



La Princesse Soraya, ex Reine d'Iran
Princess Soraya, in the 1950s Queen of Iran,
has also taken internet lessons at the Cremerie.
In 2000 and 2001 she went there every thursday afternoon.
Soraya was alwasy sitting next to the large window
with it's view into the courtyard
of the Hôtel de Villeroy.
She was wearing her legendary engagement ring
which is now located at an unknown place ...

Soraya also liked the historic staircase ...
but at this time her internet teacher
and editor of this website
did not know the fascinating history of the house.

The lessons with the Princess
resulted in the registration of a multitude
of Grand Hotel domain names
and the creation of the website


The "Grand Hotels of the World" logo is full of history...
the original meaning of the n°5
is neither 5 Star Grand Hotel
neither Chanel °5
It's Nicolas 5 de Villeroy


The 5 symbol was designed in 1640
for Nicolas V de Villeroy by an unknown artist.
Louis XIV and Francois de Villeroy played around the symbol from 1646 to 1650
It was photographed by Eugene Atget in 1908
The symbol fascinated Coco Chanel from 1919 to 1969
The little bird (with a Walkman headphone) was designed by the editor
of this website in 1986 inspired by Electrica for Sony
In 2001 the matching domain name,
"Palace Hotels of the World.com"
was a present of one of the World's most beautiful woman
Princess Soraya of Iran.


2014 the Palace Hotel Logo was designed on rue des Halles
by the editor of this website with the help of
the Video artist Scott Stevenson and a friend of the Cremerie, Daymoon.

Grand Hotels of the World.com
is a Grand Hotel information site.


The stylist Akiko Sakamoto came from Tokyo, she is the designer for Vskin







The designer Elodie Badohoun, founder of the young fashion brand Keve
and the view from the Cremerie de Paris
into the historic courtyard of the l'Hôtel de Villeroy ... the courtyard hasn't changed much since .. 1640.
if the borders of time would not exist
one could from the Cremerie de Paris
see the "children" play ...

Cultural Impact
Art Masterpieces like Books, Furniture, Watches
The Villeroy family (owners from 1370 to 1671)
like the Rouillé & Pajot family (owners from 1671 to 1738)
had spectecular art collections:

Many items have later been located in other houses
owned by the family.


According to the legend a unique Book Collection
coming from the collections Laubespine
(brother and father of Madeleine de Villeroy)
were during some years located at the Hotel de Villeroy.
These books were later transferred to the Château de Villeroy
in Conflans Sainte Honorine (east of Paris).
Two fascinating historians came to the Cremerie in November 2013
They are currently inquiring about the books
located at the Bibliothèque Nationale ...


According to the legend the Villeroy family
once owned a Bronez David by Michelangelo.
This statue was later placed in the parc
of the Chateau de Villeroy in Mennecy.

Many treasures were lost during the French Revolution.


Others survived the revolution.
Museums are full of pieces
that have at one time or the other
been located at the Hôtel de Villeroy.

Nobody knows much about them ...
Tracing these pieces could be very interesting ...

Louis Leon Pajot (later owner of the house)
has donated many instruments
to the Academie des Sciences.
They were later dispatched to different museums.

More coming soon ....

Cultural Impact
Cremerie de Paris Expos


The current Cremerie arrived on Rue des Halles in 1986
it first came to n°11 rue des Halles
50 m distance from the Hotel de Villeroy ...

The first activity had nothing to do with Brand Expos,
Phonebooks, Palace Hotels
or historic research.

The activity was linked to the Sony
once one of the world's most famous brands
in particulary Sony phones, at the time impossible to find in France.
Little by little the company bought other shops along Rue des Halles
and transformed them into "Electrica for Sony" Stores.


7 years later, in 1993
the company also arrived on 9/11 rue des Déchargeurs
(corner 15 rue des Halles)
... without knowing that very soon
the "grande époque" of Sony would be over

... without knowing that little by little
this new store would become the very first Internetcafe in Paris.

... without knowing that the store had once been
the Cremerie de Paris located the Hotel de Villeroy
a magic place
full of legends
and deeply rooted in the history of the Kingdom of France.

and 20 years later
in 2011
The former Sony Store / Internet Cafe
again became the Cremerie de Paris,
no longer as a Cheese Store,
but as
an Expo Center for Very Beautiful Brands.


While creating it's website
the Cremerie
discovers, finds step by step, researches
a fascinating history
that was completely forgotten
... a history that covers a period of 650 years
... researches ongoing

Thanks to the Internet expertise
of the Cybercafe years
one of the World's shortes Internet Names
VB.com
is connected to the Cremerie de Paris.
There are many many .com Internet Adresses
(over 100 million .com names are in use now)
but only very very few are written
into a computer keybord ...

(There are 676 Two Letter Domains,
but not every one is as easy as VB.com)

Well at the time the Cremerie did not know
that "VB" could also mean "Very Beautiful" ...
VB could also mean the name of the two families
that were for centuries
in the history of our house
and in the history of France
the Villeroys (owners of the Hotel de Villeroy)
and the Bourbons (Kings of France) ...





The first months of the new Cremerie
were a little difficult
but shortly after the Presidential elections
arrived from the United States
one of the World's most magic companies
with the idea to set up a "Barbershop" ...


The Nike Barbershop, expo imagined by Antoine Leca from the agency Auditoire ... the expo won multiple advertising awards.

Cremerie de Paris
and the Hotel de Villeroy
are again a
HOTSPOT
for Expos and Pop Up Stores ...


The OMO Wasing powder store at the Hôtel de Villeroy, expo imagined by "Une Agence Americaine"

The Expos that are sometimes so beautiful
and so original
that they enter the history of this very old house
which is not only located


Gate of the Hotel de Villeroy and it's courtyard visible through the windowns of the Cremerie de Paris

in the heart of Paris
but also
in the heart of the
history of France ...



View into the historic courtyard of the Hotel de Villeroy from the Cremerie de Paris.
This view is also visible from the street
(9 rue des Déchargeurs)
through the exterior window of the Cremerie.








In June 2014 arrive
- from Japan again -
"little monsters
loved all over the World"
and known under the name
"Pokemon" ...