Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Avenières Castle was built between 1905 and 1907 on the initiative of Mary Wallace Schillito, heiress of an American fortune, after her discovery of the site in 1904. Located on the heights of Cruseilles, the castle was designed to enjoy an exceptional panorama of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Lake Annecy. Mary, widowed after her first husband's death, Assan Farid Dina in 1928, sold the castle in 1936 after a second unhappy marriage.

Assan Farid Dina, an Indian engineer passionate about esotericism and astronomy, completed the castle in 1917 with a power station and a chapel decorated with mosaics inspired by the Tarot. The domain became a meeting place for the Parisian intellectual elite, attracted by debates on philosophy, Egyptology and occult sciences. After Dina's death in 1928, the castle changed hands several times, in turn hosting a religious congregation, a children's shelter during the Second World War, and then Juilly's college from 1948 to 1970.

From 1970 to 1994, the castle passed into the hands of various owners, including a Swiss architect, before being transformed into a luxury hotel-restaurant. He attracted personalities such as Phil Collins, who recorded an album there in 1996, and served as a stage for several films, including Crime à l'altimeter (1996) and My Little Finger M Today, the Château des Avnières remains an emblematic place, combining history, mystery and architectural prestige.

The site of Cruseilles, where the castle stands, is marked by a rich history, from the invasions of the Allobroges and the Romans to its attachment to France in 1860. The region, close to Geneva and Annecy, was a strategic and cultural crossroads, influencing local development. The castle, with its esoteric chapel and luxurious living rooms, embodies this duality between Savoyard tradition and cosmopolitan eccentricity.

The building of the castle is part of a period of transformation for Cruseilles, then in full economic and social change. The beginning of the 20th century saw the emergence of secondary residences for an international bourgeoisie, attracted by alpine landscapes and the proximity to Geneva. The Château des Avnières, with its planned observatory and its technical innovations, symbolizes this time when science, art and spirituality blended in the affluent circles.

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