Camille Maximilien Frédéric, Count de Renesse-Breidbach (9 July 1836 in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
– 12 June 1904 in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
) was a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
, entrepreneur and author.
De Renesse was born in 1836 at Brussels to an aristocratical family of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
descent. His parents were Maximilien C.J.G.R van Renesse Breidbach and Berthe Walburge Francoise van Gruben. He was a grandson of Clement Wenceslas van Renesse Breidbach (1774–1833), who had sold the ancestral
Castle of Renesse
The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of Oostmalle ( Malle), in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle.
History
14th century
In 1374 Jan van Har ...
to
Leonard du Bus de Gisignies
Leonard Pierre Joseph, Viscount du Bus de Gisignies (28 February 1780 – 31 May 1849) was a soldier and politician in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Early life
He was born in Dottignies, Austrian Netherlands on 28 February 1780. He was ...
.
Camille married Countess
Malvina de Kerchhove de Deterghem on 10 November 1868, daughter of Count
Charles-Constant de Kerchhove de Deterghem (1819–1882) and Eugénie de Limon (1824–1899). While dwelling in
St. Moritz for recreation Count de Renesse got his vision to establish a giant Monte Carlo-like hotel resort with a grand
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
, baths and golf courses in the
Engadin
The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...
valley for the European aristocracy. After being rejected in
Celerina
Celerina/Schlarigna (German/Italian ''Celerina''; Romansh ) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden.
History
Celerina/Schlarigna was first mentioned in 1313 as ''Schellarin'' and in 1320 as ''Celarina''. In ...
,
Sils Sils or SILS may refer to:
Places
*Sils, Girona, a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Selva in Catalonia, Spain
** Lake Sils (Catalonia), an ancient lake near Sils, Catalonia, Spain
** Lake Sils, a lake in the Upper Engadine in the Grisons, Switzer ...
and finally in St. Moritz due to the Badrutt family's huge power, Count de Renesse succeeded in purchasing some 140 hectares of land in
Maloja, at the
Lake of Sils.
Between 1882 and 1884 he put his vision to reality by letting build the ''Hôtel Kursaal de la Maloja'' (nowadays
Maloja Palace
The Maloja Palace is a hotel from St Moritz, in the Graubünden canton of Switzerland, at the top of the Maloja Pass (Italian: Passo del Maloja, German: Malojapass) (el. 1815 m.) linking the Engadin and the Bregell valley, very close to the vil ...
). But since just a few days after the grand opening a
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic broke out in nearby
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Count de Renesse had to file for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
after six months. Furthermore, Countess Marvina died of a so-called "fat heart" in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
in the same autumn. Nonetheless the hotel remained a lucrative location for Europe's rich people in the following decades. In 1891,
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
completed Encina Hall, a dormitory inspired by the Hôtel Kursaal de la Maloja's architecture.
Encina Hall: Leland Stanford's Grand Hotel
For a long time a rumour has got abroad that Count de Renesse, being drunk, fell off his residence, the Belvedere tower above the hotel, into the Bergell
The Val Bregaglia ( lmo, Val Bregaja; german: Bergell, ; rm, ) is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy at the base of which runs the river Mera ( lmo, Maira in Switzerland).
Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja i ...
valley; in fact he moved to Nice where he wrote some Christian books; there he died in 1904.
Bibliography
* Jesus Christ: His Apostles and Disciples in the Twentieth Century
See also
* Castle of Renesse
The Castle de Renesse is a castle located in the village of Oostmalle ( Malle), in the Campine region of the province of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). It is currently owned by the municipality of Malle.
History
14th century
In 1374 Jan van Har ...
External links
The Renesse Affair - Article about the Count and the Maloja Palace (in German)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renesse-Breidbach, Camille de
1836 births
1904 deaths
Businesspeople from Brussels
Camille
Nobility from Brussels