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Concept
Évian-les-Bains
Summary
Évian-les-Bains (evjɑ̃ le bɛ̃), or simply Évian (Èvian, Évyan, or L'Èvian), is a commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. In 2018, it had a population of 9,100.
A high-market holiday resort and spa town on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman), it has been visited, over two centuries, by royalty such as Kings Edward VII and George V of the United Kingdom and King Farouk of Egypt, and celebrities such as countess Anna de Noailles and Marcel Proust.
The springs of Evian were still rather unknown at the time of the French Revolution. But the First Empire's interest for spa towns inspired a scientist to analyse the Evian springs in 1807 and 1808.
A lakeside port and a new road (RN5) connecting the town to Milan and Paris were constructed in 1809. In 1823, Genevan entrepreneur M. Fauconnet launched the Évian mineral water company (Société des Eaux Minérales d'Évian) and purchased the cities' two main springs (the better-known being the Cachat spring named after the family that sold it) in March 1827. M. Fauconnet's company eventually went bankrupt, and the springs were bought by the Hôtel des Bains.
In the following years, many hotels (Hôtel des quatre saisons, Hôtel de France, Hôtel des Alpes) were built, helping the town's popularity as a holiday resort.
The Cachat mineral waters SA (Société Anonyme des Eaux Minérales de Cachat) was created as an anonymous company in December 1859 by Parisian investors, selling Évian water, and in 1865 the small town changed its name to Évian-les-bains to promote its rise as a spa town. Three other springs joined the Cachat (Guillot, Bonnevie, Corporau). Improvement in transportation (a railroad station) helped make the town a more famous spa.
In the late 19th century, the city contained more than 20 hotels. The hills and the lakeshore were covered with noble houses and luxurious villas and a theatre and a casino were built on the lakeside.
Official source
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