It took place in 1939, during the German army’s invasion of Paris. When she was 23 years old, Madame de Florian made the decision to leave her flat near the Opera Garnier alongside thousands of other Parisians and relocate to the south of France.
He wished to depart from the area of hostilities given that World War II was just getting started.
Madame de Florian never moved back into the flat after the war ended, but she continued to cover all the expenses until she passed away. The 9th District flat has been empty for seven decades.
Only after the 91-year-old owner passed away in 2010 her family learned about the existence of this property. The things were then inventoried by family members.
After so much time, the apartment’s doors were finally unlocked by auctioneer Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who claimed to feel as if he had traveled back in time. The intricately carved furniture, extravagant decorations, and fine paintings were dusted with dust yet were well preserved.
The property was passed down to Madame de Florian’s grandmother, the Parisian actress Marthe de Florian, who rose to fame at the turn of the 20th century as a result of her relationships with Italian painter Giovanni Boldini and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau.
A Boldini painting of the actress Marthe de Florian, which brought 2.1 million euros at auction, was among the assets found in the flat. The other items in the apartment were left intact and this was the only thing that was put up for auction.
The “Time Capsule” home is currently held by the family and is not accessible to the general public. Watch what the abandoned apartment looks like in the video below:
