Geneva: the Mont Blanc bridge over the [[Rhône River and St Peter's Cathedral]]
Geneva (
French:
Genève) is the second-most populous city in
Switzerland located where
Lake Geneva (French:
Lac Léman, but the Genevois are fond of calling it
Lac de Genève) empties into the
Rhône River. It is the capital of the
Canton of Geneva. The population of the city is 185,526 (2004) and that of the agglomeration in Switzerland and
France 645,000 (2000).
The name in
Spanish:
Ginebra,
German:
Genf,
Italian:
Ginevra,
Romansh Genevra.
History
Genava was the name of a settlement of the
Celtic people of the
Allobroges, and the name of
Genava (or
Genua) in Latin appeared for the first time in the writings of
Julius Caesar in
De Bello Gallico, his comments on the
Gallic Wars. Its name is probably identical in origin to the name of the
Ligurian city of
Genua (modern
Genoa), meaning "knee", i.e. "angle", referring to its geographical position. After the Roman conquest it became part of the
Provincia Romana (
Gallia Narbonensis). In 58 BCE, at Geneva, Caesar hemmed in the
Helvetii on their westward march. In the
9th century it became the capital of
Burgundy. Though Geneva was contested between Burgundians and Franks and the Holy Roman Emperors, in practice it was ruled by its bishops, until the Reformation, when Geneva became a
republic.
Due to the work of
reformers such as
John Calvin, Geneva was sometimes dubbed
the Protestant Rome. In the
16th century Geneva was the center of
Calvinism; the old town St Peter's Cathedral was John Calvin's own church.
One of the most important date in Geneva's history is the
Escalade. For the people of Geneva the Escalade is the symbol of their independence. The Escalade (literally: "scaling the walls") marks the final attempt in a series of assaults mounted throughout the 16th century by
Savoy which wanted to annex Geneva as its capital north of the Alps. This last assault happened on the night of the 11th-12th December 1602 and is still celebrated in Geneva, with numerous demonstrations and shows of men in arms in original costumes, cannons and horses in the Geneva old town.
Geneva, still called today
Canton and Republic of Geneva, became a canton of Switzerland in 1815. The first of the
Geneva Conventions was signed in 1864, to protect the sick and wounded in war time.
Features
The famous [[Jet d'Eau]]
Geneva is the seat of many international organizations, including the European seat of the
United Nations and several
United Nations organizations, such as the
World Health Organization, the
International Labour Organization, the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
World Intellectual Property Organization, the
International Telecommunication Union, the
World Meteorological Organization, the
World Trade Organization, the
Inter-Parliamentary Union etc. Geneva also hosts the
CERN, the
International Organization for Standardization, the
World Council of Churches, the
World Wide Web Virtual Library, the
World Economic Forum and the
International Committee of the Red Cross.
Geneva is also home of one of the oldest universities of the world, the
University of Geneva, and on of the most prestigious Graduate schools of International Relations, the
Graduate Institute of International Studies.
Notable sights in Geneva include the
Flower Clock, the
Art & History Museum and the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.
Geneva's most visible landmark however is a
fountain: the
Jet d'Eau (''water-jet'') which is situated in Lake Geneva and visible throughout the city for its 140 metre high water column.
The city is served by the
Geneva Cointrin International Airport. Public transportation within the city is provided by
Transports Publics Genevois (TPG).
World Radio Geneva, Switzerland's only English language radio station, broadcasts from the city.
A carousel by the lake
External links
Category:Cantonal capitals of Switzerland
af:Genève
bg:Женева
ca:Ginebra
da:Geneve
de:Genf (Stadt)
eo:Ĝenevo
es:Ginebra
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la:Genava
hu:Genf
id:Jenewa
it:Ginevra
nl:Genève
ja:ジュネーブ
no:Genève
pl:Genewa
pt:Genebra
rm:Genevra
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