The History of Geneva, as told by a Church

When I told my dad I was going to Geneva for the weekend, his reply was, “I’ve always wanted to go to Switzerland, and now you’re going there…in a way.”

F for geography skills, Dad, because Geneva is in Switzerland. But, also, I know exactly what he means. It sure doesn’t feel like Switzerland. It just feels like a big city…where they happen to still speak French.

Nonetheless, I had a good time exploring the city. We saw the infamous Jet d’Eau. This is the tallest fountain in the world at 140 meters. Originally, Geneva had a 30 meter fountain intended to release the pressure from a hydraulic plant. It became such a well known symbol of the city that they moved the fountain to a better location and made it taller.

We made our way to the world’s longest wooden bench (120 meters). Impressive, but I was left wondering why the bench is facing away from the view.

Our afternoon took us to Mont Salève, easily my favorite activity of the day. Just across the border (so back in France), we took a cable car up the mountain and then hiked a bit higher to get a good view of Geneva and the mountains.

This view of the mountains and the “hiking” felt the most “Switzerland-esque,” but we were in France!

Switzerland is famous for many things, chocolate and cheese being two of them. We all know the chocolate doesn’t interest me, but none of us could pass up the cheese.

Buckle your seat belts because we are taking a fast drive through Geneva’s history with the focal point as the famous Cathedral Saint Pierre.

Today, I walked through the Vieille Ville of Geneva. While I knew that Vieille Ville meant “old town,” I did not quite realize that this spot was first settled in 400 B.C. The historians know this from a burial mound they found.

In 100 B.C., an Allobrogian chief was buried at the foot of this burial mound. He was apparently a pretty important person because 80 years later they built a mausoleum over his grave. His head was also exhumed at some point, suggesting, the archeologists say, that this location became an important spot for the cult of the dead.

This recent mosaic on a wall in the Old Town depicts Julius Cesar’s arrival in Geneva in 58 B.C.

The Romans settled the area in 10-20 A.D. Geneva was an important town because it was located at an important cross-roads and was near the border of the empire.

In 350 A.D., the Romans built a Christian church on the site of the previous mausoleum to worship relics. Because of the importance of Christianity, the bishop of Geneva was not just a religious ruler but also the highest official in the city. He was involved in politics, administration, and economic activity. The cathedral built here contained both a church and baptistry. The threshold of this first Roman church can be seen above, worn by the many passing feet.

The baptistery was a separate room and it evolved over the years as the practice of full immersion changed to just a sprinkling of water. The water system in the early cathedral was quite impressive. Pipes of wood and lead brought water from a well 30 meters away to a tub. From there, the water was fed under pressure into the font for the baptistery.

This is a picture of the bishop’s receiving room from the 5th century. The beautiful mosaics and the fact that the floor was heated show the bishop’s importance.

Later, two more cathedrals were built on each side of the first. The cathedral that exists today, built in the 12th century, was built over top all three of the previous cathedrals.