Geneva

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For other uses, see Geneva (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 46°12′N 6°09′E

Geneva
Canton	Geneva
District	n.a.
Coordinates	46°12′N 6°09′E
Population	185,526   (2004)
Area	15.86 km²
Elevation	375 m
Postal code	1200
Mayor	André Hediger
Website	www.ville-ge.ch
Geneva

Geneva (pronunciation /dʒənivə/; French: Genève /ʒənɛv/, German: Genf (help·info) /gɛnf/, Italian: Ginevra) is  the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and  is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). it  is situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River, and  is the capital of the Canton of Geneva. The population within the city limits is  185,526 (2004) and  that of the metropolitan area — which extends into France and  Vaud — is  about 700,000. Geneva is  widely regarded as a global city, mainly due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations. A 2006 survey found Geneva to have  the second highest quality of living in the world (again, after Zürich). [1]

See Names of European cities in different languages for a list of the name of this city in other languages.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 International organizations 5 Economy 6 Infrastructure 6.1 Transportation 6.2 Utilities 7 Education 8 Culture 8.1 Landmarks and  sights 8.2 Media 8.3 Theatre 8.4 Sport 9 Communities 9.1 Religious communities 9.2 Foreign communities 9.3 LGBT community 10 Trivia 11 Famous Literature involving Geneva 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links

[edit] History

For the Catholic ecclesiastical history, see  and  Geneva bishopric(s)">Lausanne and  Geneva bishopric(s)

Geneva was the name of a settlement of the Celtic people of the Allobroges. 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 may be identical in origin to the name of the Ligurian city of Genua (modern Genoa), meaning "knee", that is, "angle", referring to its geographical position; though more  likely is  based on the root gen- 'birth' (Genawa is  at the birth of the river from the womb of the lake; perhaps the name in full means 'birth-water'). After the Roman conquest it  became part of the Provincia Romana (Gallia Narbonensis). In 58 BC, 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 among Burgundians and  Franks and  the Holy Roman Emperors, in practice it  was ruled by its Prince-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 St. Pierre Cathedral in what is  now called the Old Town was John Calvin's own church. During the time when England was ruled by the Catholic Queen Mary I Tudor, who persecuted Protestants, a number of Protestant scholars fled to Geneva. Among these scholars was William Whittingham who supervised the translation of the Geneva Bible in collaboration with Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson and  William Cole.

One of the most important events in Geneva's history is  l'Escalade (literally: "the scaling of the wall"). For the people of Geneva, l'Escalade is  the symbol of their independence. it  marked 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 11-12 December 1602 and  is celebrated yearly in the Old Town with numerous demonstrations and  a parade of horses, cannons and  armed men in period costumes.

Geneva, or  officially the Canton & 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.

[edit] Geography

Geneva is  located at 46°12 North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the lake flows into the Rhône River. it  is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and  the Jura.

The city of Geneva has an  area of 15.86 km², while the area of the Canton of Geneva is  282 km², including the two small enclaves of Céligny in Vaud. The part of the Lake that is  attached to Geneva has an  area of 38 km² and  is sometimes referred to as Petit lac (small lake). The Canton has only a 4.5 km border with the rest of Switzerland; out of a total of 107.5 km of borders, the remaining 103 are  shared with France, with the Départment de l'Ain to the North and  the Département de la Haute-Savoie to the South.

The altitude of Geneva is  373.6 m, and  corresponds to the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age. This rock was chosen by General Guillaume Henri Dufour as the reference point for all surveying in Switzerland [2].

The second main river of Geneva is  the Arve River which flows into the Rhône River just west of the city centre.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2004, the population of the Commune (city) of Geneva was 185,526, while 438,500 people lived in the Canton of Geneva; around 700,000 people live in the Geneva urban community, which extends into Vaud Canton and  neighboring France.

The population of the Canton is  split between 145,200 people originally from Geneva (33.1%), 123,400 Swiss from other cantons (28.2%) and  169,000 foreigners (38.7%), from 180 different countries. Including people holding multiple citizenship, 54.4% of people living in Geneva hold a foreign passport. [3] [4]

While Geneva is  usually considered as a Protestant city, there are  now more  Roman Catholics (39.5%) than Protestants (17.4%) living in the Canton. 22% of the inhabitants indicate that they are  not part of any religion, the rest being shared between Islam (4.4%), Judaism (1.1%), other religions and  people who did not respond. [5] (2000 figures.)

[edit] International organizations

Geneva is  the seat of many international organizations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations and  several other international bodies, 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 and  the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Geneva also hosts the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or  CERN, the International Organization for Standardization, the International Baccalaureate program, the Airports Council International, the World Council of Churches, the World Wide Web Virtual Library, the World Economic Forum, World Organization of the Scout Movement, International Committee of the Red Cross and  the International AIDS Society.

Geneva was the seat of the League of Nations between 1919 and  the league's dissolution in 1946. it  was first housed in the Palais Wilson, and  then in the Palais des Nations, which now hosts the United Nations.

[edit] Economy

Geneva's economy is  mainly services oriented. The city has an  important and  old finance sector, which is  specialized in private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD) and  financing of international trade. it  is also an  important centre of commodity trade.

Geneva is  the international headquarter of companies like Serono, STMicroelectronics, Société Générale de Surveillance, Mediterranean Shipping Company and  SITA. Many other multinational companies like Procter & Gamble, DuPont, INVISTA, Hewlett-Packard, JT International (JTI), Electronic Arts and  Sun Microsystems have  their European headquarters in the city too.

There is  a long tradition of Watchmaking (Rolex, Patek Philippe, Baume et Mercier, Franck Muller). Two major international producers of flavours and  fragrances, Firmenich and  Givaudan, have  their headquarters and  main production facilities in Geneva.

Many people also work in the numerous offices of international organizations located in Geneva (about 24000 in 2001).

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Transportation

The city is  served by the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. it  is connected to both the Swiss railway network SBB-CFF-FFS, and  the French SNCF network, including direct connections to Paris, Marseille and  Montpellier by TGV. Geneva is  also connected to the motorway systems of both Switzerland (A1 motorway) and  France.

Public transport by bus, trolleybus or  tram is  provided by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG). In addition to an  extensive coverage of the city centre, the network covers most of the municipalities of the Canton, with a few lines extending into France. Public transport by boat is  provided by the Mouettes Genevoises, which link the two banks of the Lake within the city, and  by the Compagnie générale de navigation (CGN) who serve more  distant destinations such as Nyon, Yvoire, Thonon, Evian and  Lausanne.

Trains operated by SBB-CFF-FFS connect the airport to the main station of Cornavin in a mere 6 minutes, and  carry on to towns such as Nyon, Lausanne, Montreux, Neuchâtel, Berne, Sion, Sierre, etc. Regional train services are  being increasingly developed, towards Coppet and  Bellegarde. At the city limits, two new stations have  been created since 2002: Genève-Sécheron (close to the UN and  the Botanical Gardens) and  Lancy-Pont-Rouge.

In 2005, work started on the CEVA (Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse) project, first planned in 1884, which will connect Cornavin with the Cantonal hospital, the Eaux-Vives station and  Annemasse, in France. The link between the main station and  the classification yard of La Praille already exists; from there, the line will go mostly underground to the Hospital and  the Eaux-Vives, where it  will link up to the existing line to France. Support for this project was obtained from all parties in the local parliament. [6]

[edit] Utilities

Water, natural gas and  electricity are  provided to the municipalities of the Canton of Geneva by the state-owned Services Industriels de Genève (or SIG). Most of the drinkable water (80%) is  extracted from the lake; the remaining 20% is  provided by groundwater originally formed by infiltration from the Arve River. 30% of the Canton's needs in electricity are  locally produced, mainly by three hydroelectric dams on the Rhone River (Seujet, Verbois and  Chancy-Pougny). In addition, 13% of the electricity produced in the Canton is  made from the heat induced by the burning of waste at the waste incineration facility of Les Cheneviers. The remaining needs (57%) are  covered by imports from other cantons in Switzerland or  other European countries; SIG buys only electricity produced by renewable methods, and  in particular does not use electricity produced using nuclear reactors or  fossil fuels. Natural gas is  available in the City of Geneva, as well as in about two-thirds of the municipalities of the canton, and  is imported from western Europe by the Swiss company Gaznat. SIG also provides telecommunication facilities to carriers, service providers and  large enterprises. From 2003 to 2005 "Voisin, voisine" a Fibre to the Home pilot project with a Triple play offering was launched to test the end-user market in the Charmilles district.

[edit] Education

Geneva is  home to one of the oldest universities in the world, the University of Geneva, founded by John Calvin in 1559. Also, the oldest international school in the world is  located in Geneva, the International School of Geneva, founded in 1924 along with the League of Nations.

The city is  also home to one of the most prestigious graduate schools of international relations, the Graduate Institute of International Studies. Other International schools include Geneva English School and  Institut International de Lancy (founded in 1903).

The  and  International Relations">Geneva School of Diplomacy and  International Relations is  a private university located on the grounds of the Chateau de Penthes, an  old manor with a park and  view of Lac Leman.

The Canton of Geneva's public school system has "Ecoles Primaires" (4-12), "Cycles D'Orientation" (12-15), and  the post-obligatory "Collèges" (15-19), the oldest of which is  the Collège Calvin. it  is housed in the ancient buildings of the University of Geneva, and  could be considered one of the oldest public schools in the world. [7]

[edit] Culture

[ and  sights">edit] Landmarks and  sights

Notable sights in Geneva include the International Museum of the Reformation, the Reformation Wall, the Flower Clock, the Art and  History Museum, the International Red Cross and  Red Crescent Museum and  the Palais des Nations, which serves as the European headquarters of the United Nations.

The city's most visited monument is  the Saint-Pierre Cathedral, located at Cour Saint-Pierre, a noteworthy space of unique spiritual and  cultural importance. The Cathedral and  towers, which both embody the high point of the Reformed tradition and  explores the origins of Christianity in its archaeological site, is  now complemented by the International Museum of the Reformation, on the ground floor of the Maison Mallet. an  underground passage, reopened when the Museum was created, connects the two buildings and  a pass is  now available for visitors to enjoy all three areas.

The city's most noted landmark is  a fountain: the Jet d'Eau (water-jet), situated in Lake Geneva. Its 140-metre-high water column is  visible from many parts of the city.

[edit] Media

The city's main newspaper is  the Tribune de Genève, a daily newspaper founded on 1 February 1879 by James T. Bates, with a readership of about 187,000. Le Courrier, founded in 1868, was originally supported by the Roman Catholic Church, but has been completely independent since 1996. Mainly focused on Geneva, Le Courrier is  trying to expand into other cantons in Romandy. Both Le Temps (headquartered in Geneva) and  Le Matin are  widely read in Geneva, but both journals actually cover the whole of Romandy.

Geneva is  covered by the various French language radio networks of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, in particular the Radio Suisse Romande. While these networks cover the whole of Romandy, special programs related to Geneva are  sometimes broadcast on some of the local frequencies in the case of special events such as elections. Other local station broadcast from the city, including RadioLac (FM 91.8 MHz), Radio Cité (Christian Radio, FM 92.2 MHz), OneFM (FM 107.0 MHz, also broadcast in Vaud), and  World Radio Geneva (FM 88.4 MHz), Switzerland's only English-language radio station.

The main television channel covering Geneva is  the Télévision Suisse Romande; while its headquarters are  located in Geneva, the programs cover the whole of Romandy and  are not specific to Geneva. Léman Bleu is  a local TV channel, founded in 1996 and  distributed by cable.

[edit] Theatre

Within this multicultural society, English theatre flourishes, the key groups include Geneva English Drama Society (GEDS), Geneva Amateur Operatic Society (GAOS), Howard Productions and  Simply Theatre.

[edit] Sport

The main sport team in Geneva is  Servette FC, a football club founded in 1890 and  named after a borough on the right bank of the Rhône River. Servette was the only club to have  remained in the top league in Switzerland since its creation in the 1930s; however, in 2005, management problems caused the bankruptcy of the club's parent company, causing the club to be demoted two divisions lower. Geneva is  also home of the Geneve Servette Hockey Club, which is  currently playing in the first league.

[edit] Communities

As the Geneva authorities say, the history of the city is  closely related to that of the foreign communities. Ever since the migration of foreigners to Geneva, these communities have  found refuge, bringing their know-how, their customs and  hope of a new life. They have  widely participated in the international influence of Geneva, to its economic prosperity, and  also to the spreading of views and  of science.

[edit] Religious communities

There are  quite many communities in Geneva. Religious communities are  very diverse. Even if Geneva is  supposed to be the Protestant Rome, many religions meet in Geneva. Beside the Protestants, the Catholics have  been more  and more  numerous thanks to immigration from latin countries. The Jewish community is  one of the oldest of Switzerland, and  the more  recent Muslim community is  emerging in this city which respects all communities.

[edit] Foreign communities

Even though Geneva is  not a very large metropolis on the world scale, foreign communities are  extremely diverse and  numerous due to the fact that many UN agencies and  NGOs are  based in Geneva. Basically every nationality is  represented in Geneva. Expatriates, including short-term ones, play an  important part in the city's social life. The website Genevaonline (genevaonline.ch) was set up by expats to improve networking among people from different nationalities.

[edit] LGBT community

Many other communities or  minorities are  also very well represented in Geneva, including sexual minorities, with no less  than three organizations in Geneva. Dialogai, a gay organization, Lestime, a lesbian organization, and  association 360, a mixed organization.

[edit] Trivia

Since 1818, a particular chestnut tree is  used as the official "herald of the spring" in Geneva. The sautier (secretary of the Parliament of the Canton of Geneva) observes the tree and  notes the day of arrival of the first bud. While this event has no practical impact, the sautier issues a formal press release and  the local newspaper will usually mention the news. In 2006, the first bud appeared on 14 March.^[1]

In 2000, Geneva was awarded the Wakker Prize for the development and  preservation of its architectural heritage.

[edit] Famous Literature involving Geneva

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Geneva Nights by Clint Borgen
• "Politics and  the Arts" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

[edit] See also

• List of mayors of Geneva
•  and  Geneva bishopric(s)">Lausanne and  Geneva bishopric(s)
• French language
• Franco-Provençal language

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Official press release (PDF), 14 March 2006. (French)

[edit] References

• Geneva (municipality) in German, French or  Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Jean de Senarclens, "Geneva: Historic Guide", Editions du Tricorne, 1995. ISBN 2-8293-0144-7

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Geneva

Official

• Geneva - Welcome to Networld
• Official website of the City of Geneva
• Official website of the Canton of Geneva (French)
• The Official Chestnut tree, on the website of the Canton of Geneva (French)
• Brief history of Geneva

Tourism

• Geneva Tourism
• Geneva public transport
• International Geneva Welcome Centre
• Geneva travel guide from Wikitravel
• Geneva information

Maps

• Maps and  aerial photos
  • Wiki Satellite image from WikiMapia
  • Mapping from Multimap or  GlobalGuide or  Google Maps
  • Aerial image from TerraServer

Organisations

• Dialogai, the Gay Organization of Geneva
• Tribune de Genève: Daily news from the city
• the Lesbian Organization of Geneva
• The lgbt Organization of Geneva
• Geneva Genealogical Society, featuring a genealogical tree of more  than 170'000 people (all linked together), a forum, and  much more
• (French) CEVA - Train construction project connecting the Swiss and  French networks around Geneva

	Municipalities of the Canton of Geneva (Switzerland)
	Aire-la-Ville | Anières | Avully | Avusy | Bardonnex | Bellevue | Bernex | Carouge | Cartigny | Céligny | Chancy | Chêne-Bougeries | Chêne-Bourg | Choulex | Collex-Bossy | Collonge-Bellerive | Cologny | Confignon | Corsier | Dardagny | Genève (Geneva) | Genthod | Gy | Hermance | Jussy | Laconnex | Lancy | Grand-Saconnex | Meinier | Meyrin | Onex | Perly-Certoux | Plan-les-Ouates | Pregny-Chambésy | Presinge | Puplinge | Russin | Satigny | Soral | Thônex | Troinex | Vandœuvres | Vernier | Versoix | Veyrier
	Canton of Geneva | Municipalities of the Canton of Geneva | Switzerland