IN CALVIN'S LAND

OLD TOWN GENEVA - OCTOBER 2006

A 2007 survey found Geneva to have the second-highest quality of living in the world. If it's true, it's excellent!


"RUE CORRATERIE - Swiss and Canton flags along the street. Switzerland and the USA are probably the two countries where national and state flags are more often displayed..."


"CONSERVATORY - The Byzantine-style building located on the Place Neuve was constructed between 1856 and 1858, with two wings added in 1920 to expand its facilities"


"THE GRAND THEATRE was inaugurated in 1879, but on May 1, 1951, was reduced to ashes. Actually, during a rehearsal of Wagner’s Walkyrie, when Brunhilde is encircled by flames, the stage and the rest of the theatre took fire. It took ten years to restore the building"


"THE RATH MUSEUM, built as a gift to the people of Geneva by the two Rath sisters, Jeanne-Françoise and Henriette, was inaugurated in 1826 to be the first Swiss museum devoted to the fine arts"



"POST TENEBRAS LUX - The 100 meters Reformation Wall, backed against part of the ancient defensive walls that surrounded the city until the middle of the 19th century, started to be built in the Bastions Park in 1909, the year which marked the 400th anniversary of the birth of Jean Calvin. It covers 450 years in the history of Protestantism and has, at its centre, the four great figures of the movement: Guillaume Farel, Jean Calvin, Théodore de Bèze and John Knox"


"UNIVERSITY - The second largest university in Switzerland, plays a leading role in diplomatic and international affairs studies, and it is also considered among the top scientific research universities in Europe on planetary science and genetics"


"CALVIN'S COLLEGE was created in 1559. It had a busy schedule: ten hours a day, six days a week was the rhythm imposed by Jean Calvin. Initially a theological seminary, it also taught law. An academy was added later, and Théodore de Bèze became the first rector. The academy became the University of Geneva in 1872. For many years, the Calvin College was the only school building in Geneva"


"ART AND HISTORY MUSEUM - Constructed between 1903 and 1910, it was designed as an encyclopaedic museum to cover the whole of western culture in three main sectors: Archaeology (prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman); Fine Arts (paintings from the Renaissance to modern times); and Applied Arts (objects from the Middle Ages to the 20th century). Henry Moore joined later..."


"KINETIC ART - Jean Tinguely (born on May 22, 1925 in Fribourg, and passed away on August 30, 1991 in Bern) was the creator of some astounding sculptural machines in the Dada tradition"


"LEDA AND SWAN - According to Greek mythology, Zeus took the form of a swan and raped or seduced Leda on the same night she slept with her husband, King Tyndareus. Result: Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta..."


"RUSSIAN CHURCH - Consecrated in 1866, after three years of construction, the Church of the Orthodox Russians living in Geneva is a masterpiece in the Byzantine Muscovite style. The financial contribution came from Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna Constancia, sister-in-law of Tsar Alexander 1st and aunt of Queen Victoria and Prince Consort Albert. The superb gilded cupolas were restored in 1966"



"ST. PETER'S CATHEDRAL - The first phase of the cathedral’s construction dates back to the year 1160 and lasted nearly a century. After that, many restorations and reconstructions took place, modifying its original design. Furthermore, with the advent of the Reformation, all interior ornaments were removed and the coloured decors whitewashed, sparing only the stained glass windows"


"CHURCH"


"PLACE BOURG-DE-FOUR - The oldest square in Old Town Geneva was magnificent. 26º degrees Celsius on October 27, 2006 in Geneva... of course there is global warming!!"


"TEUSCHER - The best chocolate champagne truffles you'll ever find and a lot more. A must before saying goodbye!"