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Geneva
*** Shopping-Tip: Geneva
{{otheruses}}
{{Infobox_Swiss_town|
subject_name=
Image:Armoiries_ville_Geneve.png coat of arms.html" title="Meaning of 120px 120px|none|City of Geneva [[coat of arms.html" title="Meaning of none|City of Geneva [[coat of arms">120px|none|City of Geneva [[coat of arms">none|City of Geneva [[coat of arms">120px|none|City of Geneva [[coat of arms|
canton=Geneva|district=n.a.|
nd=46|nm=12|ed=6|em=09|
postal_code=1200|
population=185,526|populationof=2004|
area=15.86|altitude=375|
mayor=Manuel Tornare|
website=www.ville-ge.ch|
map=map missing|
}}
'''Geneva''' (pronunciation /{{IPA|dÊ’É™niË?vÉ™}}/;
French language French: ''Genève'' /{{IPA|ʒənɛv}}/,
German language German: {{Audio|De-Genf.ogg|''Genf''}} /{{IPA|gɛnf}}/,
Italian language Italian: ''Ginevra'') is the second most populous city in
Switzerland, situated where
Lake Geneva (
French language French ''Lac Léman'') flows into the
Rhône River. It is the capital of the
Canton of Geneva. The population within the city limits is 185,526 (
as of 2004 2004) and that of the metropolitan area — which extends into
France — is 1,246,000 (
as of 2000 2000). Geneva's international profile as a
Global cities global city is mainly due to the presence of numerous
international organisations, including the European headquarters of the
United Nations.
See
Names of European cities in different languages for a list of the name of this city in other languages.
History
Image:Geneva - Switzerland - 2005 - 01.JPG thumb|left|250px|Rue de la Croix-d'Or, one of the main streets of Geneva, part of ''les Rues Basses''
''Geneva'' was the name of a settlement of the
Celt 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 language 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'' (
Gaul 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 among 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
Protestant Reformation 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 Queen Mary I, 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 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.
Geography
Image:Lake-Geneva-west-satellite.jpg Jura mountains.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|right|250px|Satellite photo of the Geneva region. The [[Jura mountains can be seen at the top, and the
Alps at the bottom..html" title="Meaning of right|250px|Satellite photo of the Geneva region. The [[Jura mountains">thumb|right|250px|Satellite photo of the Geneva region. The [[Jura mountains can be seen at the top, and the
Alps at the bottom.">right|250px|Satellite photo of the Geneva region. The [[Jura mountains">thumb|right|250px|Satellite photo of the Geneva region. The [[Jura mountains can be seen at the top, and the
Alps at the bottom.
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 mountains 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
Ain Départment de l'Ain to the North and the
Haute-Savoie 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 [http://www.swisstopo.ch/en/basics/geo/faq/horizon].
The second main river of Geneva is the
Arve River which flows into the
Rhône River just west of the city centre.
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. In 2000, 1,246,000 people lived 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
dual citizenship, 54.4% of people living in Geneva hold a foreign passport.
[http://www.geneve.ch/statistique/statistiques/domaines/domaine.asp?domaine=pop&sousdomaine=pop&vue=apercu]
[http://www.swissinfo.org/sfr/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=6160464]
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.
[http://www.geneve.ch/statistique/statistiques/domaines/domaine.asp?domaine=cult_media&sousdomaine=lang_religion&vue=apercu] (2000 figures.)
International organizations
Image:Geneva - Switzerland - 2005 - 02.JPG thumb|right|250px|Streets in the Old Town of Geneva
Geneva is the seat of many
international organisations, 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
World Council of Churches, the
World Wide Web Virtual Library, the
World Economic Forum, the
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.
Economy
The Geneva's economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old
Financial services finance sector, which is specialized in
private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion
United States dollar USD) and financing of
international trade. It is also an important centre of
Commodity markets commodity trade.
Geneva is the international headquarter of companies like
Serono,
STMicroelectronics,
Société Générale de Surveillance,
Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. Mediterranean Shipping Company and
SITA. Many other multinational companies like
Procter & Gamble,
DuPont,
Hewlett-Packard,
Reuters,
Japan Tobacco 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 & Co. 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.
International companies need reliable support in their business operations and, as a long-standing centre of international business and trading, Geneva provides an unrivalled portfolio of top-class back-up services, thoroughly experienced in managing the demands of multinational companies.
They include an elaborate and sophisticated banking system and infrastructure in asset management, international trading finance, commercial credits and corporate financing, a large network of specialised business lawyers, providing a full range of legal and administrative services - including subsidiaries of several renowned US law firms, the world's major auditing and accounting firms, plus a myriad of smaller fiduciaries and auditors, providing financial support services, the leading international head-hunter/recruitment firms and major advertising agencies and a network of subcontractors geared to meeting the requirements of an extremely quality-conscious industry.
Infrastructure
Transportation
The city is served by the
Geneva Cointrin International Airport. It is connected to both the Swiss railway network
SBB-CFF-FFS, and to the
France French SNCF network, including direct connections to
Paris by
TGV. Geneva is also connected to the motorway systems of both Switzerland (
A1 (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 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, who link the two banks of the Lake; however, their use is mostly touristic.
Regional trains operated by
SBB-CFF-FFS connect the main station of
Cornavin with the airport's train station, and several smaller train stations outside the city center. Trains are currently not used for transportation inside the city; however, work has started on the CEVA (Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse) project, first planned in
1884, which will connect the city's main train station with the Canton's public 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 to the existing line to France. [http://www.ceva.ch/menu/CEVA_accueil]
Utilities
Water,
natural gas and
electricity are provided to the municipalities of the Canton of Geneva by the state-owned [http://www.sig-ge.ch/ Services Industriels de Genève] (or SIG). Most of the drinkable water (80%) is extracted from the
Lake Geneva 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
hydroelectricity 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 management#Incineration waste incineration facility of [http://www.sig-ge.ch/corporate/entreprise_sig/patrimoine/cheneviers.lbl Les Cheneviers]. The remaining needs (70%) are covered by imports from other cantons in Switzerland or other European countries; SIG buys only electricity produced by
renewable energy 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 [http://www.gaznat.ch/ Gaznat]. SIG also provides telecommunication facilities to carriers, service providers and large enterprises. From 2003 to 2005 "Voisin, voisine" a
FTTH Fibre to the Home pilot project with a
Triple_play_(telecommunications) Triple play offering was launched to test the end-user market in the Charmilles district.
Education
Geneva is also home of one of the oldest universities of the world, the
University of Geneva, founded in
1559, and one of the most prestigious graduate schools of international relations, the
Graduate Institute of International Studies.
It is also home to the oldest international school in the world, the
International School of Geneva, founded in 1924 with the League of Nations.
Culture
Landmarks and Sights
Image:Grass Clock - Geneva - Switzerland - 2005.jpg thumb|left|250px|The Flower Clock
Notable sights in Geneva include the ''Flower Clock'', the ''Art and History Museum'', the ''International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum'' and the
Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the United Nations.
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.
Media
Image:Jet d'Eau - Geneva - Switzerland - September 2005 - 03.JPG Jet_d'Eau.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|250px|right|[[Jet d'Eau in Geneva.html" title="Meaning of 250px|right|[[Jet d'Eau">thumb|250px|right|[[Jet d'Eau in Geneva">250px|right|[[Jet d'Eau">thumb|250px|right|[[Jet d'Eau in Geneva
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 different
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 [http://www.radiolac.ch/ RadioLac] (
FM 91.8 MHz), [http://radiocite.ch Radio Cité] (Christian Radio, FM 92.2 MHz), [http://www.onefm.ch 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. [http://www.lemanbleu.ch Léman Bleu] is a local TV channel, founded in
1996 and distributed by cable.
Sport
The main sport team in Geneva is
Servette FC, a
football (soccer) football club founded in 1890. 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.
Geneva also has an
ice hockey club,
Genève-Servette HC, which operates in the Swiss
Nationalliga A.
Trivia
Since
1818, a particular
chestnut 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.
[[http://www.geneve.ch/grandconseil/data/presse/marronnier2006.pdf Official press release] (PDF), 14 March 2006. (in French language French).]
See also
*
List of mayors of Geneva
*
French language
*
Franco-Provençal language
Notes
References
*{{HDS|2903|Geneva (municipality)}}
* Jean de Senarclens, "''Geneva: Historic Guide''", Editions du Tricorne, 1995. ISBN 2829301447
External links
{{commons|Geneva}}
-
Official website of the City of Geneva
-
GOL: Online community which makes Geneva life more friendly and fun
-
Geneva Tourism
*''
Tribune de Genève'': [http://www.tdg.ch/tghome/english_corner/last_news.html Daily news from the city] (English)
-
Brief history of Geneva
-
Geneva information
-
Geneva public transport
*{{wikitravel}}
-
Tales of Geneva life (from 1905 till 2005)
-
The Official Chestnut tree, on the website of the Canton of Geneva (in French)
-
Geneva Genealogical Society, featuring a genealogical tree of more than 170'000 people (all linked together), a forum, and much more
{{Municipalities of the Canton of Geneva}}
Category:Geneva
Category:Cantonal capitals of Switzerland
af:Genève
ar:جنيÙ?
bg:Женева
bs:Ženeva
ca:Ginebra
cs:Ženeva
da:Geneve
de:Genf
et:Genf
es:Ginebra (ciudad)
eo:Äœenevo
eu:Geneva
fr:Genève
gl:Xenebra - Genève
ko:ì œë„¤ë°”
hi:जनीवा
hr:Ženeva
io:Genève (urbo)
id:Jenewa
it:Ginevra (città )
he:×–'× ×‘×”
la:Genava
lt:Ženeva
hu:Genf
nl:Genève
ja:ジュ�ーヴ
no:Genève
nn:Genève
pl:Genewa
pt:Genebra
ro:Geneva
rm:Genevra
ru:Женева
sh:Ženeva
scn:Ginevra (cità )
simple:Geneva
sk:Ženeva
sr:Женева
fi:Geneve
sv:Genève
vi:Geneva
tr:Genève (Kanton)
zh:日内瓦
Category:Cities in Switzerland
fr:Catégorie:Genève
*** Shopping-Tip: Geneva
