Sobre este lugar
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre has watched over Geneva for more than eight centuries. Construction of the present church began around 1160 and stretched on for roughly 150 years, so the building blends heavy Romanesque bones with soaring Gothic windows, all crowned by a startling Neoclassical portico of six Corinthian columns added in the 1750s. In 1536 the cathedral was swept up in the Reformation, and its altars, statues, and paintings were stripped away, leaving the vast, whitewashed interior you see today. From this newly bare pulpit, John Calvin preached several times a week for nearly three decades, turning Geneva into the self styled Protestant Rome. Below the flagstones lies one of the largest archaeological sites in Europe, where excavations uncovered Roman mosaics, early Christian sanctuaries, and the tomb of an ancient Allobrogian chieftain. Climb the 157 steps of the north tower and the whole city, the lake, and the distant Alps open up beneath you.
Datos clave
- 1160 year — Work on the present cathedral began, and continued for around 150 years
- 157 steps — Lead up the north tower to a sweeping panorama over Geneva and the lake
- 1536 year — Geneva embraced the Reformation and St. Pierre became a Protestant church
📍 Cour de Saint-Pierre 8, 1204, Genève