Geneva

Geneva (Fr. Geneve; Ger. Genf; Ital. Ginevra), a walled town, capital of the canton of the same name in Switzerland, is situated at the point where the Rhone issues from the S.W. extremity of the Lake of Geneva. An oppidum and a bridge existed here in Ceesar's time, and the inhabitants were Celtic Allobroges, but across the river dwelt Helvetii. It is conjectured that the site was in prehistoric times occupied by a group of lacustrine dwellings, but the depth of alluvium conceals all traces of such structures. Till the end of the 4th century of our era Geneva was more or less subject to Rome. It then passed to the Burgundians, and became in 534 part of the kingdom of the Franks. Fortwocenturiesormore the chief authority rested with the bishops under the protection of the Emperors, of the Kings of Burgundy, or the Counts of the Genevois. Calvin saved his countrymen from Catholic domination at the cost, no doubt, of some sacrifice of freedom in opinion, but after his death democracy again asserted itself, and weis then opposed by internal oligarchy. Even the temporary annexation by the French Republic in 1798 failed to establish a solid democratic constitution. The older and wealthier families still monopolised the conduct of affairs.

Geneva is divided into two by the Rhone, which is traversed by five bridges, and has a small port upon the lake. Commanding a view of Mont Blanc to the S. and of the Jura to the N.W., it is well placed, though the actual site is somewhat flat and uninteresting. The old town clusters round the cathedral, a half-Gothic, half-Romanesque structure of the 12th and 13th centuries with incongruous additions. It is small, contains some fifteenth-century glass, a few sepulchral monuments, and the remains of the old stalls. The town-hall dates from the 15th century, but the existing fabric is more modern, and possesses little interest save as having been the scene of the Alabama Conference in 1872. The court-house is a good specimen of the Mansard style, and the arsenal deserves notice. Among modern buildings the most important are the Athenee, the Rath Museum, the Fol Museum, the Conservatorium, the electoral Palace, the University, the Hall of the Reformation, and the Russian church. Railway communications make the place easy of access from all parts of Switzerland, from France, Italy, and Germany. Steamboats ply constantly to the various ports on the lake. The chief trades are watchmaking, the manufacture of musical-boxes and scientific instruments, silks, calicoes, and chemicals, printing, and wood-carving. To political and religious refugees of all sorts Geneva has been a sanctuary for many years.