The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève is a mishmash of structures and styles. Part of what we see today was built in the 12th century on remains dating from 350 A.D. Walls, rooms and mosaic floors from the earlier time have been discovered beneath the cathedral. In the late-14th century, a small side-chapel, the Chapelle des […]
Tag Archives | reformation
Auditoire de Calvin, Geneva
It’s fitting that Calvin’s namesake chapel is so austere. This single-nave chapel played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. From 1536, the auditorium was a lecture hall where Calvin espoused his theories (Geneva accepted the Reformation in 1535). When Protestant refugees flocked to Geneva from all over Europe, they were encouraged to conduct services […]
Zürich
Zürich is Switzerland’s largest city (population 380,000) and is home to the world’s most important gold and precious metal markets. River Limmat divides the city into the Niederdorf on the east bank and the old town on the west bank. It’s believed that Zürich was founded in the first century BC by two deserters who […]
The Grossmünster
In a city of churches, this one dominates the skyline. It’s fitting, since this church was the birthplace of the Swiss-German Reformation. In the 16th century, the Grossmünster’s minister, Huldrych Zwingli, transformed Zürich into an important religious center by spreading his humanist ideas. Zwingli based his philosophy on that of Erasmus, and eventually began rebelling […]
