St. Pierre Cathedral

Geschichte

The St. Pierre Cathedral is a cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, today belonging to the Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva. It is known as the adopted home church of John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Inside the church is a wooden chair used by Calvin.HistoryIt was begun under Arducius de Faucigny, the prince-bishop of the Diocese of Geneva, around 1160. It was originally built in Romanesque style and was completed a hundred years later in Gothic style. A Neo-Classical main facade was added in the 18th century.The area beneath the Cathedral has recently been excavated extensively, revealing a history of the site dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. From the 8th to 10th centuries it was one of three cathedrals to coexist on the site. The present building has grown from a cathedral devoted to ecclesiastical use and an early Christian funerary cult; the other two structures, subsumed in the 12th century by the growth of the surviving building, were apparently for different uses, one for public sacraments and the other for church teachings.The German painter Konrad Witz painted an altarpiece, the so-called St. Peter Altarpiece, for the Cathedral in 1444, now in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, which contains his composition, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes.

"La Cathédrale Saint-Pierre est le monument le plus visité de Genève. Il accueille environ 400'000 personnes par année. Le panorama depuis le haut des tours est exceptionnel.Il faut compter environ une heure pour la visite rapide de la Cathédrale, la Chapelle des Macchabées et la vue panoramique unique depuis les tours, une heure pour le Site archéologique et encore une heure pour le Musée de la Réforme. Il faut évidemment compter davantage pour une visite approfondie."