Information AboutGeneve |
Geneva (pronunciation //; , mainly due to the presence of numerous International Organisation s, 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 ''Geneva'' was the name of a settlement of the 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 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'' ( 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 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 '', 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 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 . The city of Geneva has an area of 15.86 km&2, while the area of the Canton Of Geneva is 282 km&2, including the two small enclaves of Céligny in Vaud . The part of the Lake that is attached to Geneva has an area of 38 km&2 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 Départment De L'Ain to the North and the 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 {Link without Title} . 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. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} 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. {Link without Title} (2000 figures.) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Geneva is the seat of many International Organisation s, 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 Geneva's economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old Finance Sector , which is specialized in Private Banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD ) and financing of International Trade . It is also an important centre of Commodity Trade . Geneva is the international headquarter of companies like Serono , STMicroelectronics , Société Générale De Surveillance , Mediterranean Shipping Company and SITA . Many other multinational companies like Procter & Gamble , DuPont , Hewlett-Packard , Reuters , JT International (JTI) , Electronic Arts and Sun Microsystems have their European headquarters in the city too. There is a long tradition of Watch making ( Rolex , Patek Philippe , Baume Et Mercier , Franck Muller ). Two major international producers of Flavour s and Fragrance s, Firmenich and Givaudan , have their headquarters and main production facilities in Geneva. 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 French SNCF network, including direct connections to Paris by TGV . Geneva is also connected to the motorway systems of both 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. {Link without Title} Utilities , and in particular does not use electricity produced using Nuclear Reactor s 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 Gaznat . SIG also provides telecommunication facilities to carriers, service providers and large enterprises. From 2003 to 2005 "Voisin, voisine" a Fibre To The Home pilot project with a 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 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 (''water-jet''), situated in Lake Geneva. Its 140-metre-high water column is visible from many parts of the city. Media 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 ), and World Radio Geneva (FM 88.4 MHz), Switzerland's only English-language radio station. The main television channel covering Geneva is the , French Television Channels have always been available in Geneva.--> Sport The main sport team in Geneva is Servette FC , a 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 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. Official press release (PDF), 14 March 2006. (in French ). SEE ALSO NOTES REFERENCES
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