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GENEVA - SWITZERLAND
Geneva (French: Genève, German: Genf, Italian:
Ginevra, Spanish: Ginebra) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after
Zurich), located where Lake Geneva (French: Lac de Genève or Lac Léman)
empties into the Rhône River. It is the capital of the Canton of Geneva.
History
Geneva was the name of a settlement of the Celtic people of the Allobroges,
and the name of Geneva, Genua in Latin (Geneva later) appeared for the first
time in the writings of Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico, his comments on
the Gallic Wars. 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 between 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 old town
St Peter's Cathedral (Temple St-Pierre) was John Calvin's own church.
It 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.
Features
Geneva is the seat of many international organizations, including the World
Trade Organization, CERN, the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), the World Council of Churches and several United Nations
organizations, such as the World Health Organization, the International
Labour Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations Children's Fund,
the World Intellectual Property Organization etc. Geneva also hosts The
International Committee of the Red Cross and Amnesty International. It was
also the seat of the League of Nations until its dissolution.
Notable sights in Geneva include its Clock Museum, Art & History Museum and
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum.
Geneva's most visible landmark however is not a museum, church or tower, but
a fountain: the Jet d'Eau, (water-jet), situated in Lake Geneva and visible
throughout the city for its 140 metre high water column.
The city is served by the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. Public
transportation within the city is provided by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG).
World Radio Geneva broadcasts from the city.
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