Thursday, 12 June 2014

VISIT TO EUROPE - SWITZERLAND - GENEVA - PLACE NEUVE AND THE UNIVERSITY









CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY,
C/O COL GKS REDDY,


Secunderabad - 500 015.



Visit Geneva




          Geneva (/ɨˈnvə/; French: Genève, IPA: [ʒə.nɛv]; Arpitan: Genèva, IPA: [dzəˈnɛva] and German: Genf; IPA: [ɡɛnf]) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.



          The municipality (ville de Genève) has a population (as of August 2013) of 194,458, and the canton (which is essentially the city and its inner-ring suburbs) has 474,169 residents. In 2011, the compact agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise (Greater Geneva or Grand Genève) had 915,000 inhabitants in both – Switzerland and France (< 30mins distance). Within Swiss territory, the commuter area named "Métropole lémanique" contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area (Vevey, Montreux) and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, in the neighbouring canton of Vaud (< 60mins distance).


          Geneva is a global city, a financial centre, and worldwide centre for diplomacy due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organisations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.

          Geneva was ranked as the world's ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead ofFrankfurt, and third in Europe after London and Zurich. A 2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world (behind Vienna and Zurich for expatriates; it is narrowly outranked by Zurich). The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis[citation needed] and the "Peace Capital". In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the fourth and fifthmost expensive city in the world.

          We reached Our Hotel by about 1300h and after a quick lunch, took a Tram to Geneva Lake and from there,  set out on Foot to Place Neuve through Rue de la Corraterie.






On Arrival at Geneva Railway Station from Interlaken






Another View of the Geneva Railway Station






In front of the Tourist Information Centre near the Railway Station






Outside Hotel Jade, where we were to stay for the next few days






At the Entrance of Rue de la Corraterie - The Road leading to 
Place Neuve and the Geneva Old Town






Rue de la Corraterie - The Road leading to the Place Neuve, with 
Shops on the Right and Old Town Fort Wall on the Left






An Ancient Water Tap fitted in the Old Fort Wall at 
Rue de la Corraterie (The Corraterie Road)



Place Neuve




          This place became a center of Geneva cultivation since it is bordered by the Conservatory of Music , housed in the palace of the Place Neuve in 1858 , the Grand Theatre - opened on 2 October 1879 to replace the Théâtre de Neuve ( 1100 seats) opened 18 December 1783 below the current street of the Red Cross - and the Rath Museum built in 1824 .



          An equestrian statue erected in the center of the square in 1884 is General Dufour, national hero and first director maps of Switzerland


          Bordering the square, the old walls, the Bastions Park was the first botanical garden in the city and is a haven of peace, especially for students of theUniversity nearby. Instead serve as a terminus to the first tram Geneva introduced to the Roundel Carouge on 19 June 1862 . Nowadays, several lines of public transport pass by this site.


The Rath Museum



          The Musée Rath is an art museum in Geneva, used exclusively for temporary exhibitions. It is the oldest purpose-built art museum in Switzerland. It is located on Place Neuve, in front of the old city walls, next to the Grand Théâtre and near the Conservatoire de Musique.



          The museum was built between 1824 and 1826 by the architect Samuel Vaucher on behalf of the Société des arts. It was partly paid for with funds that General Simon Rath (1766–1819) had bequeathed to his sisters, Jeanne-Françoise and Henriette Rath, for such a purpose; the remainder was paid by the state of Geneva. Vaucher designed the building as a temple of the muses, inspired by Ancient Greek temples.



          At first the museum was used for both permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as art teaching and as a cultural meeting place. By 1880 it had become too small for its collections. Since the opening of the larger Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in 1910, the Musée Rath has been devoted to temporary exhibitions of Swiss and international art, and archaeology.






Rath Museum, located at Place Neuve, Geneva



Music Conservatory of Geneva



          The Conservatoire de musique de Genève is a music school in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded by François Bartholoni in 1835. This conservatory is the oldest music education institution in Switzerland and one of the oldest conservatory in Europe. Franz Liszt has taught at this conservatory during the first year of its history. The Geneva International Music Competition was founded in 1939 (the first international competition) in this Conservatory. The Conservatory of music hosts 2 400 non-professional students. From 2009, the professional courses are led by the Geneva University of Music (Haute école de musique de Genève).












The Conservatoire de Musique de Geneve located at Place Neuve


The Grand Theatre of Geneva



          As with many other opera houses, the Grand Théâtre de Genève is both a venue and an institution. The venue is a majestic building, towering over Place Neuve, officially opened in 1876, partly destroyed by fire in 1951 and reopened in 1962, after extensive refurbishments, which houses the largest stage in Switzerland. As an institution, it is the largest production and host theatre in French-speaking Switzerland, featuring opera and dance performances, recitals, concerts and, occasionally, theatre.

        During the 17th and early 18th centuries, Geneva was heavily influenced by Calvinist orthodoxy and it was not until the middle 1760s that the city agreed to the building of the Théâtre de Rosimond, Geneva's first opera house. Under the influence of Voltaire opera began to flourish at La Grange aux Etrangers and its successor theatre, the Théâtre de Neuve, both of which were located outside the walls of the city.







The Grande Theatre de Geneve Located at the Place Neuve, Geneva






Old Town Fort Wall as seen from The Place Neuve






A closer view of Old Town Fort Wall, as seen from The Place Neuve



The University of Geneva



          The University of Geneva (French: Université de Genève, informally known as Geneva University or UNIGE) is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin, as a theological seminary and law school. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for Enlightenment scholarship. In 1873, it dropped its religious affiliations and became officially secular. Today, the university is the second-largest university in Switzerland by number of students. In 2009, the University of Geneva celebrated the 450th anniversary of its founding.



          UNIGE has programs in various fields but is particularly acknowledged for its academic and research programs in international relations (with Geneva being hostess to a dense agglomeration of international organizations), law, astrophysics, astronomy, genetics (with a record of prominent contributions to the fields of planetary science, genetics, developmental psychology, neuroscience, and theology). The university holds and actively pursues teaching, research, and community service as its primary objectives. In 2011, it was ranked 73rd worldwide by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 69th in the QS World University Rankings.









The Main Administrative Building of the University of Geneva






The Rear Entrance Gate of Geneva University



The Reformation Wall



          The International Monument to the Reformation (French: Monument international de la Réformation, German: Internationales Reformationsdenkmal), usually known as the Reformation Wall, is a monument in Geneva, Switzerland. It honours many of the main individuals, events, and documents of the Protestant Reformation by depicting them in statues and bas-reliefs.



        The Wall is in the grounds of the University of Geneva, which was founded by John Calvin, and was built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Calvin's birth and the 350th anniversary of the university's establishment. It is built into the old city walls of Geneva, and the monument's location there is designed to represent the fortifications', and therefore the city of Geneva's, integral importance to the Reformation.



         Inaugurated in 1909, it was the culmination of a contest launched to transform that part of the park. The contest, which involved 71 other proposals, received entries from across the world. The winning design was put forward by four Swiss architects: Charles Dubois, Alphonse Laverrière, Eugène Monod, and Jean Taillens (whose other design came third). The sculptures were then created by two French sculptors: Paul Landowski and Henri Bouchard.

         During the Reformation, Geneva was the centre of Calvinism, and its history and heritage since the sixteenth century has been closely linked to that of Protestantism. Due to the close connections to that theology, the individuals most prominently depicted on the Wall were Calvinists; nonetheless, key figures in other theologies are also included.







At the centre of the monument, four 5 m-tall statues of Calvinism's main proponents
are depicted: from left to Right as seen are Theodore Beza (1519 – 1605), 
John Calvin (1509 – 1564), William Farel (1489 – 1565) 
and John Knox (c.1513 – 1572).






To the right (ordered from left to right) are 3 m-tall statues of: 
Roger Williams (1603 – 1684), Oliver Cromwell (1599 – 1658)
and Stephen Bocskay (1557 – 1607)






The Building, just outside the Rear Entry Gate of the University, where, 
the Concept of "Red Cross Society" is believed to have been Conceived






A Closer view of the same Building








Note:- The information about the places visited has been Extracted from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia 

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