St. Pierre Cathedral

The St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva
Front entrance of the St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva
Front entrance of the Cathedral at night
John Calvin's chair
Jet d'Eau from the north tower of the Cathedral
This article is about the cathedral in Geneva. For the cathedral in Saint-Pierre, see St. Pierre Cathedral, Saint-Pierre.

The St. Pierre Cathedral is a cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, today belonging to the Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva. It was begun under Arducius de Faucigny, the prince-bishop of the Diocese of Geneva, in the 12th century, and includes an eclectic mix of styles. It is best 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.

The area beneath the Cathedral has recently been excavated extensively, revealing a rich 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 most famous composition, the Miraculous Draught of Fishes.

Currently, every summer a German Protestant minister is present, making it possible to hold bilingual services and meetings of both German and French Protestant worshippers.

Bells

No.
  		Name
  		Year
  		Caster,
Gussort 		Durchmesser
(mm)		 Mass
(kg)		 Strike tone
  		Tower
 
1 La Clémence 1902 H. Rüetschi, Aarau 2190 6238 g0 Nord
2 L'Accord 1845 S. Treboux, Vevey 1560 2080 c1 Süd
3 La Bellerive 1473 Nicolas Guerci 1400 1500 e1 Nord
4 La Collavine 1609 1140 1012 g1 Süd
5 L'Espérance 2002 H. Rüetschi, Aarau 930 475 a1 Süd
6 L'Eveil 1845 S. Treboux, Vevey 750 261 c2 Süd
7 Le Rappel 15. Jh. 590 133 e2 Süd
I La Cloche des Heures 1460 1290 1610 e1 Turmspitze
II Le Toscin 1509 760 270 cis2 Süd

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint-Pierre cathedral, Geneva.

External links

Ceiling of the Maccabees Chapel

Images:

Coordinates: 46°12′04″N 6°08′55″E / 46.20111°N 6.14861°E