St. Pierre Cathedral

This article is about the cathedral in Geneva. For the cathedral in Saint-Pierre, see St. Pierre Cathedral, Saint-Pierre.

St. Pierre Cathedral of Geneva
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Genève
St. Pierre Cathedral
St. Pierre Cathedral of Geneva Location of St. Pierre Cathedral in Switzerland
Country	Switzerland
Denomination	Protestant
Website	St. Pierre Cathedral
History
Founded	4th century
Architecture
Status	Cathedral
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance
Style	Gothic

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.

History

It 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.

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	North
2	L'Accord	1845	S. Treboux, Vevey	1560	2080	c1	South
3	La Bellerive	1473	Nicolas Guerci	1400	1500	e1	North
4	La Collavine	1609		1140	1012	g1	South
5	L'Espérance	2002	H. Rüetschi, Aarau	930	475	a1	South
6	L'Eveil	1845	S. Treboux, Vevey	750	261	c2	South
7	Le Rappel	15th century		590	133	e2	South
I	La Cloche des Heures	1460		1290	1610	e1	Spire
II	Le Toscin	1509		760	270	cis2	South

Gallery

• Geneva saint peter 2.JPG

  Spire of St. Pierre Cathedral

• 

  Front entrance of the Cathedral at night

• Calvin's Chair.JPG

  John Calvin's chair

• 

  Jet d'Eau from the north tower of the Cathedral

• Plafond de la chapelle des Maccabées 3.jpg

  Ceiling of the Maccabees Chapel

External links

• St Pierre's Cathedral - official web site (French)
• Photos
• A picture of the whole Cathedral from the air
• The Dalai Lama visited the Cathedral in 1999

Images:

• Stained glass
• Cathedral organ