Canton Fribourg - morning dawns along the Schwarzsee (Black Lake), the sun shining through the morning mist on the grassy mountain slopes surrounding the lake.
We enjoy another fine breakfast of eggs, sausages, cheese and an assortment of fresh fruit, yogurt, bread and jam, and muesli. And, of course, coffee served European style, the cream already heated. Our Turner Hall Swiss Heritage tour group boards the bus and heads west, destination: Geneva.
We take the main highway west along the north shore of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) which is a giant deep water bulge in the River Rhone. The river rises in the Rhone Glacier on the southern side of the Swiss Alps at the far eastern end of canton Valais. It passes through Lake Geneva and at the western end of the lake resumes its course through southeastern France on its journey to the port of Marseilles and the Mediterranean Sea.
Along the northern shore of the lake, we pass through wine country. The steep hillsides are covered with manicured vineyards. These sun-splashed vineyards, dating back centuries, reach the edge of the highway. Not a square yard of productive land is wasted.
We pass through Lausanne, and soon reach canton Geneva on the far southwestern corner of Switzerland, surrounded by France to the north, west and south. Geneva, the canton, is one of Switzerland's smallest. Geneva, capital of the canton, is Switzerland's second largest city, after Zurich.
When the Romans took it over in 121 B.C., Geneva was fortified against Helvetic tribes. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire and acquired its first bishop in the fifth century. In the Middle Ages, it was under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, followed by control under the House of Savoy.
The Protestant Reformation reached the city in the early 1500s. The Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva offered itself to the early Swiss Confederacy. Reformist John Calvin became the spiritual leader of the city, not to be confused with Swiss reformists Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger operating in Zurich. Geneva, under the influence of Calvin, became known as the "Protestant Rome."
Geneva, under the spiritual leadership of Calvin, persecuted Catholics. By the 18th century, Geneva again came under Catholic influence and was annexed by revolutionary France in 1798. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Geneva was admitted to the present Swiss confederation. In 1907, separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished and became the seat of many international organizations.
Henry Durant, born to a Calvinist family in Geneva in 1828, set up the Geneva branch of the YMCA and was the driving force behind making it an international organization. In 1863 he met with four other Geneva citizens and formed the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. This led to the formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Later, he was instrumental in the creation and adoption of the original Geneva Conventions that sets out rules governing prisoners of war; treatment of wounded soldiers on the battlefield; neutrality of medical staff, vehicles and buildings; and stating that all combatants shall be cared for. Durant was awarded the very first Nobel Peace Prize for this accomplishment.
When a bank of which Durant was a director failed in 1867, he was forced to resign from the Red Cross and was expelled from the YMCA. He died penniless, in obscurity. But his legacy lives on through the Geneva Conventions and the ICRC, headquartered in Geneva.
As author Diccon Bewes observes about Switzerland and the Red Cross, "The big difference between the two is that while the Red Cross deals with the aftermath of the latest war, Switzerland prepares for the next one; two sides of the same coin, just as their flags are the reverse of each other's."
Among the older international organizations following the ICRC in Geneva were the International Telecommunication Union in 1868 and the Universal Postal Union in 1874. Following WWI, the League of Nations and the International Labor Organization were hosted in Geneva.
Geneva now hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is truly a global city, a financial center and worldwide center for diplomacy due to its large number of international organizations.
At least 21 international bodies now are headquartered in Geneva, including 15 specialized agencies carrying out functions on behalf of the United Nations. The latter include the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, the World Trade Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
About 250 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are headquartered in Geneva, including the World Council of Churches.
The NGOs employ an estimated 42,000 people. With this, it is not surprising that some 48 percent of Geneva's population are resident foreign nationals.
Although Geneva has historically been considered a Protestant city and the base of reformist John Calvin, it has changed. Because of substantial immigration from France and other predominantly Catholic countries, and general European secularization, the religious landscape has changed, with about three times as many Catholics as Protestants now living in the city.
After a guided tour through the city, we return east along the north shore of the lake. We would not want to pass through the vineyards along the lake without sampling some wares. We stop at the Hammel vineyards for a tour of the winery and enjoy some of its fine wines.
It has been an educational and enjoyable day. We return to our lodging alongside the Schwarzee for another fine dinner.
Next week: Basal, Schaffhausen, and farewell to Switzerland.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
We enjoy another fine breakfast of eggs, sausages, cheese and an assortment of fresh fruit, yogurt, bread and jam, and muesli. And, of course, coffee served European style, the cream already heated. Our Turner Hall Swiss Heritage tour group boards the bus and heads west, destination: Geneva.
We take the main highway west along the north shore of Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) which is a giant deep water bulge in the River Rhone. The river rises in the Rhone Glacier on the southern side of the Swiss Alps at the far eastern end of canton Valais. It passes through Lake Geneva and at the western end of the lake resumes its course through southeastern France on its journey to the port of Marseilles and the Mediterranean Sea.
Along the northern shore of the lake, we pass through wine country. The steep hillsides are covered with manicured vineyards. These sun-splashed vineyards, dating back centuries, reach the edge of the highway. Not a square yard of productive land is wasted.
We pass through Lausanne, and soon reach canton Geneva on the far southwestern corner of Switzerland, surrounded by France to the north, west and south. Geneva, the canton, is one of Switzerland's smallest. Geneva, capital of the canton, is Switzerland's second largest city, after Zurich.
When the Romans took it over in 121 B.C., Geneva was fortified against Helvetic tribes. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire and acquired its first bishop in the fifth century. In the Middle Ages, it was under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, followed by control under the House of Savoy.
The Protestant Reformation reached the city in the early 1500s. The Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva offered itself to the early Swiss Confederacy. Reformist John Calvin became the spiritual leader of the city, not to be confused with Swiss reformists Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger operating in Zurich. Geneva, under the influence of Calvin, became known as the "Protestant Rome."
Geneva, under the spiritual leadership of Calvin, persecuted Catholics. By the 18th century, Geneva again came under Catholic influence and was annexed by revolutionary France in 1798. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Geneva was admitted to the present Swiss confederation. In 1907, separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished and became the seat of many international organizations.
Henry Durant, born to a Calvinist family in Geneva in 1828, set up the Geneva branch of the YMCA and was the driving force behind making it an international organization. In 1863 he met with four other Geneva citizens and formed the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded. This led to the formation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Later, he was instrumental in the creation and adoption of the original Geneva Conventions that sets out rules governing prisoners of war; treatment of wounded soldiers on the battlefield; neutrality of medical staff, vehicles and buildings; and stating that all combatants shall be cared for. Durant was awarded the very first Nobel Peace Prize for this accomplishment.
When a bank of which Durant was a director failed in 1867, he was forced to resign from the Red Cross and was expelled from the YMCA. He died penniless, in obscurity. But his legacy lives on through the Geneva Conventions and the ICRC, headquartered in Geneva.
As author Diccon Bewes observes about Switzerland and the Red Cross, "The big difference between the two is that while the Red Cross deals with the aftermath of the latest war, Switzerland prepares for the next one; two sides of the same coin, just as their flags are the reverse of each other's."
Among the older international organizations following the ICRC in Geneva were the International Telecommunication Union in 1868 and the Universal Postal Union in 1874. Following WWI, the League of Nations and the International Labor Organization were hosted in Geneva.
Geneva now hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is truly a global city, a financial center and worldwide center for diplomacy due to its large number of international organizations.
At least 21 international bodies now are headquartered in Geneva, including 15 specialized agencies carrying out functions on behalf of the United Nations. The latter include the World Health Organization, the International Telecommunications Union, the World Trade Organization and the World Meteorological Organization.
About 250 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are headquartered in Geneva, including the World Council of Churches.
The NGOs employ an estimated 42,000 people. With this, it is not surprising that some 48 percent of Geneva's population are resident foreign nationals.
Although Geneva has historically been considered a Protestant city and the base of reformist John Calvin, it has changed. Because of substantial immigration from France and other predominantly Catholic countries, and general European secularization, the religious landscape has changed, with about three times as many Catholics as Protestants now living in the city.
After a guided tour through the city, we return east along the north shore of the lake. We would not want to pass through the vineyards along the lake without sampling some wares. We stop at the Hammel vineyards for a tour of the winery and enjoy some of its fine wines.
It has been an educational and enjoyable day. We return to our lodging alongside the Schwarzee for another fine dinner.
Next week: Basal, Schaffhausen, and farewell to Switzerland.
- John Waelti of Monroe can be reached at jjwaelti1@tds.net. His column appears Fridays in the Monroe Times.
