Plainpalais is a neighbourhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and a former municipality of the Canton of Geneva up to 1931. [1]
Plainpalais is a neighbourhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and a former municipality of the Canton of Geneva up to 1931. [1]
Formed from the suburban areas of Palais (plana palus: marshy plain), Saint-Léger and Saint-Victor, between the Rhône and the Arve, the territory of the former municipality covers the current neighbourhoods of Plainpalais, La Jonction, La Cluse, Les Tranchées, Champel and Le Bout-du-Monde, Les Acacias and a strip of land on the left bank of the Arve (Les Vernets). [1]
The Cimetière des Rois was created in 1482 to house victims of the plague. It was then located outside the city walls, around the Plague Hospital. Following the closure of most parish cemeteries after the Protestant Reformation (1536), the Plainpalais Cemetery remained the only one in use for the city of Geneva. It bears witness to Geneva's history and has become its Pantheon. The tomb of John Calvin stands alongside those of Beatriz Consuelo, [2] Jorge Luis Borges, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and Genevan political figures such as Léon Nicole, James Fazy or Adrien Lachenal, the first Genevan president of the Swiss Confederation. [3] [4]
It was at Plainpalais that the troops of Charles Emmanuel I massed on the night of December 11–12, 1602, during the night of the Escalade. [5]
The left bank of the Arve was disputed between the States of Savoy and Geneva until the Treaty of Turin (1754), which awarded it to the city. [1] Plainpalais became a municipality by the law of February 17, 1800, the date on which the Municipal Council and the office of mayor were established. [6] The Republic of Geneva, annexed by France from April 26, 1798 until December 31, 1813, was then part of the Léman a departement of the French First Republic then First French Empire. [7] [8]
In the 18th century, Plainpalais was primarily a market gardening suburb (cultivating cabbages, artichokes, lettuces, and cardoons) and a place for relaxation, with tree-lined avenues planted around a large diamond shape (the present-day Plainpalais plain). From 1848 onwards, the site became the property of the municipality and was used for both military and civilian celebrations. The site attracted several cultural and entertainment institutions clustered within a small radius (circus in 1865, diorama in 1880, casino in 1887, theaters, etc.) and was lastingly marked by the National Exhibition of 1896. In 1849, when the question of creating a cantonal hospital arose, the deputies chose the former property of Edouard Claparède because of its proximity to the city and its favorable exposure. The establishment of the cantonal hospital (1856), the maternity hospital (1875), the medical school (1876) and the school of chemistry (1878) diversified the activities of the municipality. [1]
This area developed under the leadership of Charles Page (mayor from 1882 to 1910): the Sous-Terre bridge (1891) and the Coulouvrenière bridge (1896), the quays along the Arve river (1890-1891), the new town hall (1888), and the community centre (1906), unique in Geneva, were built. Located near Coulouvrenière, the gasworks (1845-1914) and the Power Plant (a building constructed between 1883 and 1892) gave the municipality industrial advantages in the mechanical engineering sector (La Jonction district). [1]
In 1858, Auguste Arthur De la Rive proposed to Marc Thury that he dedicate himself to the manufacture of physics instruments and precision devices. Auguste De la Rive provided the initial capital. From 1870 onwards, under the leadership of Théodore Turrettini, the company diversified its activities into new energy sectors (hydromotors, refrigeration systems, electricity meters), as well as metrology (precision rulers). This threefold expertise led to the development, in 1921, of a machine tool that would contribute to the rise of mass production in the mechanical industry: the pointing machine, known as the "MP," capable of machining with a precision on the order of a thousandth of a millimeter. A true technological feat, this product propelled the firm to the ranks of the world's most prestigious machine manufacturers. In 1990, la Société genevoise d'instruments physiques (SIP) left its Plainpalais site for Satigny. In 2006, Starrag Group took over the activities of SIP. [9] The Bâtiment d'Art Contemporain (BAC), housed in the former factory, is located at the intersection of Rue de Bains, Rue Gourgas, and Rue des Vieux-Genadiers. Currently undergoing renovation, the BAC will bring together three cultural institutions (the MAMCO, the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève, and the Centre de la photographie Genève) to form the largest contemporary art center in Switzerland. [10] [11]
Located at the corner of Avenue du Mail, Boulevard du Pont d'Arve and Boulevard Carl-Vogt, the Temple of Plainpalais has played a central role in the Geneva community throughout the centuries. [12] [13] Having previously been based on strict religious unity, Geneva has practiced freedom of worship since 1847. [14] Following the annexation of Geneva by the French First Republic, Catholics had already obtained the right to settle there and practice their religion. In 1803, they were granted a place of worship, the Church of Saint-Germain in Geneva. [15] In addition, after the departure of Napoleon's troops, Catholic municipalities were ceded by France in the Pays de Gex in 1815 and by Savoy in 1816 to the former Republic of Geneva, which became a confessionally mixed Swiss canton. [16] [14] After the project was approved by the Geneva Grand Council in 1849, James Fazy became, from 1850 onwards, the driving force behind the demolition of the old city's fortifications and an urban transformation known as the "Fazy belt." This project allowed the city to expand beyond the boundaries of the former walls, which were then destroyed, leading to new urban development and the construction of neighborhoods, including the boulevard that bears his name. [17] Several religious buildings were erected in Geneva at the time, including the Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva, the Holy Trinity Church, Geneva, [18] the Beth Yaakov Synagogue, the Russian Church, Geneva and a Masonic Temple, which would become the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart. [19] [14]
Following its official recognition in 1852, the Jewish community built a synagogue in the Plainpalais district between 1853 and 1857, replacing the one in Carouge dating from 1787, the Beth Yaakov Synagogue, which was inaugurated in 1859. [20] [21] Banished from Geneva for centuries, Jews have had the right to citizenship since 1857. [22]
The Roman Catholic parish of the Sacred Heart of Geneva was established in 1873 following the allocation of the Church of Saint-Germain to the Old Catholic Church as a result of the Kulturkampf . [23] Built in 1859 as a single temple uniting seven Masonic lodges, the building was sold around 1870 to Roman Catholics, who have celebrated their services there since October 19, 1873. [24] Transformed and enlarged in the 1930s by Adolphe Guyonnet, [25] it suffered a major fire on July 19, 2018. [23] [26] Reopening at Easter 2024, the building has become multifunctional, housing the administration of the Roman Catholic Church of Geneva (ECR, formerly located on Rue des Granges), meeting rooms, and a function room. [27] [28] The Church houses the French-speaking Sacred Heart parish and the Spanish-speaking Catholic parish, which already existed before the fire. [29] [30]
Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, the first Genevan member of the Federal Council, was the driving force behind the creation of the Universal Postal Union in 1874 in Bern. [31] [32] He had been the director of the Venel boarding school in Champel, [31] which hosted Napoleon III and King Peter I of Serbia. [33] [34]
A horse-drawn tram line was inaugurated on June 19, 1862, between Place Neuve and Rondeau de Carouge. One hundred years later, Geneva's tram line 12 was the last one still operating there. [35] In the 20th century, Geneva's tram network nearly disappeared. Only line 12 survived. It is the oldest tram line in Europe still in operation. [36] [37] Redesigned in 1979-1980, the Plainpalais roundabout is an important intersection in the city of Geneva. The commercial activity of the adjacent district, the presence of university buildings, as well as events on the nearby Plainpalais Plain, make it a constantly lively place and an important station for Geneva's public transport network. [38]
The Boulevard des Philosophes connects the Plainpalais roundabout to the Place Édouard-Claparède named after René-Édouard Claparède, the oncle of Édouard Claparède. [39] [40] The boulevard takes its name from a hamlet that was inhabited by philosophy students from the Academy of Geneva. [39]
The Comédie de Genève was inaugurated on January 24, 1913, at number 6 Boulevard des Philosophes. The oldest Geneva institution dedicated to dramatic arts, it began as a theatre company performing in the Plainpalais community centre (now the Salle Pitoëff) rue de Carouge 52. [41] [42] A new theatre was inaugurated on Boulevard des Philosophes, in the territory of the former municipality of Plainpalais, [42] during the term of Jacques Louis Willemin, who was the son-in-law of Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero. [43]
In 1979, the theatre experienced a serious financial crisis. The creation of the Dramatic Arts Foundation (FAD) enabled the Comédie de Genève to recover. During the years 1982-1989, with the production of The Green Bird, based on the work of Carlo Gozzi, the Comédie de Genève, directed by Benno Besson, gained a significant audience. The show was revived for several seasons in Europe and Canada. However, the venue had become outdated and its size unsuitable for an institution of European stature. Faced with uncertainty regarding the theatre's future, including the possibility of relocating to the former Power Plant Building (Bâtiment des Forces motrices), [44] the FAD (the Comédie's governing body) entrusted its direction to Anne Bisang, the first woman to hold this position. [42] Since July 1, 2017, Natacha Koutchoumov and Denis Maillefer, co-directors of the Comédie, have been in charge of ensuring the relocation of the institution to the site of the Eaux-Vives station, one of the key stations on the link between the Cornavin station and the Annemasse station. [45] [46] The programming will be taken over from 2024 up to 2027 by Séverine Chavrier from Annemasse. [47] [48]
The former site boulevard des Philosophes will become a Puppet Theatre according to a decision of the City's Administrative Council on June 27, 2024. [49] [50] Once the necessary work will be carried out, the building will house the Théâtre des Marionnettes de Genève (Puppet Theatre of Geneva) and a puppet museum. [51] [52]
The writer Georges Haldas lived opposite the former Comédie theater at number 7 Boulevard des Philosophes, where a commemorative plaque has been installed. [53] He also gave his name to a garden located in front of Les Philosophes (the Philosophers' building). [54] Located at number 22 Boulevard des Philosophes, [55] the former School of Chemistry, inaugurated in 1879 and restored between 2008 and 2014, houses the Department of Mediterranean, Slavic and Oriental Languages, Literature and Civilizations, the Department of East Asian Studies and part of the University of Geneva Library's collections. [56] [57] The large amphitheater in the Philosophers' building was renamed Jeanne Hersch Auditorium on the centenary of the birth of the philosopher, who devoted herself to the "philosophy of freedom" in the wake of Karl Jaspers. [58]
Jeanne Hersch, who was Hannah Arendt's classmate for a few months in Freiburg im Breisgau, witnessed the implementation of the first anti-Jewish measures in German universities. [59] After fleeing Nazi- Germany in the autumn of 1933, Hannah Arendt worked for a short time at the League of Nations in Geneva. She helped issue entry visas for Jewish settlers and wrote speeches for the Jewish Agency for Palestine. [60]
Jeanne Hersch was secretary of the Central Committee of the Association of Friends of Republican Spain (Association des Amis de l'Espagne républicaine), which she founded with André Oltramarre on September 15, 1936 in Geneva, shortly after the start of the Spanish Civil War. The association had a dual purpose: providing informations and material assistance. [61] [62] In August of that same year, the World Jewish Congress had been founded in Geneva as a political platform to show solidarity with the persecuted Jews in Nazi Germany, to combat anti-Semitism in Europe and the oppression of Jews in the Soviet Union and to promote the political necessity of a Jewish social and migration policy. [63]
Jeanne Hersch, just like Lina Stern, also gave her name to one of the many existing nursery schools in the Plainpalais Jonction district. [64] [65]
Elected to the Federal Council on March 10, 1993, Ruth Dreifuss, after settling in the canton of Geneva, became the first female president of the Confederation in 1999. Her paternal family, of Jewish origin, had been established in Endingen since the 17th century. Her father, Sidney Dreifuss, collaborated with Paul Grüninger in the clandestine sheltering of Jewish refugees from 1938 to 1939. [66] As the events in Gaza triggered a surge in antisemitism in French-speaking Switzerland, [67] Ruth Dreifuss called on the Federal Council to admit wounded Palestinians to Swiss hospitals. [68] Switzerland launched a national strategy against racism and antisemitism for the years 2026 to 2031. [69]
Located at 66 Boulevard Carl-Vogt, [70] the Uni Carl Vogt building will change its name following a decision by the Rectorate of the University of Geneva. The decision is motivated by the racist and misogynistic theories of the german born naturalist. [71] Germany's influence in French-speaking Switzerland during the 19th century was marked by scientific figures now criticized, such as Carl Vogt, [72] first Rector of the University of Geneva, who was a student of Louis Agassiz at the Neuchâtel Academy. [73]
In 1559, the Academy of Geneva was created at the initiative of John Calvin as a theological and humanist seminary. [74] Theodore Beza was its first rector. In 1864, Carl Vogt presented a university project which was realized in 1873 with the creation of the faculty of medicine and the construction of the three university buildings of the Bastions between 1868 and 1872. [75] [76] The first botanical garden of the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the city of Geneva (Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève) was inaugurated on November 19, 1817, in what is now the Parc des Bastions, at the initiative of Augustin Pyrame de Candolle, who would serve as its director until his death in 1841. In 1816, he accepted the chair of professor of natural history in Geneva, stipulating as a condition the creation of a botanical garden to support his university teaching. The garden was established thanks to a public subscription that garnered 284 donations. [77] The Botanical Gardens were transferred to the Console site (192 rue de Lausanne) in 1904. In its present location, it occupies an area of 28 hectares (69 acres) adjacent to Lake Geneva and the park of the United Nations Office at Geneva and ranks as one of the five most important in the world. The greenhouses at Bastions were removed to make way for the Wall of the Reformers.
From 1875 to 1876, a building was constructed in Plainpalais to house a barracks, an arsenal, and a riding school with stables. The building was subsequently replaced by the former exhibition hall, then by Uni Mail. The presence of the Exhibition Palace in Plainpalais, between 1926 and 1980, reinforced the dynamism of the district. Upon its demolition, the site was occupied by one of the main buildings of the University of Geneva. [78] [79]
In 1932, the Social Democratic Party's section of Geneva protested against the National Union's plan to hold a political meeting aimed at disqualifying socialist leaders Léon Nicole and Jacques Dicker at the Plainpalais community centre. The Geneva Socialist Party called for an anti-fascist demonstration. Fearing a riot, the Council of State of Geneva requested the support of the Swiss Confederation. On November 9, 1932, at 9:34 p.m., three sections of a conscripts' company, called in to reinforce the Geneva police, feeling cornered in front of the former Exhibition Hall (Uni Mail), opened fire on the crowd, killing 13 and wounding 65. [80] [81] The November 1932 Geneva shooting, resonated worldwide due to the presence of the League of Nations. [82]
The international context was threatening with the rise of fascism in Europe. In 1922, Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy, followed by Engelbert Dollfuss in Austria in 1932. Meanwhile, the elections of July 31, 1932, foreshadowed Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933. [81] The National Union of Geneva, whose sole leader was Georges Oltramare from 1935 onwards, was the Swiss movement that came closest to the Italian fascist model. [83] A prominent figure in the Italian Socialist Party at its Zurich conference in 1913, Benito Mussolini was expelled from the party in November 1914 due to his opposition to Italian neutrality. At the end of World War I, he founded the fascist movement. Under fascist regime, Mussolini persecuted his former socialist comrades, some of whom chose exile in Switzerland. [84] [85] Despite official declarations of friendship, Mussolini sometimes expressed contemptuous judgments against Swiss institutions and democracy. [85]
On the left, the Geneva Socialist Party was dominated by Nicole's personality and rhetoric, and Dicker's political views, which favored united action with the Communists. [86] [87] The Geneva massacre of 9 November 1932 exposed the contradictions within the socialist movement and foreshadowed the split of both the Genevan Socialist Party and the Swiss Socialist Party. Relations between the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland and the Genevan Socialist Party had deteriorated since 1929. In 1935, by joining the national defense effort, the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland broke with a long antimilitarist and pacifist tradition to which the French-speaking socialists were still very attached. The Spanish Civil War contributed to radicalizing these opposing positions to the point of making them irreconcilable within the same political party. [88]
In 1939, due to a disagreement over the German-Soviet Pact and following the Soviet invasion of Finland, the Genevan Socialist Party split in two. Léon Nicole, who supported the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was expelled from the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland in September 1939. However, the majority of members of the Vaud section and the Genevan Socialist Party, which had welcomed members of the Communist Party after its banning in Geneva in 1937, supported him and founded the Swiss Socialist Federation, with Léon Nicole as its president. [89] [90] André Oltramare and Charles Rosselet left Léon Nicole’s Genevan Socialist Party to found the Socialist Party of Geneva, affiliated with the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. [91] [92] The Socialist Party of Geneva resumed the name of Geneva Socialist Party in 1941 after the banning of Léon Nicole's Genevan Socialist Party. [87] [89]
Nicknamed "the bunker" by its detractors, [93] the Uni Dufour Building was constructed in the 1970s. Inspired by Le Corbusier, Werner-Charles Francesco, Gilbert Paux, and Jacques Vicari won the competition organized in 1965 after the fire at the bâtiment électoral (election building), demolished in 1911 and rebuilt in 1915. [94] [95] The election building could accommodate up to 3,000 people and was also used for exceptional occasions, such as in 1871, the internment of French soldiers during the Franco-Prussian War, [95] one of the first large-scale humanitarian actions of the Red Cross. The rotunda housing the Bourbaki Panorama was built in 1880 on Boulevard de Plainpalais (now Boulevard Georges-Favon). In 1897, it was moved to La Jonction. The panorama then left Geneva to be reassembled in Lucerne in a building constructed in 1889. [96] [97]
A founding member of the International Committee of the Red Cross and forerunner of metrication in Switzerland, [98] [99] Guillaume Henri Dufour contributed to the creation of the International Geodetic Association as a member of the Swiss Geodetic Commission from 1861. [100] In 1866, in Neuchâtel, Carlos Ibáñez e Ibáñez de Ibero proposed the membership of Spain in the geodetic association. [101] In the second half of the 19th century, this scientific undertaking, whose objective was precise mapping, took on a global dimension. It accompanied German unification and the return of democracy in France, marked the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution, and led to the Metre Convention and the adoption of Greenwich meridian as Prime meridian.
In 1905, the first Geneva International Motor Show was hosted in the election building also named the Maison des Congrès (Congress House). [94] [95] Opposite this building at the intersection of Rue De-Candolle and Rue du Conseil-Général, the Brasserie Landolt (1875-1999) was frequented by Lenin, Chaim Weizmann, [102] then by Portuguese refugees preparing for the Carnation Revolution. [103] [104]
Inaugurated on September 25, 1901, the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève was founded at the initiative of Professor Eugène Pittard, who also established a chair of anthropology at the University of Geneva. In 1939, the museum moved to the disused Mail primary school building on Boulevard Carl-Vogt. The new MEG building, shaped like a pagoda, was inaugurated on October 31, 2014, after a four-year construction project. [105] The museum is listed as a cultural asset of national importance and won the European Museum of the Year Award in April 2017. The issue of the restitution of looted works also arises, particularly with the 2017 motion by Cédric Wermuth, which aimed to locate objects dating from the colonial period within Switzerland and return them to their countries of origin. The case of a tusk taken from the sack of Benin City in 1897 and purchased in the 1940s is cited by the Geneva Museum of Ethnography, which highlighted this theme in its 2020-2024 strategic plan. [106]
The Patek Philippe Museum, a private Swiss watch museum, is located at the Rue des Vieux-Genadiers 7, in the Plainpalais district of Geneva. [107] [108] The Patek Philippe company was founded in Geneva by Antoni Patek, a Polish independence fighter and political activist during Russian occupation of Poland, in 1839. [109] [110]
A museum is dedicated to the commune of Plainpalais before its absorption by the city in 1931. This museum was created in 1953 by the Plainpalais Interests Association. It is located in the former Plainpalais town hall, at 35 Boulevard du Pont-d'Arve, on the first floor. [111] [8]
The Plaine de Plainpalais is a large public square (78 135 square metres). [112] It is mentioned in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein . [113] [114] It is home of the Plainpalais skatepark. Inaugurated in 2012, the Plainpalais skatepark is intended for young people over the age of 10 who practise skateboarding, roller skating and BMX riding at any level. Covering 3,000 m2, it is one of the biggest skate parks in Europe. [115]
In 2010, the Municipal Fund for Contemporary Art commissioned the KLAT collective, specializing in performance and contemporary art, to create a statue representing Dr. Frankenstein's creature. [116] The first murder of the famous monster imagined by Mary Shelley in her novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, during her stay in Cologny in 1816, took place in Plainpalais. [117] Installed in 2014 near the skatepark, [118] the statue faces south, recalling the creature's flight towards Chamonix, during which it was observed by Victor Frankenstein climbing Mont Salève, visible from the Plainpalais plain. Contrary to popular belief, the monster possesses human feelings, and it is rejection that leads him to murder. [117] The work also evokes certain figures of marginality and offers them visibility in the public space. [118]
Made up of several lawns and an asphalted section, the extreme tip of the diamond shape of the Plainpalais plain, cut by the Harry-Marc street, [119] on the Place du Cirque side, has been developed into a garden adorned with a fountain, the Parc du 14-juin, formerly Parc Harry-Marc. [120] [121] The Harry-Marc Park was renamed on May 20, 2024 in reference to June 14, 1981, the date on which the principle of equality between men and women was enshrined in the Swiss Constitution. [121]
Harry Marc, whose real name was Gilbert Pichon, was the owner of the Café des Beaux-Arts, a regular haunt for actors and politicians such as Michel Simon, Jean Marais, Fernand Reynaud, and François Mitterrand. His greatest achievement was the creation of the Free Commune of Plainpalais Foundation, a philanthropic association whose symbol is a pelican holding out its alms bowl to the Genevan eagle. [122] At a funfair he organized annually, Gilbert Pichon, disguised as the mayor, would have himself weighed and collect his weight in coins, which were then donated to his charities. [119] [123]
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