GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). It is situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Léman) flows into the Rhône River, and is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The population within the city limits is 185,526 (2004) and that of the metropolitan area which extends into France and Vaud — is about 750,000. Geneva is widely regarded as a global city, mainly due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations. A 2006 survey found Geneva to have the second highest quality of living in the world (again, after Zürich).
Geneva was the name of a settlement of the Celtic people of the Allobroges. The name of Genava (or Genua) in Latin appeared for the first time in the writings of Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico, his comments on the Gallic Wars. Its name may be identical in origin to the name of the Ligurian city of Genua (modern Genoa), meaning "knee", that is, "angle", referring to its geographical position; though more likely is based on the root gen- 'birth' (Genawa is at the birth of the river from the womb of the lake; perhaps the name in full means 'birth-water'). After the Roman conquest it became part of the Provincia Romana (Gallia Narbonensis). In 58 BC, at Geneva, Caesar hemmed in the Helvetii on their westward march. In the 9th century it became the capital of Burgundy. Though Geneva was contested among Burgundians and Franks and the Holy Roman Emperors, in practice it was ruled by its Prince-bishops, until the Reformation, when Geneva became a republic.
St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva's Old TownDue to the work of reformers such as John Calvin, Geneva was sometimes dubbed the Protestant Rome. In the 16th century Geneva was the center of Calvinism; the St. Pierre Cathedral in what is now called the Old Town was John Calvin's own church. During the time when England was ruled by the Catholic Queen Mary I Tudor, who persecuted Protestants, a number of Protestant scholars fled to Geneva. Among these scholars was William Whittingham who supervised the translation of the Geneva Bible in collaboration with Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson and William Cole.
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