Geneva Saint Pierre's Cathedral

Church of St. Pierre was built between 1160-1252, on the site of the former cathedral from the 6th century. The church was rebuilt many times, the last reconstruction took place in the 18th century. In 1397, Chapelle des Macchabées were added to the original building and in 1752, the arch was added to the west facade. The interior of the Cathedral was greatly destroyed in 1535, when the inhabitants of Geneva accepted the Reformation and destroyed all the altars inside the church, leaving only the Pulpit and some paintings on top of the pillars. preserved.

The church has an old interior, the inside of the church is spacious and the decoration is quite simple but outstanding with chandeliers that look like shiny candles, with a beautiful altar, a few rows of pews and a chapel. The side aisle contains huge stone blocks - tombstones of church dignitaries from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Climb two tall towers with long spiral staircases for a 360-degree view of the entire Geneva city lake and Lake Geneva and the majestic Jet d'Eau fountain. The two towers are the North and South towers. The South Tower should be visited in good weather, as it has an outdoor balcony where visitors can freely move around and enjoy the lake view. While the upper room of the North tower is a spacious wooden room with closed windows, so it is a popular place on rainy days.

Church of St. Pierre is famous as the place where Jan Kalvin – the famous French theologian, pastor and reformer – was in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation.

On the site of the church have recently found traces of the basilica that stood here before, and the Mosaic paintings, walls, rooms and floors from buildings even older than St. Pierra centuries. There is a small museum open in the Archaeological Site to the public where they can see the artifacts and rooms found here, such as: the Roman Crypt, Monk's Cells, Allobrogian Tomb, and several AudioShows depicting history.

Address: Place du Bourg-de-Four 24, 1204 Geneva

Entrance fee: - to the Tower: 5 CHF (adult) / 2 CHF (children from 6-16 years old)

- Archaeological Site: CHF 8 (adults) / CHF 4 (students and children)

Opening hours: (Archaeological Site) daily 10:00 - 17:00