Switzerland Guide
Geneva
Cathédrale St-Pierre
In the heart of the Old Town the Cathédrale St-Pierre is a mishmash of architectural elements. Begun in 1160, the original building has had a multitude of bits and pieces stuck on over the centuries. A small side-chapel, the Chapelle des Macchabées, was added in 1397; a Neoclassical portico – more reminiscent of a museum than a church – was tacked onto the west front in 1752, facing onto Cour St-Pierre; the two square towers above the east end are totally dissimilar; and between them rises a curious greenish steeple added in the late nineteenth century.
As you enter, though, confusion is stripped away and you're left with the clean lines of dour, severely austere stonework. In 1535 the people of Geneva accepted the Reformation and embarked on an iconoclastic rampage: all the altars in the cathedral, as well as every statue and icon, were destroyed, the organs were smashed and the painted decoration on the interior walls was whitewashed. Only the great pulpit and, by chance, the stained glass of the chancel, survived. As you wander through the soaring interior draw your gaze upwards; almost the only decoration to survive is on the capitals of the nave's clustered pillars, grotesque monsters and a bare-breasted double-tailed mermaid. What is purportedly Calvin's chair sits at the back of the church on the left, near the door to the North Tower, which is climbable for the spectacular views (Fr.3).
You shouldn't leave without spending time in the delightful Chapelle des Macchabées, last on the left before you leave. Used as a warehouse and later as a lecture hall, it was rededicated as a place of worship in 1878 and is filled with lavish and beautiful decoration dating from then. Copies of the only fifteenth-century frescoes to survive the Reformation – angels playing musical instruments – are on the ornamented vaults of the chancel within the chapel.
Opening time: June– Sept Mon– Sat 9.30am–6.30pm, Sun noon–6.30pm; Oct– May Mon– Sat 10am–5.30pm, Sun noon–5.30pm
Price: Free