History of Geneva

The History of Geneva dates from before the Roman occupation in the second century BC. Now the principal French-speaking city of Switzerland, Geneva was an independent city state from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century. John Calvin was the Protestant leader of the city in the 16th century.

Geneva first appears in history as an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Celtic Helvetii tribe, which the Romans took in 121 BC.

In 58 BC, Caesar, Roman governor of Gaul, destroyed the Rhône bridge at Geneva and built a 19-mile earthwork from Lake Geneva to the Jura Mountains in order to block the migration of the Helvetii, who "attempted, sometimes by day, more often by night, to break through, either by joining boats together and making a number of rafts (ratis), or by fording the Rhône where the depth of the stream was least" (De Bello Gallico, I, 8). Then he helped establish Geneva as a Roman city (vicus and then civitas) by setting up camp there and significantly increasing its size.

In 443, Geneva was taken by Burgundy, and with the latter fell to the Franks in 534. In 888 the town was part of the new Kingdom of Burgundy, and with it was taken over in 1033 by the German Emperor.

In 563, according to the writings of Gregory of Tours and Marius Aventicensis, a tsunami swept along Lake Geneva, destroying many settlements, and causing numerous deaths in Geneva. Simulations indicate that this Tauredunum event was most likely caused by a massive landslide near where the Rhone flows into the lake, which caused a wave eight meters high to reach Geneva within 70 minutes.

Geneva became an episcopal seat in the 4th century.

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