Origins

Geneva is old, very old. I decided to explore the oldest part, where the Medieval walled city was. But there was a settlement here an eon before that, started by the Helvetii. The tribe is still remembered today, as the name of one of the main thoroughfares, Blvd Helvetique.

The archaeological exhibit under the Cathedrale Saint-Pierre is pretty cool.

This burial seems to have started it all. This skeleton was uncovered deep under the current cathedral. IApparently he was a person of consequence, honored and worshipped, and the wooden structure built over his remains was the start of a later Roman camp.

The current church is built on much older remains of several structures, at least 25 feet higher than the original hill. These walls are Roman and Medieval, the later walls being much less expert. Those Romans knew how to build. I love seeing underneath old buildings, so much history. We saw the same sort of history in Regensburg, Germany and Seattle, Washington, among others.

This the current cathedral, beautiful and pretty standard for cathedrals that started out Catholic and were still used after the Reformation. 

I was lucky enough to be able to hear the organ while I was there. Just tuning, not a full-on concert, but still, to hear organ music echoing off the Gothic stone architecture is pretty cool

And for Tolkien fans, here is an actual Duke of Rohan! His remains are entombed in this alcove, under his statue. I wonder if JRR ever visited Geneva?