The Diet of Worms was not something Luther had for lunch

Having taken the bus downtown (and escaped arrest) I found that, it being Sunday, everything was closed. This is a reoccurring and contentious issue with myself and old Europe. I wanted to buy a digital camera, but the electronics store was closed. I wanted buy a trail map, but the outdoors store was closed. I wanted to get a book, but the... you get the idea. So I decided to hike to the top of the hill to the old town and see what was going on there.

The old town of Geneva is atop of steep hill. The stairways and cobbled paths make their way under and up through the old city walls. The Genevois now comemorate with a town holiday the day that they repelled the Duke of Savoy from these walls. My ascent was noticeably easier than the Savoyans who tried to do it with ladders, but it is still work nonetheless getting up there.

At the top I realized that the one thing that was for sure open was the old Romanesque cathedral (started contruction in about 1150 and more or less completed over the next 50 years. This being Geneva it was Jean Calvin's cathedral. It is at the highest point in the old town in the middle of a small square. I still haven't been able to find the spot where Calvin had Michael Servetus burned at the stake [more on this is a future entry], but perhaps it was here?

The inside of the cathedral is virtually bare of all ornamentation. The strictures against idolatory of the Reformation being what they were - those years were not good ones for the cathedral's interior and it had been essentially stripped clean. I didn't even see a crucifix. Interestingly, the stainglass windows are all still intact. Perhaps this is a recent addition of the last 450 years? The bare stone of the interior cathedral walls does allow one to see something of the construction of the place though and why it might have taken 50 years to build it. There are also some displays and information on the chronology, issues, and events of the Reformation which I found quite interesting.



For the bargain deal of 3 CHF I was able to climb to the top of the cathedral. The very narrow staircase took one to the top of the first bell house and then an almost impassibly tiny winding stone stairway led finally to the top of the south tower with nice view out in all directions. The picture below is looking back towards the city center and the French side of the lake. One can again see the ever present Jet d'Eau in the background. All the recent rain has dumped a ton of snow in the high country and as the rain cleared I could see the tremendous Alpine ranges out towards Morizine and beyond to Chamonix.