Notre-Dame de Genève
Notre-Dame de Genève ( Our Lady of Geneva ; fully Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée Conception , Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception ) is the main Roman Catholic church in the Swiss city of Geneva in the canton of the same name . It was the second post-Reformation Catholic church in the city and the first new building. Today the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Friborg belonging Parish Church in 1954 by Pope Pius XII. raised to the minor basilica .
History and structure
In the course of the Geneva Reformation after 1535 all the churches in the city became Calvinist ; public practice of any other faith was forbidden. It was not until the Concordat of 1801 between Pius VII and Napoleon that the cantonal government obliged to allow a Roman Catholic church in the city. In 1803, the 13th century church of Saint-Germain was given to the Catholics .
By the middle of the 19th century, the Catholic community had grown to a good 10,000 members. Part of the razed city fortifications for a new church was given to her. The main sponsor of the building of Notre-Dame was its first rector , later Cardinal Gaspard Mermillod .
The French architect Alexandre Grigny created the plans for a representative three - aisled neo - Gothic basilica on a cross plan based on the models of the cathedrals of Beauvais and Amiens . The foundation stone was laid in 1852. In the following years, donations were collected for the construction project across Europe. On October 4, 1857, the first holy mass could be celebrated in the still unfinished church . The consecration took place on September 8, 1859. The portal tower in the east was only built up to the third floor, just above the ridge height.
In December 1859 Pope Pius IX donated. who had taken an active part in the construction, the new church had a white statue of the Virgin Mary , which he himself had been given by Roman artists in 1854 on the occasion of the proclamation of the dogma of the " Virgin Mary and Mother of God received without original sin ". In the foot of the statue Forzani is engraved as the name of the author , probably a student of Pietro Tenerani . The sculpture, blessed by the Pope, was solemnly erected in the Basilica's Lady Chapel on February 5, 1860, combined with a consecration of the Canton of Geneva to the Blessed Virgin. Today it stands at the top of the main apse.
In the course of the Swiss Kulturkampf after the First Vatican Council , Notre-Dame was expropriated in 1875 and handed over to the newly founded Christian Catholic Church . In 1912 it was returned to the Roman Catholic community against payment of 200,000 francs .
Furnishing
Of the rich neo-Gothic furnishings , the large stained glass windows, rich in figures, are particularly remarkable. The last exterior and interior renovation of the church took place from 1978 to 1986.
organ
The organ was built in 1992 by the organ building company Saint-Martin (Neuchatel). The slider chests -instrument has 41 registers on three manuals and pedal . The playing and stop actions are mechanical.
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literature
- Catherine Courtiau: La Basilique Notre-Dame de Genève. (Swiss Art Guide, No. 937/938, Series 94). Ed. Society for Swiss Art History GSK. Bern 2013, ISBN 978-3-03797-120-8 .
Web links
- Parish website (French)
- Swiss basilicas on GCatholic
- Tourism website of the city of Geneva (French)
- Virtual tourist
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f History of the parish
- ↑ Saint-Germain has belonged to the Christian Catholic community since 1873 ( geneve-tourisme.ch ).
- ↑ geneve-tourisme.ch
- ↑ Information on the organ
Coordinates: 46 ° 12 '31.3 " N , 6 ° 8' 31.2" E ; CH1903: four hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and thirty-two / 118301