Geneva (Switzerland)

Geneva Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zurich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). It is situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Leman) flows into the Rhone River, and is

Geneva
Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zurich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). It is situated where Lake Geneva (French Lac Leman) flows into the Rhone River, and is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. The population within the city limits is 185,526 (2004) and that of the metropolitan area — which extends into France and Vaud — is about 750,000. Geneva is widely regarded as a global city, mainly due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations. A 2006 survey found Geneva to have the second highest quality of living in the world (again, after Zurich).                                                                                            
  
Geneva

Canton
Geneva

District
n.a.
Coordinates
46°12"N 6°09"E

Population
185,526   (2004)

Area
15.86 sq.km

Elevation
375 m

Postal code
1200
Mayor
Andre Hediger

Website www.ville-ge.ch

History
Geneva was the name of a settlement of the Celtic people of the Allobroges. The name of Genava (or Genua) in Latin appeared for the first time in the writings of Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico, his comments on the Gallic Wars. Its name may be identical in origin to the name of the Ligurian city of Genua (modern Genoa), meaning "knee", that is, "angle", referring to its geographical position; though more likely is based on the root gen- "birth" (Genawa is at the birth of the river from the womb of the lake; perhaps the name in full means "birth-water"). After the Roman conquest it became part of the Provincia Romana (Gallia Narbonensis). In 58 BC, at Geneva, Caesar hemmed in the Helvetii on their westward march. In the 9th century it became the capital of Burgundy. Though Geneva was contested among Burgundians and Franks and the Holy Roman Emperors, in practice it was ruled by its Prince-bishops, until the Reformation, when Geneva became a republic. 
                                                                      
Due to the work of reformers such as John Calvin, Geneva was sometimes dubbed the Protestant Rome. In the 16th century Geneva was the center of Calvinism; the St. Pierre Cathedral in what is now called the Old Town was John Calvin"s own church. During the time when England was ruled by the Catholic Queen Mary I Tudor, who persecuted Protestants, a number of Protestant scholars fled to Geneva. Among these scholars was William Whittingham who supervised the translation of the Geneva Bible in collaboration with Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson and William Cole.
One of the most important events in Geneva"s history is l"Escalade (literally: "the scaling of the wall"). For the people of Geneva, l"Escalade is the symbol of their independence. It marked the final attempt in a series of assaults mounted throughout the 16th century by Savoy, which wanted to annex Geneva as its capital north of the Alps. This last assault happened on the night of 11-12 December 1602 and is celebrated yearly in the Old Town with numerous demonstrations and a parade of horses, cannons and armed men in period costumes.
Geneva, or officially the Canton & Republic of Geneva, became a canton of Switzerland in 1815. The first of the Geneva Conventions was signed in 1864, to protect the sick and wounded in war time.

Demographics
As of 2005, the population of the Commune (city) of Geneva was 185,028, while 441,000 people lived in the Canton of Geneva; around 750,000 people live in the Geneva urban community, which extends into Vaud Canton and neighboring France.
The population of the Canton is split between 148,500 people originally from Geneva (33.7%), 122,400 Swiss from other cantons (27.6%) and 170,500 foreigners (38.7%), from 180 different countries.[3] Including people holding multiple citizenship, 54.4% of people living in Geneva hold a foreign passport.
While Geneva is usually considered as a Protestant city, there are now more Roman Catholics (39.5%) than Protestants (17.4%) living in the Canton. 22% of the inhabitants indicate that they are not part of any religion, the rest being shared between Islam (4.4%), Judaism (1.1%), other religions and people who did not respond.

Economy
Geneva"s economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old finance sector, which is specialized in private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD) and financing of international trade. It is also an important centre of commodity trade.
Geneva hosts the international headquarters of companies like JT International (JTI), Mediterranean Shipping Company, Serono, SITA, Societe Generale de Surveillance and STMicroelectronics . Many other multinational companies like DuPont, Electronic Arts, Hewlett-Packard, INVISTA, Procter & Gamble and Sun Microsystems have their European headquarters in the city too.
There is a long tradition of watchmaking (Baume et Mercier, Chopard, Franck Muller, Patek Philippe, Rolex, etc.). Two major international producers of flavours and fragrances, Firmenich and Givaudan, have their headquarters and main production facilities in Geneva.
Many people also work in the numerous offices of international organizations located in Geneva (about 24"000 in 2001).