Breisach am Rhein, DE

St. Stephan's Cathedral

Often the focus of German and European politics, the history of the 'mother town of Breisgau' dates back over 4000 years.

Since the early Stone Age people have settled on the plateau which is today the Cathedral hill. During the Celtic age this used to be the residence of a prince, who held trade connections to the Mediterranean.

The Romans also discovered the hill's strategic meaning and built a fort on which emperor Valentinian I on the 30. August 369 dismissed an edict, which Breisach owes its first documentary reference to as 'brisiacus' (which means "water breaker" in Celtic).


Part of the wall around the "Old Town"



Around 400 the fort was conquered by the Alemanni and in the following centuries Breisach emerged as one of the most important towns on the Upper Rhine.

In 1273 Breisach became a free imperial town. This was the base for its boom years and political importance. Several convents were established that were beside the St. Stephan's Cathedral -which was built in the 12th to 15th century- the religious and cultural centre of the aspiring community, which had belong to Austria since 131.


The door to Breisach


The Rhine used to reach the door of Breisach, but now there is a bridge

In 1500 during the regime of Emperor Maximilian I. trade was developed and Breisach became an industry town, one of the strongest forts in Europe.


The Town Hall in 1536


A painting of Bresiach in the 1500's (click on photo to enlarge)



Town Hall 2009


In the Thirty Year's War, duke Bernhard von Weimar in 1638 captured Breisach only through leaguer and famishment that lasted for months. After his death in 1639 the town fell under the governance of France for nearly 60 years. Ludwig XIV expanded it with his master builders, Vauban and Tarade, to fortify the city against the Habsburg empire. In 1697 during the peace of Rijswijck he had to return Breisach to the Holy Roman Empire.


A gateway to the "Old Town"

To replace the lost of 'old' Breisach France built the 'fort asterisk', Neuf Brisach which exists to today on the opposite site of the Rhine.

In 1790, Breisach was part of Further Austria. In the revolutionary wars in 1793, Breisach was widely destroyed and then, in 1805, annexed to the de facto re-established state of Baden.

In the 19th century during the rebuilding of Breisach the centre of the town shifted from the Cathedral hill to the lower town. After the end of World War I. the boom stagnated.


Looking through the gateway into the "Old Town"

During the Nazi regime the over 700 years old Jewish community of Breisach experienced massive prosecution and even annihilation. In 1938 the synagogue was destroyed and in 1940 the last remaining Jewish citizens were deported to camp Gurs (Southern France). Only few survived the fright of force exile, deportation and extermination camp.


A Modern Gateway

Resulting from the ruth experiences of its alternating history and in the awareness of a necessary peaceful cohabit of several nations and cultures, 96% of the voters in Breisach elected -first in Europe- on the 9th of Juli 1950 in a ballot for a united and free Europe, base of the honorary title 'European town'.


Münster St. Stephan

St. Stephan's cathedral of Breisach, is situated on top of the cathedral hill. The town's landmark overlooks the houses of the old town and the Rhine lowlands. Its two towers guide the visitor the to an interesting building, where he/she discovers numerous treasures and outstanding artworks. Roman and gothic elements can be found in the cathedral, which has presumably been build from the end of the 12th century on to the end of the 15th century.


St. Stephan's Cathedral on the Vulkanberg



The Catherdral in B&W



St. Stephan's Catherdral

The rich collection of art treasures inside the cathedral includes "The Last Judgment" by Martin Schongauer. The artist originally hailed from the neighboring town of Colmar and worked on this masterpiece from 1488 until his death on February 2, 1491. Although time, destruction, and a poor restoration attempt in 1931 have eradicated many of the details of the composition, the magnificent impression it makes on the viewer remains unbroken. On the west wall, Christ is shown seated on a rainbow throne as the judge of the world. The lily, a symbol of mercy, and the sword symbolize the judge's decision. Speech banners make reference to the judgment - hopeful expectancy on the one side and deep despair on the other. The mural continues on the north wall with its depiction of Hell. A sea of flames with horrifying figures represents the tortures of the damned. The atmosphere on the south wall, with a depiction of the saved souls entering Paradise, is joyful and relaxed by comparison. Angels accompany the group, which unites members of all classes, to the gates of Heaven, where a large tablet describes heavenly pleasures.


The medieval painting from Martin Schongauer -1491 (click on photo)

The high altar was created from 1523 - 1526 by Master H.L. (Hans Loi), the same artist who made the altar in the Michaeliskirche in Niederrotweil. The center shrine shows an astonishingly lifelike depiction of the crowning of Mary. God the Father and Christ hold a crown, beautifully decorated with blossoms and angels playing music, high over Mary's head. The Holy Ghost is symbolized by a dove hovering above the crown. On the left side panel, we see the church patron Stephanus, with the stones on the book in his left hand reminding us of his martyrdom, and St. Laurentius standing next to him. The right panel is dedicated to the city patron saints Protasius and Gervasius. The altar rests on a predella with a representation of the four evangelists.

A decorative top piece attributed to a student of Hans Loi, also skillfully carved, reaches up to the ribs of the vault. In the center sits Anna Selbdritt, with Vitalis and Valeria, the parents of the city's patron saints, at her sides. They are framed by angels playing music, and the suffering Jesus looms over everyone.


The high alter from Master HL

In the Crypt on the east side of the church, the artist Helmut Lutz from Breisach created the so called "Dornenkranz" in memory of the city's suffering.


Christ on the cross


The Dornenkranz


The Gothic style ceiling of the Crypt


Kaiserstuhl


View of the Kaiserstuhl from Breisach

The Kaiserstuhl(emperor's chair) is also located only a few kilometres from Breisach. Originated from vulcanic soil the Kaiserstuhl offers an ideal climatic and geological foundation for growing wine. The Kaiserstuhl is the warmest and most sunny area not only in Baden, but in the whole of Germany.

Every year at the end of August, there is the Breisach Wine Festival. One can sample the local wine on the banks of the Rhine.


An old grape press


Winegrowing was cultivated by the Romans. Nowadays, there are over 4000 hectars of vineyards in the area. Wine from the Kaiserstühl, especially its pinot gris and pinot noir has reached a leading position in Germany.


Early afternoon at the Breisach Wine Festival



A local band at the wine festival



Photos from Breisach


Radbrunnen Tower



The Eckartsberg - one of the six hills of Breisach



A view of the Rhine River and France in the background



A colorful German house



The former French Military House

Genève, Genf, Ginevra, Genevra

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandie (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). Situated where the Rhône River exits Lake Geneva (in French known as Lac Léman), it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

The city proper had a population of 186,825 in June 2008, and the metropolitan area had 812,000 residents, according to a 2007 census. The Geneva metropolitan area extends partly over Switzerland (517,000 inhabitants) and partly over France (293,000 inhabitants).

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The jet d'eau

Geneva is a worldwide centre for diplomacy and international cooperation, and is widely regarded as a global city, mainly because of the presence of numerous international organisations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.




The symbol of Geneva




Geneva has been described as the world's sixth most important financial centre by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Tokyo, Chicago, Frankfurt and Sydney, and a 2009 survey by Mercer found Geneva to have the third-highest quality of life in the world (narrowly outranked by Zürich). The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the "Peace Capital".

The name Geneva is probably of Celtic origin. The city was mentioned in Latin texts with the spelling Genava. The name takes various forms in modern languages. Thus, it is Geneva in English, French: Genève, German: Genf, Italian: Ginevra, and Romansh: Genevra.


Geneva first appears in history as a border town, fortified against the Celto-Germanic Helvetii, which the Romans took in 121 B.C. It became an episcopal seat in the 4th century. In A.D. 443 it 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. According to legendary accounts found in the works of Gregorio Leti ("Historia Genevrena", Amsterdam, 1686) and Besson ("Memoires pour l'histoire ecclésiastique des diocèses de Genève, Tantaise, Aoste et Maurienne", Nancy, 1739; new ed. Moutiers, 1871), Geneva was Christianised by Dionysius Areopagita and Paracodus, two of the seventy-two disciples, in the time of Domitian; Dionysius went thence to Paris and Paracodus became the first Bishop of Geneva but the legend is fictitious, as is that which makes St. Lazarus the first Bishop of Geneva, an error arising out of the similarity between the Latin names Genara (Geneva) and Genua (Genoa, in northern Italy). The so-called "Catalogue de St. Pierre", which names St. Diogenus (Diogenes) as the first Bishop of Geneva, is unreliable.


Morning view in the Old Town


The spire of St. Pierre




A letter of St. Eucherius to Salvius makes it almost certain that St. Isaac (c. 400) was the first bishop. In 440 St. Salonius appears as Bishop of Geneva; he was a son of St. Eucherius, to whom the latter dedicated his Instructiones'; he took part in the Councils of Orange (441), Vaison (442) and Arles (about 455), and is supposed to be the author of two small commentaries, In parabolas Salomonis and on Ecclesisastis (published in P. L., LII, 967 sqq., 993 sqq. as works of an otherwise unknown bishop, Salonius of Vienne). Little is known about the following Bishops Theoplastus (about 475), to whom St. Sidonius Apollinaris addressed a letter; Dormitianus (before 500), under whom the Burgundian Princess Sedeleuba, a sister of Queen Clotilde, had the remains of the martyr and St. Victor of Soleure transferred to Geneva, where she built a basilica in his honour; St. Maximus (about 512-41), a friend of Avitus, Archbishop of Vienne and Cyprian of Toulon, with whom he was in correspondence (Wawra in "Tübinger Theolog. Quartalschrift", LXXXV, 1905, 576-594). Bishop Pappulus sent the priest Thoribiusas his substitute to the Synod of Orléans (541). Bishop Salonius II is only known from the signatures of the Synods of Lyon (570) and Paris (573) and Bishop Cariatto, installed by King Guntram in 584, was present at the two Synods of Valence and Macon in 585.


Place Neuve



The Opera House of Geneva




From the beginning the bishopric of Geneva was a suffragan of the archbishopric of Vienne. The bishops of Geneva had the status of prince of the Holy Roman Empire since 1154, but had to maintain a long struggle for their independence against the guardians (advocati) of the see, the counts of Geneva and later the counts of the House of Savoy. In 1290 the latter obtained the right of installing the vice-dominus of the diocese, the title of Vidame of Geneva was granted to the counts of the House of Candia under count François de Candie of Chambery-Le-Vieux a Chatellaine of the Savoy, this official exercised minor jurisdiction in the town in the bishop's. In 1387 Bishop Adhémar Fabry granted the town its great charter, the basis of its communal self-government[9], which every bishop on his accession was expected to confirm. When the line of the counts of Geneva became extinct in 1394, and the House of Savoy came into possession of their territory, assuming after 1416 the title of Duke, the new dynasty sought by every means to bring the city of Geneva under their power, particularly by elevating members of their own family to the episcopal see. The city protected itself by union with the Swiss Federation (German: Eidgenossenschaft), uniting itself in 1526 with Berne and Fribourg.


St. Pierre's Tower's facade



The Tower of St. Pierre


Inside St. Pierre


The Organ

The Protestant Reformation plunged Geneva into new entanglements: while Bern favoured the introduction of the new teaching and demanded liberty of preaching for the Reformers Guillaume Farel and Antoine Froment, Catholic Fribourg renounced in 1511 its allegiance with Geneva. In 1532 the Roman Catholic bishop of the city was obliged to leave his residence, never to return. In 1536, the Genevans declared themselves Protestant and proclaimed their city a republic. The Protestant leader John Calvin was based in Geneva from 1536 to his death in 1564 (save for an exile from 1538 to 1541), and became the spiritual leader of the city. Geneva became a centre of Protestant activity, producing works such as the Genevan Psalter, though there were often tensions between Calvin and the city's civil authorities. Though the city proper remained a Protestant stronghold, under St. Francis de Sales a large part of the historic diocese returned to Catholicism in the early seventeenth century.

During the French Revolution (1789-1799), aristocratic and democratic factions contended for control of Geneva. In 1798, however, France, then under the Directory, annexed Geneva and its surrounding territory.



Flags in the Old Town


In 1802 the diocese was united with that of Chambéry. At the Congress of Vienna of 1814-15, the territory of Geneva was extended to cover 15 Savoyard and six French parishes, with more than 16,000 Catholics; at the same time it was admitted to the Swiss Confederation. The Congress expressly provided—and the same proviso was included in the Treaty of Turin (16 March 1816) -- that in these territories transferred to Geneva the Catholic religion was to be protected, and that no changes were to be made in existing conditions without the approval of the Holy See. The city's neutrality was guaranteed by the Congress. Pius VII in 1819 united the city of Geneva and 20 parishes with the Diocese of Lausanne, while the rest of the ancient Diocese of Geneva (outside of Switzerland) was reconstituted, in 1822, as the French Diocese of Annecy.

The Great Council of Geneva (cantonal council) afterwards ignored the responsibilities thus undertaken; in imitation of Napoleon's "Organic Articles", it insisted upon the Placet, or previous approval of publication, for all papal documents. Catholic indignation ran high at the civil measures taken against Marilley, the parish priest of Geneva and later bishop of the see, and at the Kulturkampf, which obliged them to contribute to the budget of the Protestant Church and to that of the Old Catholic Church, without providing any public aid for Catholicism.

On 30 June 1907, aided by strong Catholic support, Geneva adopted a separation of Church and State. The Protestant faith received a one-time compensatory sum of 800,000 Swiss francs (then about US$160,000), while other faiths received nothing. Since then the Canton of Geneva has given aid to no creed out of either state or municipal revenues.


The international status of the city was highlighted after World War I when Geneva became the seat of the League of Nations in 1919 — notably through the work of the Federal Council member Gustav Ador and of Swiss diplomat William Rappard.

In the wake of the war, a class struggle in Switzerland grew and culminated in a general strike throughout the country — beginning on Armistice Day, 11 November
1918, and directed from the German-speaking part of the nation. But the prevailing friendliness toward France in Geneva greatly reduced its impact.

On 9 November 1932, several small Fascist-inspired political parties, such as the National Union, attacked Socialist leaders, which action led to a later demonstration of the Left against the Fascists. On that occasion, young recruits in the Swiss Army fired without warning into a crowd, leaving thirteen dead and 63 wounded. As a result, a new general strike was called several days later in protest.

After World War II, the European headquarters of the United Nations and the seats of dozens of international organisations were installed in Geneva, resulting in the development of tourism and of business.


The morning sun on the Museum of Art and History


As of June 2008, the population of the Commune (city) of Geneva was 186,825. The city of Geneva is at the centre of the Geneva metropolitan area, known as the agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise in French. The agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise includes the Canton of Geneva in its entirety as well as the District of Nyon in the Canton of Vaud and several areas in the neighboring French departments of Haute-Savoie and Ain. In 2007 the agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise had 812,000 inhabitants, two-thirds of whom lived on Swiss soil and one-third on French soil. The Geneva metropolitan area is experiencing steady demographic growth of 1.2% a year and the agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise is expected to reach one million people in 2030.

The population of the Canton contains 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. Including people holding multiple citizenship, 54.4% of people living in Geneva hold a foreign passport.

While Geneva is usually considered a Protestant city, there are now more Roman Catholics (39.5%) than Protestants (17.4%) living in the Canton. 22% of the inhabitants claim no religion. Some did not respond, and the remaining practice Islam (4.4%), Judaism (1.1%), or other religions.


Henry Dunant, the Founder of the Red Cross