Cathédrale Saint-Pierre Genève
Romanesque-Gothic hilltop church stripped bare in the Reformation, still ringing with John Calvin's austere legacy.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre in Geneva opens on a Sunday morning in August 1535, when a routine Catholic mass inside these walls became the occasion for revolt. It follows what happened when Geneva's General Council formally broke with Rome the following year, and how a French exile named John Calvin took the pulpit soon after and reshaped both the building and the city around his austere convictions. You'll hear why the walls carry no saints, frescoes or gold, and what became of the cathedral's organ. A plain wooden chair near the altar marks where Calvin is said to have preached.
This audio guide was created using AI.