Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

The Basilica Notre-Dame of Geneva is the main Roman Catholic church in Geneva. The church was built according to the design of Alexandre Grigny between 1852 and 1857 on the site of a former stronghold fortifications. This neo-Gothic building, whose appearance is partly inspired by the Beauvais Cathedral, could break ground thanks to the city of Geneva, which had ceded land to religious communities to build places of worship, and through donations and manual labor provided by the Geneva Catholics.

After the coming to power of an anti-clerical government, Notre Dame was occupied on June 5, 1875 and closed. This occupation is accompanied by a protest against the Roman Catholic and more unrests. The commitment of Catholics to this sanctuary becomes even greater. Notre-Dame was bought by the Catholic Church in 1911–1912.

On December 5, 1954, Bishop François Charrière, diocesan bishop, pronounced in the name of Pope Pius XII the elevation of the shrine to the rank of minor basilica.

The oldest art works of the basilica date back to the time immediately preceding the Protestant Reformation like a carved wood panel with bas-relief image of the Virgin Mary, mutilated with an ax by Protestants.

The stained glass windows of the basilica are particularly remarkable. Some are semi-industrial production neo-gothic, but most show the evolution of the art of stained glass during the twentieth century, in various styles, after those of Claudius Lavergne (installed from 1857 to 1875).

References:

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Religious sites in Switzerland

User Reviews

noemi sanrome (15 months ago)
Beautiful Catholic Basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Geneva

Soriana Martegiani (19 months ago)
Amazing place. The Organ is stunning The Saturday Mass is really blessing moment ❤

Daniel Philip (20 months ago)
They are open all day everyday and there is mass everyday. Masses in different languages are offered on Sundays. A place to go visit and pray (if you pray) .

Victor B (2 years ago)
Very nice stained-glass windows. Part of them were installed in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Others date back to the 20th century. Particularly, one of the works in the southern transept "Saint Mark" by Maurice Denis dates back to 1917. It is very interesting to find works of some many different artists in one cathedral. So that you can see the evolution of stained-glass artwork. The armchairs in the transept were carved in 1866.

Antoine M (2 years ago)
Absolutely gorgeous Church with stunning façade and stupendous interior in the heart of Geneva. Right across from the train station and bus exchange. A great Cathedral for young and old. There's wheelchair accessible entrance. There's Street parking or there's public parking station near the train station. If in Geneva, this is a must visit. Very friendly congregations here. Gorgeous from the outside and even more impressive inside.

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