Saint-Gervais
Origin of the name Saint-Gervais
The district bears the name of the church of Saint-Gervais, mentioned from 926 as a parish. An engraving of 1548 calls it « Petite Genève ».[1][4]
Founding of Saint-Gervais
Saint-Gervais is a district of the municipality of Genève, on the right bank of the Rhône, near the river crossing. Excavations in the temple have shown occupation from the Neolithic, then a Gallo-Roman sanctuary and, in the 5th century, a mausoleum from which the Christian place of worship developed. The church, mentioned from 926, was the centre of one of the city's parishes. In the Middle Ages the borough of Saint-Gervais was part of the city. It remained outside the barony of Gex, which held the rest of the right bank. From 1531 Genève incorporated it into its system of bastions. A district of watchmaking craftsmen until the 19th century, it was almost entirely demolished in the early 20th century.[1][2][3][4][5]
History of Saint-Gervais
Around 4000 BC. A Neolithic settlement occupies a terrace near the river crossing, on the site of the future temple.[1][3]
60-40 BC. The road is moved and two menhirs are laid down to level the ground.[3]
1st century. Construction of a Gallo-Roman sanctuary of mud brick and stone, with a double cult space within an enclosure. A third is added in the second half of the century.[3]
4th century. The sanctuary is abandoned after a fire, around the middle of the century.[3]
5th century. A mausoleum of limestone blocks is built beside the road. It is probably the origin of the Christian place of worship. A large cruciform funerary church is built.[3]
926. First mention of Saint-Gervais, a right-bank parish built on much older foundations.[1]
Around 1444. Fresco of the chapel of Tous-les-Saints in the church of Saint-Gervais.[1]
15th century. The church is rebuilt in the first half of the century.[3]
1531. The city razes its suburbs and builds, in stages, a system of bastions that takes in Saint-Gervais.[1]
1548. An engraving calls the district « Petite Genève ».[4]
16th century. After the Reformation, galleries are built in the church of Saint-Gervais to cope with the growing population.
1793. The rue Chevelu is named after Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who trained as a watchmaker in Saint-Gervais. A plaque there wrongly marks his birthplace, an error acknowledged in 1904.[5]
1825-1849. A suspension bridge links the Pâquis to Saint-Gervais.[2]
1933. The district has been almost entirely demolished. Some speak of a « bombardement en temps de paix ».[4]
Historic sites in Saint-Gervais
Temple de Saint-Gervais. Church rebuilt in the first half of the 15th century, which became a Protestant temple at the Reformation. It keeps the fresco of the chapel of Tous-les-Saints (around 1444).[1][3]
Passages between courtyards and buildings. Network of passages linking courtyards and buildings of the old watchmakers' district, for example between rue de Coutance 18 and place De-Grenus 9, where there is an inner courtyard and a 15th-century tower. They are closed to the public.[5]
Rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau. Former rue Chevelu, renamed in 1793 in honour of the philosopher.[5]
Remains in Saint-Gervais
Archaeological site of the temple. Beneath the temple, excavations have uncovered traces of a Neolithic settlement, a Gallo-Roman sanctuary, a 5th-century mausoleum and the early Christian funerary church. The carved pieces of the mausoleum were reused in the crypt.[3]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Genève (commune) » (Martine Piguet, Jean Terrier, Charles Bonnet, Liliane Mottu-Weber, Irène Herrmann, Charles Heimberg)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Petit-Saconnex, Le » (Catherine Courtiau)
- République et canton de Genève, Service cantonal d'archéologie, « Fouilles du temple de Saint-Gervais » (2008)
- Ville de Genève, « Histoire et développement du quartier Grottes Saint-Gervais »
- Ville de Genève, « Curiosités du quartier Grottes Saint-Gervais »
- Genève Tourisme, « Temple de Saint-Gervais »
- Office fédéral de topographie swisstopo, geo.admin.ch, nom local « St-Gervais - Temple (GE) - Genève »
Other villages near Saint-Gervais
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