Chateau Chillon am Genfer See

Title

Chateau Chillon am Genfer See

Description

Beautiful view of Chillon Castle on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva. It is a medieval moated castle in the Swiss canton of Vaud.

ca. 1840

Artist

Kunstanstalt Hildburghausen (1828-1874)

The German publishing company Bibliographisches Institut was founded 1826 in Gotha by Joseph Meyer, moved 1828 to Hildburghausen and 1874 to Leipzig. Its production over the years includes such well-known titles as Meyers Lexikon.

Historical Description

Geneva was a fortified border town of the Allobroges against the Helvetii in the Celtic period. It came under Roman rule around 120 BC. From 400 to 1536 it was a bishop's see, and in the fifth and ninth centuries it also functioned as the seat of the Burgundian kings. In 1526 Geneva joined a confederation of cities together with Bern and Fribourg. The French reformer John Calvin founded the Geneva Academy, now the University of Geneva, in 1559. From 1540 to 1700, Geneva had become an important refuge and new home for Italian and French Protestant refugees. The immigrant families, however, were not only a burden for the city, but also a social and economic enrichment through their education and knowledge in silk production and trade and in the art of watchmaking, which they brought with them and settled in Geneva and the surrounding area.