John Calvin’s Geneva – A Walking Guide: Following the Footsteps of the Great Reformer

The purpose of this book, which is filled with photos, maps, and charts, is to give the Geneva visitor a simple, easy, and logical way to visit all the Reformation sites related to John Calvin in Geneva, in about 2 to 4 hours by foot, depending on how much he wants to see. The book also reminds the visitor of the remarkable influence this one man, John Calvin, has had around the world, an influence that can still be felt today. The book begins with a walking map of Geneva, which starts at St. Peter’s Cathedral and leads the visitor to each Calvin site sequentially. The first two chapters describe the history of Geneva and the life of John Calvin, and are best read before doing the walking tour. Chapters 3 walks the visitor through St. Peter’s Cathedral, the very church where John Calvin preached for 25 years, while chapter 4 highlights John Calvin’s Preaching, and is best read while sitting in a pew under Calvin’s pulpit so as to get the full impact of his preaching on location! Chapter 5 ushers the visitor through The Auditoire Calvin, the chapel where Calvin taught students and where John Knox pastored English refugees in Geneva for three years. Chapter 6 guides the visitor down Calvin’s Street where Calvin’s well (fountain today) and streetlight can still be seen, and the exact location where his house used to stand. Chapter 7 introduces the visitor to La Maison Tavel, a museum where one can see on the top floor an amazing giant-size model of Geneva as it looked in the mid-1850s, not much different than what it looked like in Calvin’s day. Chapter 8 leads the visitor toward the Reformation Wall with several sites to see on the way, including the Geneva City Hall and the famous Geneva Cannons. Chapter 9 describes in detail the imposing Reformation Wall that depicts the influence of Calvinism around the world. It contains several large statues of key reformers, including John Calvin, and eight large bas-reliefs recounting key Reformation events in Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Scotland, America, Britain and Hungary. Chapter 10 walks the visitor back toward a key medieval city square called Bourg-de-Four, then to Calvin’s College and Academy that Calvin founded in 1559 to train pastors, and to the Museum of Art and History for a quick look at key military equipment used in Calvin’s day in Geneva. Chapter 11 guides the visitor through the fabulous Reformation Museum highlighting many items related to John Calvin and the Reformation. For the Reformation enthusiast who wishes to see more, the appendixes gives him that opportunity. Appendix i leads the visitor through the Archeological Excavations under the Cathedral where one can see two 4th century baptisteries. Appendix ii highlights The Tomb of John Calvin as it stands today. Calvin was actually buried in a common grave and never wanted a tomb. However, Geneva, wanting to commemorate Calvin’s influence around the world, erected out of gratitude to the Reformer a simple tomb in the same graveyard in which he was originally buried. Appendix iii gives an overview of the Michael Servetus incident and highlights aspects of the Michael Servetus Memorial erected on the location where he was burned at the stake in 1553. Appendixes iv and v are summaries of Calvin’s Theology and the Five Solas of the Reformation, which depict the five fundamental truths of the Reformation. Appendix vi provides a short explanation of the famous Geneva Bible, which was completed by John Knox in Geneva in 1560. It was the first English Bible ever produced with commentaries – a Bible that greatly influenced England and America. My hope is that as Reformation enthusiasts walk the very streets that John Calvin walked and consider the many events surrounding the man and his ministry, that they would be struck by John Calvin’s influence and impact around the world – a man who was actually just a preacher!