BrantleyRider at 23:34, 28 November 2024

2024-11-28T23:34:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:34, 28 November 2024
Line 1:		Line 1:
	Reformation Wall		[[Image:ReformationsdenkmalGenf2.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|The Reformation Wall stretches for 100 m, depicting numerous Protestant figures from across Europe.]]
			[[Image:ReformationsdenkmalGenf1.jpg\|thumb\|right\|300px\|At its heart are statues to [[William Farel]], [[John Calvin]], [[Theodore Beza]], and [[John Knox]]. The [[Christogram]] can be seen below the statues.]]
			[[File:Reformation-Wall-aerial.JPG\|thumb\|right\|300px\|The International Monument to the Reformation, aerial view]]
			The '''International Monument to the Reformation''' (French: ''Monument international de la Réformation''; German: ''Internationales Reformationsdenkmal''), usually known as the '''Reformation Wall'''<ref>It is sometimes translated into other forms, including 'Wall of the Reformation' and 'Wall of the Reformers'.</ref> (French: ''Mur des réformateurs''), was inaugurated in 1909 in [[Geneva]], Switzerland. Key individuals, events, and documents of the [[Protestant Reformation]] are depicted therein in statues and [[bas-relief]]s.

			The Wall is in the grounds of the [[University of Geneva]], which was founded by [[John Calvin]], and was built to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Calvin's birth and the 350th anniversary of the university's establishment. It is built into the old [[city walls]], and the monument's location there is designed to represent the integral importance of the fortifications, and therefore of the city of Geneva, to the Reformation.

			The monument was the culmination of a contest launched to transform that part of the park. The contest involved 71 proposals from around the world, and was won by four Swiss architects: [[Charles Dubois (architect)\|Charles Dubois]], [[Alphonse Laverrière]], [[Eugène Monod]], and [[Jean Taillens]] (whose other design came third).<ref>{{cite web \| url=http://dawww.epfl.ch/acm/collaborateurs/frey/concours-art1.pdf \| title=Alphonse Laverrière, l'entrée en lice d'un protagoniste \| last=Frey \| first=Pierre A \| access-date=2006-08-12 \|language=fr}} {{Dead link\|date=October 2010\|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The sculptures were then created by two French sculptors: [[Paul Landowski]] and [[Henri Bouchard]].<ref name="bastion">Chancellerie de l'Etat de Genève: ''[https://archive.today/20121206001829/http://www.geneve.ch/fao/2007/20070810.asp Le parc des Bastions]''. URL last accessed 2008-04-28.</ref><ref name="mcwilliam">McWilliam, Neil: "[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-17239628.html Monuments, martyrdom, and the politics of religion in the French third republic]", ''The Art Bulletin'', June 1, 1995. URL last accessed 2008-04-28.</ref>

			During the Reformation, Geneva was the centre of [[Calvinism]], and its history and heritage since the sixteenth century has been closely linked to that of [[Protestantism]]. Due to the close connections to that theology, the individuals most prominently depicted on the Wall were Calvinists; nonetheless, key figures in other theologies are also included.

			At the centre of the monument, four 5 metre-tall statues of Calvinism's main proponents are depicted:
			* [[William Farel]] (1489–1565)
			* [[John Calvin]] (1509–1564)
			* [[Theodore Beza]] (1519–1605)
			* [[John Knox]] (c.1513–1572)

			To the left (facing the Wall, ordered from left to right) of the central statues are 3 metre-tall statues of:
			* [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg\|Frederick William of Brandenburg]] (1620–1688)
			* [[William the Silent]] (1533–1584)
			* [[Gaspard II de Coligny\|Gaspard de Coligny]] (1519–1572)

			To the right (ordered from left to right) are 3 metre-tall statues of:
			* [[Roger Williams (theologian)\|Roger Williams]] (1603–1684)
			* [[Oliver Cromwell]] (1599–1658)
			* [[Stephen Bocskai]] (1557–1606)

			Along the wall, to either side of the central statues, is engraved the motto of both the Reformation and Geneva: ''[[Post Tenebras Lux]]'' (Latin for ''After darkness, light''). On the central statues' pedestal is engraved a [[Christogram]]: ΙΗΣ.

			The monument gave inspiration to one of the most important 20th century Hungarian poems, written by [[Gyula Illyés]] in 1946 under the title ''Before the Monument of Reformation in Geneva''.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.freeweb.hu/iratok/egyhtori/magyar/ILLYES.HTM \|title=Archived copy of poem\|language=HU \|access-date=March 2, 2008 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021035029/http://www.freeweb.hu/iratok/egyhtori/magyar/ILLYES.HTM \|archive-date=October 21, 2007 }}</ref>

			==References==

			[[Category:1909 sculptures]]
			[[Category:Buildings and structures in Geneva]]
			[[Category:Culture in Geneva]]
			[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Switzerland]]
			[[Category:Protestant Reformation]]
			[[Category:Reformation in Switzerland]]
			[[Category:University of Geneva]]
			[[Category:Tourist attractions in Geneva]]
			[[Category:Walls]]
			[[Category:Colossal statues]]

BrantleyRider: Created page with "Reformation Wall"

2024-11-28T23:29:56Z

Created page with "Reformation Wall"

New page

Reformation Wall

Reformation Wall - Revision history

BrantleyRider at 23:34, 28 November 2024

BrantleyRider: Created page with "Reformation Wall"