Architecture Around the World

Russian Orthodox Church
9 Rue Toepffer, Geneva, Switzerland



Click on illustrations for larger size -- and additional information

Byzantine style

Onion domes that serve as roof structures over towers

Engaged columns and corbel table support onion dome

Main portal. Dentillated round pedimented roof on portico

Dentillated blind arch ... blind arcade

Detail from previous photo

Corinthian capital decorated with a fleuron, volutes, and acanthus leaves


From the time of the Reformation, Geneva -- "Protestant Rome" -- found itself at the heart of the religious controversies that disrupted Europe on the threshold of the modern era. In the nineteenth century, when the progressive circles sought to convey the ideals of tolerance and liberty of the Age of Enlightenment, the city played a forerunning role in the affirmation of religious tolerance and made its duty to encourage the construction of places of worship so that each and every denomination could unite in fellowship.

The Geneva government donated a property in the historical center of the city, where Switzerland’s first Orthodox Church was consecrated on 14 September 1866, and has since welcomed Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Greeks and Romanians.

Located on one of the highest points of the city overlooking the lake, the gold domes of this church can be seen from afar, even from Nyon, about 20 kilometers or so from Geneva. This district of doctors and lawyers is also known as the "Orthodox Church district."



Photos and their arrangement © 2004 Chuck LaChiusa
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