History of Geneva History of Geneva The History of Geneva dates from before the Roman occupation in the second century BC. Now the principal French-speaking city of Switzerland, Geneva was an independent city state from the Middle Ages until the end of the 18th century. John Calvin was the Protestant leader of the city in the 16th century. Geneva first appears in history as an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Celtic Helvetii tribe, which the Romans took in 121 BC. In 58 BC, Caesar, Roman governor of Gaul, destroyed the Rhône bridge at Geneva and built a 19-mile earthwork from Lake Geneva
Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva The Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the city of Geneva () is a museum and an institution of the City of Geneva. It was founded in 1817 in a former area of "Bastions Park" in 1817 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. The Botanical Gardens were transferred to the Console site (192 rue de Lausanne) in 1904, constructed by the Genevan architect Henri Juvet in 1902–1904 specifically to house the Delessert herbarium held at Bastions. The collection grew in 1911–1912 with the gift of the Emile Burant herbarium, then again in 1923–1924