Talk:Geneva

Coat of arms

Hi, I think the 'Coat of arms of the City and Canton of Geneva' shown on this page is actually for the Canton only, not for the city. But I can't find proof of this. Does someone know? Hwebers

It is for both. Here's the link from the City of Geneva's website: http://www.ville-geneve.ch/en/decouvrir/en-bref/armoiries.htm HTH Kokiri 23:36, 25 Nov 2003 (UTC)

No, it isn't. There a slight difference, look !

There is a difference between the city and teh canton coat of arms: here is the official one for the canton [1] from the law itself [2]. The city's coat is cited above.

I've cut& paste the bit on the canton of Geneva and created a stub rather a redirect for the canton. After all this page states that it is about the city... Kokiri 13:24, 14 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Map Showing Location of Geneva

How do we add the map showing the location of geneva, similar to that found at Berne and Zürich and Basel? Sophrosune (talk) 15:56, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Name of Lac Leman

The name 'Lac de Genève' has only ever been used in Geneva, and not elsewhere in Switzerland (as indicated on the page Lake Geneva). So I will probably remove the reference to this name, and let people look at the main article on the lake if they want more info. Schutz 08:02, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

I forgot to mention that even in Geneva, this name is now rarely used. Schutz 08:03, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

Lac de Genève crops up now and then but me and everyone I know calls it Lac Leman. Wyss 16:57, 22 October 2005 (UTC)

I removed the recent addition of the german name of Lake Geneva, because the complete area around Lake Geneva is frenchspeaking. Therefore, "Genfer See" is NOT a local name. However, through the link Lake Geneva, the reader can still find this information. --Neumeier 01:31, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Flower Clock

The Flower Clock

File:Grass Clock - Geneva - Switzerland - 2005.JPG The Flower Clock

The Flower Clock

Which image is better ? The second was on the article in the beginning.. then replaced with the first. I changed it back to a modified version of second ( the third image ) because I think it gives a better idea about how big the clock is in terms of size. Also, the first image's colour seems faded. Anyhow, what do others think ? sikander 08:43, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

• The third one seems fine. NauticaShades 05:53, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Metropolitan Population of Geneva

Is the metropolitan population of Geneva really equivalent to nearly 2 million people? This would make Geneva one of the largest cities in Western Europe, and vastly bigger than Zürich. The link page goes to a site in German that doesn't appear to immediately address the issue. Geneva is easily viewed on arrival via plane during the day, provided cloud cover is not too thick, and the largest concentration of development is obviously and overwhelmingly concentrated in the Canton of Geneva, which hosts under half a million people. The total population of the ONLY neighbouring Swiss state (Canton) of Vaud is around 650,000, of which about 200,000 live in Lausanne city limits. Even if 400,000 Vaudois could be counted as part of the Metropolitan area of Geneva, which I imagine is not very likely, that still leaves almost a million people unaccounted for. Where do these million people live?? Annemasse? Ferney-Voltaire? Divonne-les-Bains?-Wikipedia sources suggest that the combined population of these three next largest towns around Geneva barely exceeds 40,000 people and the only other town of note within close reach to Geneva, Thonon-les-Bains (population about 30,000), is separated from the Geneva metropolitan area by substantial tracks of sparsely-populated countryside. I, therefore, would tend to assume that the Geneva urban agglomeration figure has been inflated by at least 7-800,000 people. Any thoughts? --Dogma2000 09:28, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

• The number comes from here [3], but it make reference to the "région lémanique [region of the Lake Geneva] vaste territoire qui englobe les Cantons de Vaud et de Genève, le Département de la Haute-Savoie, quelques territoires fribourgeois, valaisans et de l'Ain. I found more usuals numbers here [4] : 650000, 700000, and 750000, depending of the definition of the metropolitan area. I shall put the number of 700000 in the article. --Neumeier 21:47, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

International organizations

Why was Geneva picked for so many international organizations? Sfisher 16:52, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure, but one reason might be because it is in neutral Switzerland. NauticaShades 17:58, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Probably a lot of truth in that, but the Red Cross is there because that's where its founder, Henry Dunant, came from. Ireneshusband 10:54, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

Besides tradition, critical mass of already present international organizations, political stability and swiss neutrality, there is also the quality of life and good international tranport links. Some of these reason (neutrality, stability, approximative geographic centre of Europe) were even more important during the first half of the 20th century, when League of Nations and other international organizations were created in Geneva, but also UPU in Bern, IOC in Lausanne, and BIS in Basel. --Neumeier 01:59, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Geneva and Gex

Passing mention should be made of the agreement with France over provisioning from Haute Savoy and Gex.

One of my history lecturers said it was a minor fancy of his that John Calvin and Ignatius Loyola met on the road outside Geneva in passing - one going in the other leaving.

62.6.121.44 21:32, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

How do things work at the border?

The article says that some of the public transit routes cross into France. Does this mean that the border is not policed in any way? How long has it been like this? Ireneshusband 10:30, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

All main border crossing points have a customs post on them. A few are manned more or less permanently (such as the crossing to Ferney where the F bus goes). Others for limited hours. Others only very occasionally. Even where there are permanently manned crossings, they do not stop everyone. The system relies on people finding a customs officer to declare anything necessary and not crossing without appropriate documentation. There are also mobile patrols which can stop people anywhere within a fairly large distance from the border, which probably provide more of a deterrent to abuse than the fixed checks.

The buses will usually pass straight through the post with just a nod from the border guard, but I have certainly been on buses a few times where it has been stopped and everyone on board required to show a passport/ID card.

Trains vary. The TGV trains to Paris require you to pass through a passport control point in the station, which is usually manned, before you get on the train or after you get off. I can't remember what the system is for the trains to Annemasse - I would guess at it being the same, but less frequently manned. Some trains crossing borders into or out of other parts of Switzerland have occasional checks by border guards who get on the train at the relevant points from time to time (if I recall correctly, peforming the checks on the train as it moves between the stations either side of the border, presumably on the basis of a bilateral agreement giving authority to act on the train within either territory).

Passport checks between Switzerland and France will (as such) soon be eliminated when Switzerland's entry to the Schengen system is implemented, but the customs checks will remain, which will presumably allow them the right to demand documentation if there is a customs-related need for it. Bradype 11:53, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

UN Headquarters?

Picture of UN building states is the the UN Headquarters. While I wish the UN was not HQ'ed in NY, Geneva does not have the UN headquarters.