Geneva (canton) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids République et canton de Genève
Canton
Coat of arms
Capital	Geneva
Subdivisions	45 municipalities
Area
• Total	282.49 km2 (109.07 sq mi)
Population  (12/2020)
• Total	506,343
• Density	1,792.43/km2 (4,642.37/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	CH-GE
Highest point	516 m (1,693 ft): Les Arales
Lowest point	332 m (1,089 ft): Rhône at Chancy
Joined	1815
Languages	French
Website	GE.ch

Geneva is a canton in Switzerland. The capital of the canton is Geneva City.

The French name is Genève, The German name is Genf, in Italian it is Ginevra.

Geneva is the seat of many institutions of the United Nations. It has about 186.000 inhabitants and a very old university. About 960.000 people live in the urban area. Some of the urban area is in France. Only Zürich has more inhabitants in Switzerland.

Logo

History

In 1815, the city-state of Geneva became a part of Switzerland. It had at one time been the capital of the Kingdom of Burgundy.

The first traces of human civilization in Geneva, discovered on the shores of Lake Geneva French: Lac Léman, date from around 3000 BC. The hill of the Old City, however, was not inhabited until 1000 BC. Later, when Rome conquered Geneva, it was defended by a small Celtic tribe. In 58 BC, Julius Caesar drove off an attack by the Helvetii. At the height of the Roman Empire, around 400 AD, Geneva was granted its own bishop.

Municipalities

Geneva does not have any districts. There are 45 municipalities in the canton:

Images for kids

• 

  The County of Geneva and surrounding territories in around 1200.

• 

  The cantons and allies of the Old Swiss Confederacy in the 18th century. Geneva is a group of small territories in the southwest.

• 

  Territories acquired by Berne from Geneva, 1339-1798

• 

  L'Escalade, the last attempt by Savoy to take Geneva by force, 1602

• 

  Map of the French département of Léman established in 1798

• 

  Charles Pictet de Rochemont, the Geneva envoy to the Congress of Vienna who negotiated the canton’s borders

• 

  Map of the canton of Geneva after the first peace of Paris May 1814

• 

  Map of the canton of Geneva after the treaty of Paris 1815

• 

  Map of the canton of Geneva after the treaty of Turin 1816

• 

  Borders after the Congress of Vienna: in yellow, the previous lands of Geneva; in blue, towns ceded by France; in pink, towns ceded by Savoy.

• 

  View from Reculet mountain towards Geneva. The canton occupies most of the Geneva basin, the valley between the Reculet (France) and Mount Salève (France). The Alps are visible in the background, covered by clouds

• 

  Village square in Meyrin

• 

  The headquarters of the local cantonal bank, the BCGE

• 

  Geneva has the densest vineyards of Switzerland. Here, the largest wine-making municipality of Switzerland, Satigny.

• 

  A tram in Carouge

See also

In Spanish: Cantón de Ginebra para niños