SERVETUS IN GENEVA: PLACES TO VISIT

Cliff Reed
12th September 2003

Cathedrale St-Pierre: At the heart of the old town, the cathedral was John Calvin’s pulpit from 1536 and became the headquarters of the Calvinist Reformation. Among Calvin’s sermon topics in the autumn of 1553 was the denunciation of Michael Servetus, who lay in prison only a short distance away.
Site of La Rose d’Or: It was at this inn, on the corner of Place du Molard and Rue du Rhone, that Servetus lodged on his arrival in Geneva on 12th or 13th August 1553, after four months on the run from the French Inquisition. The site is now occupied by a shop called ‘Zara’.

[Note from Jaume de Marcos: This must be a sarcastic twist of destiny, because Zara is a Spain-based international fashion chain of stores.]

Temple de la Madeleine: Servetus attended service at this church, where Guillaume Farel was minister, on the afternoon of Sunday, 13th August. Not to have gone to church in Calvin’s Geneva would have aroused suspicion. However, Servetus was recognised – presumably by people who had knownhim in France – and he was arrested and taken off to prison.
Site of the Bishop’s Palace: Following the Reformation, the Bishop’s Palace was turned into a prison and courthouse. Servetus was both imprisoned and tried here. He was kept in appalling conditions and only brought from his cell for the show trial that ended with his conviction and condemnation as a heretic on 26th October. The building stood on the rue L’Eveche in the shadow of the Cathedral. It was later demolished and a prison was built on the site. It is now an open space.
Hotel de Ville: Standing on a street to which it gives its name, the historic administrative headquarters of Geneva dates, in parts, from the 15th century. It was here, at 10-00 in the morning of 27th October 1553, that Servetus was brought for final condemnation. The procession to the place of execution in Champel then set out.
Monument de la Reformation: Today, a walk from the Hotel de Ville to Champel could well take in this impressive monument in the Promenade des Bastions. It takes the form of a wall, on which statuary and inscription celebrate the great figures of the ‘orthodox’ Reformation. Central are the four ‘giants’ of Calvinism: John Calvin, Guillaume Farel, Theodore Beza and John Knox. Needless to say, there is no mention of Servetus!
Champel: It was here, to what is now a district to the south of the city centre, that Servetus was brought for execution – timed for 12-00 noon – on the 27th October 1553. The place where Servetus suffered his agonising death by burning at the stake, was probably the Plateau de Champel, at the top of what is now the rue Michel Servet. To visit Servetus’ memorial, however, one must find an obscure spot near the bottom of that street. On a steep slope, where the Av. de la Rosarie meets the Av. de Beau-Sejour, stands a simple stone, erected in 1903, which commemorates Michael Servetus.Bearing in mind his rarely acknowledged contribution to medical science, it is appropriate, if not ironic, that his memorial faces the back of the Cantonal Hospital!