Etat et Delices de la Suisse

1776

de Beer Swb 1776

Basle: Emanuel Tourneisen

Although the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland began in Zurich, with the activities of Zwingli, it was Geneva that eventually became known as ‘Protestant Rome’. The thrust came from the work of John Calvin (1509-1564), a zealous reformer who built on the ideas of Luther. One legacy was Calvin’s Geneva Academy, established in 1559. This intellectual centre trained young men in theology and day-to-day pastoral practicalities. They then spread the Calvinist word around the world. By the time this engraving was done in 1764, Geneva was the centre of the Calvinist world.