The Establishment Of The Red Cross - A Walking Tour Through Geneva's Old Town

We begin our story today by heading towards the Place de Neuve. This is something of a cultural hub in Geneva, with museums and the opera house. There are also plenty of monuments, which is why we’re here!

And here’s our main character. Meet Henry Dunant. Things started ordinarily enough. He was born in 1828 into a devout Calvinist family with business interests in North Africa. He was on business in Italy when he came across the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino. This was a battle in the Second Italian War of Independence. Dunant did not see the battle itself but the aftermath. On a tour of the battlefield he was horrified by the wounded soldiers left behind. He wrote A Memory of Solferino about his experiences, and called for improved care for wounded soldiers. It led to both the Red Cross and the Geneva Convention in less than two years. Things didn’t always go well for Dunant and he left Geneva and the Red Cross in disgrace after a bankruptcy. He was nonetheless awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. He died in 1910. The bust is by Luc Jaggi.

Our next stop, just across the street, is this neoclassical building. Today it is the Musée Rath. It’s the oldest purpose-built art museum in Switzerland, part of the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire and its original home. It currently houses temporary exhibitions.
It’s part of our walking tour because during WWI it became the International Prisoners-of-War Agency. More than 3,000 volunteers worked here, creating 7,000 index cards to keep track of prisoners, exchanging 20,000 messages and 2,000 parcels. Many of the volunteers were women. Innovations by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at this time included visiting prisoners of war to check conditions, and intervening in the case of weapons causing extreme suffering (such as mustard gas).

This chap is General Guillaume Henri Dufour. His equestrian statue stands in the centre of the Place de Neuve. He served under Napoleon I, and also as the Commander in Chief of the Swiss Federal Army. He trained Napoleon III, and ended a civil war when several Catholic cantons attempted to go it alone in the 1840s. More importantly for our story, he had a reputation for respect for wounded and captured soldiers, and compassion for civilians.

It’s not part of our tour, but while we’re here let’s admire the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Built in 1879, it houses the city’s opera and ballet companies. Inside it’s fairly modern, though, having been gutted by fire in the 1950s.

Perhaps one of the reasons this walking tour is no longer promoted is it’s slightly hard to follow. Or maybe that’s just me. Anyway I was not going in the right direction at this point, but I saw some nice looking streets and buildings.

OK we found it! Here is the Parc des Bastions. It was built following a 1720 plague epidemic to ensure fresh air for Geneva’s citizens (pre-germ theory, of course).

Just down the central avenue we find this bust of Gustave Moynier. Born in 1826 into a bourgeois family, he studied law but realised it wasn’t for him. He got involved instead in philanthropic causes, with an interest in looking beyond Geneva and Switzerland to an international audience.
He was immediately convinced by Henry Dunant’s proposals in A Memory of Solferino. Forming a partnership, the two men quickly gained supporters for their cause of ensuring aid for wounded soldiers on both sides of a battle. They had very different personalities, however, and fell out rather quickly. Moynier is nonetheless credited with making Dunant’s ideas into a sustainable proposal. He was co-founder of the ICRC and its president for 46 years. This bust is by Otto Bindschedler.

A slight change of subject as we make a small detour to see this imposing monument to the Reformation. It’s not formally part of our walk but there is some information on it in the brochure. It commemorates the 400th anniversary of John Calvin‘s birth (1509-1564). Construction started in 1909 and finished in 1917. Shortly after Geneva adopted the Reformation (the move from Catholicism to Protestantism) in 1536 Calvin, a young lawyer, was persuaded to stay in the city and help shore it up. Geneva became a ‘Protestant Rome’, an island of Protestants surrounded by Catholic territory. Protestant and Huguenot refugees were a huge boon to the city in succeeding centuries.

Surprisingly, this Red Cross Monument is not a formal part of the walk either, despite being in the Parc des Bastions. It dates to 1963, and represents an angel protecting a wounded soldier and mother with children. It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Red Cross.

Another small segue spotted on the way to the next stop: this WWI monument to French Genevois and Swiss volunteers who died for France.

And here’s our next stop. Part of the difficulty of navigating in Geneva’s Old Town is that it’s in three dimensions. Its hilly nature means there are sometimes choices between under- and overpasses. I chose the right option on this occasion and took the high road. I was rewarded with the Palais de l’Athénée. It was brand new in 1863 when it became the venue for the international conference which founded the Red Cross.
Convened by Dunant, Dufour, Moynier and two doctors we will meet later, the conference ran from 26-29 October. 36 people attended including delegates from 16 countries. Resolutions included the creation of national relief committees to train volunteers and make preparations, and the adoption of the red cross on a white background as a symbol. This body would later become the ICRC.

Just across from the Palais de l’Athénée is this historic fountain, a pleasant place to pause while I ensure I’m still on the right track.

Here we have the Chapelle de l’Oratoire. The founding of the Red Cross was inextricably linked to the Christian beliefs of its early supporters. In fact, most charity work was at the time. Henry Dunant was part of an evangelical movement which was particularly active in this regard. At the age of 24 he co-founded the Christian Union in Geneva and helped to set up the local YMCA. This built both his network and communication skills.
Unconnected to Dunant’s experiences, the Evangelical Society sent a small mission to Solferino in the aftermath of the battle. The walking tour pamphlet suggests that this strong connection between religion, charity and social engagement is the reason for the movement that became the Red Cross emerging here in Geneva.

I couldn’t resist a small peek through the door, but didn’t disturb the early morning peace of the oratory any further.

And now we head to our next stop along rue Étienne Dumont.

And we’ve arrived at number 14. It once housed Jules-Guillaume Fick’s luxury printing house. This is where Dunant had the first edition of A Memory of Solferino printed. By coincidence, General Dufour also lived here between 1826 and 1845. Dunant actually sent him the manuscript for approval before printing. Dunant printed the first edition in a small run of 400 luxury copies for delivery to important individuals rather than for sale. He footed the bill himself: finances weren’t his strong suit but there’s no doubting his belief in the project. The next two editions became cheaper in price each time and thus reached a wider audience.

You saw this image at the beginning of this post, but it’s also our next calling point. This is the Place du Bourg-de-Four. Geneva has been an important trading centre for centuries, and this has always been Geneva’s market square. It’s still a vibrant place, but not at this time of the morning.

Allow me another small detour to take in Clementine (1974) by Heinz Schwarz. It’s a symbol of solidarity with women and girls, particularly those forced into prostitution.

And another couple of sights along the way. Here we have the Palais de Justice, followed by an enticing covered alleyway.

And now we’ve spotted the next sight on our walk. No 12 rue Verdaine is Henry Dunant’s birthplace. Like I mentioned above, the strong focus on Christian charity amongst Geneva’s middle classes has a lot to do with our story. As a boy, Dunant visited poor and sick people with his mother, and even prisoners in Toulon with his father on one summer holiday. As a teenager, Dunant spent his Sunday afternoons reading the Bible with condemned prisoners.

Please forgive a small interlude while I get lost trying to follow the walking tour plus the map on my phone. I liked these mosaics, though, and the views over different levels of Geneva’s Old Town.

And if I hadn’t been lost, I wouldn’t have found this 1980s monument to a 1584 mutual assistance pact between Geneva, Bern and Zurich. The three cities were early adopters of Protestantism in a still largely Catholic part of Europe.

This next one is an approved detour from our walk, like the Reformation wall in the Parc des Bastions. It’s the Old Arsenal, with murals depicting three big moments in the city’s history. First there’s Julius Caesar arriving in 58BC. Then there’s the prosperity of the Middle Ages thanks to those trade fairs in the Place du Bourg-du-Four. And finally the impact of the Reformation and Huguenot refugees. We haven’t mentioned Julius Caesar before, but otherwise this walk seems to giving us a very good grounding in the city’s history!

We’ve seen where Henry Dunant was born. Here on the rue du Puits Saint Pierre is where he lived after inheriting an apartment from his aunt, until his departure from Geneva in 1867. It was in this building that he wrote A Memory of Solferino. A man of letters, he harnessed his own shock and emotion to gain support for his aims of training volunteers and agreeing an international principle of caring for wounded soldiers.

It’s time to pick up again on the story of Gustave Moynier. If Dunant had expressed the ideas, Moynier knew how to get things done. He understood the reluctance local organisations might have towards pivoting to new focuses, and so suggested Dunant’s ideas be raised at an international conference in Berlin. This ultimately fell through, hence the conference here in Geneva at the Palais de l’Athénée. But nonetheless Dunant and Moynier built so much excitement between them that, at the first meeting on the topic, the individuals named above declared themselves an ‘International Permanent Committee’.

The Maison Mallet, in the shadow of Geneva’s cathedral, was the office of the League of Red Cross Societies between 1919 and 1922. 45 National Societies were established in the 50 years after the founding of the ICRC. The League of Red Cross Societies was a coordination and support body for them. In 1991 it was renamed the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies.

And here’s that cathedral I was talking about, the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. There’s been a cathedral here since the 4th Century. Construction began on this version in 1160. Originally Catholic, it’s now part of the Reformed Protestant Church of Geneva. As an aside for any visitors to Geneva, there are two nice experiences on offer as well as visiting the cathedral itself. You can climb the tower for a small fee and enjoy the views. Or you can go underground and visit an expansive archaeological site underneath the cathedral. I highly recommend the latter.

This modest and rather charming house once belonged to Louis Appia. Born in Hanau, Germany, in 1818, he was a committed member of the Evangelical Church. His faith prompted him to give lectures on many topics related to public health and welfare. He travelled to Italy after war broke out in 1859, and advised Dunant while he was writing A Memory of Solferino. In 1864 during the Schleswig-Holstein War, he and a Dutch captain became the first neutral observers of the ICRC.

This part of the Old Town is particularly peaceful in the early morning, as we head towards our penultimate stop.

Spotted: this little chap back near the cathedral as we look for the rue du Soleil-Levant (Rising Sun Street). This is the Prophet Jeremiah by Swiss sculptor Rodo, dating to the 1930s.

Found it, it was just behind me (you can see Jeremiah on the right). This was the home of Théodore Maunoir. Born in 1808 into a family of doctors, he married an American and had a particular interest in the role of volunteers in the Civil War. He was active in the International Conference in 1863, and pragmatic in overcoming objections. He died just six years after the Red Cross’s founding, so is not as well-known today as some of his colleagues.

After the 1863 conference, Dunant set off around Europe building support, while Moynier and Dufour worked towards a diplomatic conference. The conference was held here, in the Hôtel de Ville’s Salle Alabama (Alabama Room) in 1864. 12 states signed up to the original Geneva Convention, guaranteeing respect for and the neutrality of wounded soldiers, ambulances and medical personnel. Expanded in 1949 and adopted by 194 states, additional protocols were added in 1977 to further protect civilians. We formally end our walk here, contemplating the enormous legacy of a few motivated individuals on international law and warfare.

As we head back downhill towards the lakefront through some of Geneva’s more charming walkways, we have a few moments to think about this walk. I learned a lot both about Geneva’s history and that of the Red Cross (the latter obviously, the former less anticipated). I’ve been to Geneva a couple of times before and hadn’t connected very much with its Old Town. There are relatively few sights other than the cathedral, and it frankly feels a little staid compared to other European cities. This walk helped me to put things into a new perspective.

Like I said, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum must have had a reason for no longer promoting this walk. It was originally tied to an event in 2019, perhaps that’s why. Also it’s a little hard to follow. Because it tries to tell a story at the same time as wandering the streets, there’s a little backtracking involved. I got lost a couple of times and saw things out of order, before piecing them back together for you today. Nonetheless I covered everything in an hour to 90 minutes, getting a good few steps in bright and early.

For me, it just goes to show the many stories that exist in the built environment. I’m sure I could have done a walk and explored the city’s development, the history of commerce, the Reformation, or many other topics. By selecting one I knew little about, I increased my knowledge of the history of the Red Cross, and also understood much more of the dynamics of 19th Century Geneva.
I’m leaving you, however, at a somewhat older site. We’re in front of the Molard Tower, which kept watch over Geneva’s harbour for centuries. It’s currently reconstructed to its appearance circa 1591. With the plaque honouring Geneva as a city of refuge, it seems a nice place to finish before I walk back to my nearby hotel. I hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration of Geneva’s Old Town and the history of the development of the Red Cross.

About Me

Erin Caswell

The Establishment Of The Red Cross – A Walking Tour Through Geneva’s Old Town

An Early Morning, Red Cross Walk

Getting Started: Around The Place De Neuve

The Place De Neuve To The Parc Des Bastions

Getting Closer To The Red Cross: Monuments And Conferences

The Chapelle De L’Oratoire And A Former Printing Works

The Place du Bourg-de-Four To The Old Arsenal

Around The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre

Of Doctors And Diplomats: The Legacy Of Our Red Cross Story

Homeward (Or Hotel) Bound

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