Calvin College

The Calvin College

The Geneva audio-guided tour presents you with the Calvin College, the oldest college of the city, founded in the sixteenth century at the moment when Geneva adopted the Reformation.

The oldest college of Geneva

Formerly called the College of Geneva, then the Academy of Geneva, the establishment opened its doors in 1559, with its Renaissance-style porch, and then welcomed nearly one thousand two hundred schoolchildren. It is at this period that the city decreed compulsory public education for children of all backgrounds, hence the need for a new building. Founded on the impulse of John Calvin, whose name it has borne since the twentieth century, the college embodies the importance given to education in the Geneva of the Reformation. Today, it welcomes about eight hundred pupils from fifteen to nineteen years, whom it prepares for the certificate of gymnasial maturity opening the way to higher education. It is a major historic building, witness of the humanist and scholarly tradition of the city.

What there is to see

The Calvin College is distinguished by its Renaissance porch and its history linked to the Reformation and to public education. Still in activity, it is the oldest college of Geneva, witness of the humanist educational tradition of the city. It is a stage for those interested in the intellectual past of the city of Calvin.

Practical information

The Calvin College is in the old town of Geneva. An active school, its façade and its porch can be contemplated from the street; the interior is not open to free visit.

When did the Calvin College open?

In 1559, on the impulse of John Calvin, when Geneva established compulsory public education.

Is the Calvin College still in activity?

Yes, it today welcomes about eight hundred pupils from fifteen to nineteen years, in the oldest college of Geneva.