Reformation Wall

The Reformers' Wall

The Geneva audio-guided tour presents you with the Reformers' Wall, an emblematic monument of the Parc des Bastions, raised in tribute to the great figures of the Reformation.

The memory of the Protestant Reformation

Erected from 1909, for the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, this stone wall about a hundred metres long is adorned with bas-reliefs and four large statues of reformers. To grasp its significance, one must go back to the Reformation: in 1517, the theologian Martin Luther circulated his theses denouncing certain practices of the Church, in particular the sale of indulgences, by which one claimed to put a price on divine grace. Recalling that, according to the Bible, salvation cannot be bought, Luther refused to recant, and his ideas spread rapidly. Other major figures extended this movement across Europe, including John Calvin, who made Geneva one of the great centres of Protestantism. The monument, sober and imposing, honours this decisive page of the history of the city and of European thought.

What there is to see

The Reformers' Wall deploys, over about a hundred metres, monumental statues and bas-reliefs engraved in the stone. Backed onto the Parc des Bastions, it evokes with sobriety the history of the Reformation and the role of Geneva in Protestantism. It is a strong stage, that mixes religious memory and heritage.

Practical information

The Reformers' Wall is in the Parc des Bastions, in Geneva. An open-air monument, it can be discovered freely during the opening hours of the park.

What does the Reformers' Wall commemorate?

The great figures of the Protestant Reformation and the role of Geneva in the spread of this religious movement.

When was the Reformers' Wall erected?

From 1909, for the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of John Calvin.