Reformation Wall

What it is

The Reformation Wall, or International Monument to the Reformation, is a monument built into the old city walls of Geneva and inaugurated in 1909. It was designed by four Swiss architects and sculpted by two French sculptors, Paul Landowski and Henri Bouchard. It stands on the grounds of the University of Geneva, which Calvin founded.

Why it matters

The wall was built to mark the 400th anniversary of Calvin's birth and the 350th anniversary of the university he started. At its centre are five-metre statues of four leading Calvinist reformers: William Farel, John Calvin, Theodore Beza and John Knox, with other Reformation figures shown nearby. It shows how a city that became the centre of Calvinism later chose to remember its reformers centuries afterward.

Look closer

• Why might Geneva have waited until 1909 to build this monument to events from the 1500s?
• What does placing Calvin at the centre, next to Farel, Beza and Knox, suggest about how he was remembered?
• What is left out of a stone monument that a letter or book might tell you instead?