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Ferney-Voltaire () is a commune in the
From 1759 to 1778 Ferney was home to French writer and philosopher Voltaire, sometimes referred to as "the patriarch of Ferney." His influence on the town was profound. He built the local church and founded cottage industries that produced some of the finest potters and watchmakers of modern France. The town was eventually renamed "Ferney-Voltaire" in his honor.
In 1759, after having lived in Geneva less than two years, Voltaire purchased the estate of Ferney in France, near the Swiss border. A prime reason for his leaving Geneva was that theatre was forbidden in that Calvinist city, so he had decided to become the enlightened "patriarch" of the little village of Ferney, setting up potteries, a watchmaking industry and, of course, theaters, attracting rich people from Geneva to watch his plays.
During Voltaire's residence, the population of Ferney increased to more than 1,000. Voltaire lived there for the last 20 years of his life before returning to Paris, where he died in 1778.
" Ferney-Voltaire. Retrieved on 10 November 2018. Around 1940 a primary school, the École de Ferney-Voltaire, was established. About 1970 it was renamed ''École Florian'', after the French poet and fabulist Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, whose uncle and guardian, the Marquis de Florian, had married a niece of Voltaire, . The school is notable for having had a large number of pupils who were children of physicists at
Ferney's main attraction is Voltaire's house ('' château''), built 1758–66, now owned and administered by the '' Centre des monuments nationaux'' (an arm of the French Ministry of Culture). The chateau includes the main building, with a reconstruction of Voltaire's room (moved from its original location by later private owners), a garden with a fine view of the Alps, and a church dedicated, contrary to custom, directly to God. In the church's inscription, "''Deo erexit VOLTAIRE''" ("Erected to God by VOLTAIRE"), Voltaire's name is written in the largest characters.
A few dozen meters from the chateau is another impressive house, built in 1900 by ''Monsieur'' Lambert (the sculptor of the statue of Voltaire; his family owned the chateau before it was purchased by the French government). The house, now privately owned, had been used to store provisions and wine for the chateau, and to accommodate the household staff.
The village features 18th-century houses and artisans' workshops; a life-size statue of Voltaire; a smaller bust of him, surmounting a fountain; many restaurants, French and foreign; and proximity to the nearby cosmopolitan city of Geneva, Switzerland.
Every Saturday, a market is held in the main street of Ferney.
The old road at the centre of the village is a remnant of the time when Voltaire resided at the chateau in Ferney-Voltaire.
The pedestal of the Voltaire statue, erected in 1890, dedicates that memorial to the town's "benefactor," noting that he built over a hundred houses for the inhabitants, as well as a school and church, gave the town interest-free loans, and fed its inhabitants in time of need.
On 31 May 2018, Président
''Commune de FERNEY VOLTAIRE (01210)''
. consulted 11 April 2008. *
Ferney-Voltaire commune
Pays de Gex Tourism
**
Official website of Voltaire’s chateau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferneyvoltaire Communes of Ain Ain communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Ain
Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
region of eastern France. It lies between the Jura Mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...
and the Swiss border; it forms part of the metropolitan area of Geneva.
History
Ferney was first noted in 14th-centuryBurgundian Burgundian can refer to any of the following:
*Someone or something from Burgundy.
*Burgundians, an East Germanic tribe, who first appear in history in South East Europe. Later Burgundians colonised the area of Gaul that is now known as Burgundy (F ...
registers as "Fernex" and changed several times until the 19th century to Fernay, Fernaj, Fernai or Fernex before adopting its current name as 'Ferney-Voltaire' in 1791, after the French Revolution which saw a number of city names unchristened and then given more republican names.
During Voltaire's residence in Ferney in the second part of the 18th century, the town saw rapid expansion. Today Ferney is a peaceful town with a Saturday market and a large international community, due to the proximity of CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
and the United Nations Office at Geneva. Ferney is growing very quickly. It is also home to the ''Lycée International''. Voltaire still presides over Ferney with his statue in the center of town.
Voltaire
From 1759 to 1778 Ferney was home to French writer and philosopher Voltaire, sometimes referred to as "the patriarch of Ferney." His influence on the town was profound. He built the local church and founded cottage industries that produced some of the finest potters and watchmakers of modern France. The town was eventually renamed "Ferney-Voltaire" in his honor.
In 1759, after having lived in Geneva less than two years, Voltaire purchased the estate of Ferney in France, near the Swiss border. A prime reason for his leaving Geneva was that theatre was forbidden in that Calvinist city, so he had decided to become the enlightened "patriarch" of the little village of Ferney, setting up potteries, a watchmaking industry and, of course, theaters, attracting rich people from Geneva to watch his plays.
During Voltaire's residence, the population of Ferney increased to more than 1,000. Voltaire lived there for the last 20 years of his life before returning to Paris, where he died in 1778.
Population
Schools
The community has two public preschools/primary schools: École Jean-Calas and École Florian. A nearby intercommunal school, École Intercommunale Jean de la Fontaine in Prévessin-Moëns, also serves the community. the three schools had a combined total of 952 students, with Jean-Calas, Florian, and Jean de la Fontaine respectively having 278, 307, and 367 students.Maternelles et élémentaires" Ferney-Voltaire. Retrieved on 10 November 2018. Around 1940 a primary school, the École de Ferney-Voltaire, was established. About 1970 it was renamed ''École Florian'', after the French poet and fabulist Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, whose uncle and guardian, the Marquis de Florian, had married a niece of Voltaire, . The school is notable for having had a large number of pupils who were children of physicists at
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN (; ; ), is an intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. Established in 1954, it is based in a northwestern suburb of Gene ...
, which is located in the vicinity. Ferney-Voltaire also has a private preschool/primary school, École Saint-Vincent.
Collège Le Joran (junior high school), in Prévessin-Moëns, serves Ferney-Voltaire. Lycée international de Ferney-Voltaire, including a junior high school/middle school (''collège'') and a senior high school/sixth form college (''lycée'') was created in 1961 in Ferney-Voltaire. As of 2016, the Lycée includes a branch campus in Saint-Genis-Pouilly.
Sights
Ferney's main attraction is Voltaire's house ('' château''), built 1758–66, now owned and administered by the '' Centre des monuments nationaux'' (an arm of the French Ministry of Culture). The chateau includes the main building, with a reconstruction of Voltaire's room (moved from its original location by later private owners), a garden with a fine view of the Alps, and a church dedicated, contrary to custom, directly to God. In the church's inscription, "''Deo erexit VOLTAIRE''" ("Erected to God by VOLTAIRE"), Voltaire's name is written in the largest characters.
A few dozen meters from the chateau is another impressive house, built in 1900 by ''Monsieur'' Lambert (the sculptor of the statue of Voltaire; his family owned the chateau before it was purchased by the French government). The house, now privately owned, had been used to store provisions and wine for the chateau, and to accommodate the household staff.
The village features 18th-century houses and artisans' workshops; a life-size statue of Voltaire; a smaller bust of him, surmounting a fountain; many restaurants, French and foreign; and proximity to the nearby cosmopolitan city of Geneva, Switzerland.
Every Saturday, a market is held in the main street of Ferney.
The old road at the centre of the village is a remnant of the time when Voltaire resided at the chateau in Ferney-Voltaire.
The pedestal of the Voltaire statue, erected in 1890, dedicates that memorial to the town's "benefactor," noting that he built over a hundred houses for the inhabitants, as well as a school and church, gave the town interest-free loans, and fed its inhabitants in time of need.
On 31 May 2018, Président Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
officially visited the Château for the re-opening after renovationPersonalities
* Harrikrisna Anenden (b. 1947), film director * Hina Aoyama (b. 1970), paper-cutting artist and illustrator * Saphia Azzeddine (b. 1979), writer, actress and screenwriter * Marie Louise Denis (1712-1790), a niece of Voltaire *Ananda Devi
Ananda Devi Nirsimloo-Anenden, also known as Ananda Devi, (born March 23, 1957) is a Mauritian writer.
Biography
Ananda Devi Nirsimloo was born the village of Trois-Boutiques, Grand Port District, Mauritius. Her father Balgopal and her mother Sar ...
(b. 1957), writer
* Andy Johnson-Laird (b. 1945), computer scientist
* Jean-Antoine Lépine (1720-1814), watchmaker
* Gaspard Mermillod
Gaspard Mermillod (22 September 1824 – 23 February 1892) was a Swiss Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite a lengthy investiture conflict with the Calvinist Canton of Geneva, he served as Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva from 1883 ...
(1824-1892), bishop, later cardinal
* Michel Meylan
Michel Meylan (27 January 1939 – 3 July 2020) was a French politician.
Biography
In 1955, at the age of 15, Meylan organized a trip for his Scouting troop to attend the World Scout Jamboree in Canada. Forty years later, he created the Amicale ...
(1939-2020), politician
* Gilles Mirallès
Gilles Mirallès (8 February 1966 – 28 January 2022) was a French chess grandmaster.
Biography
Mirallès became a Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster in 1997 after winning the French Junior Chess Championship in 1982 and the French Chess Champi ...
(1966-2022), chess player
* Antoine Porcel (1937-2014), boxer
* Brian Savegar (1932-2007), production designer
* Georges Vianès Georges Jean Gabriel Vianès is a former French civil servant, corporate officer and politician. He was head of the French National Industrial Property Institute (INPI, standing for ''Institut national de la propriété industrielle'' in French), ...
, mayor of Ferney-Voltaire from 1995 to 2001 QuiElire.fr''Commune de FERNEY VOLTAIRE (01210)''
. consulted 11 April 2008. *
Jean-Louis Wagnière
Jean-Louis Wagnière (15 October 1739, Rueyres, Vaud, Switzerland7 April 1802, Ferney-Voltaire) was Voltaire's secretary from 1756 to 1778, when Voltaire died.
In Voltaire’s Service
Wagnière entered Voltaire’s service as his valet de cha ...
(1739-1802), Voltaire's secretary for over twenty years, later mayor of Ferney-Voltaire
* Nedd Willard
Nedd Willard (August 23, 1926 – July 12, 2018) was an American author and artist living in Thorens-Glières, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. He was a merchant sailor, university teacher and worked in public relations for the World Health Organ ...
(1926-2018), writer, artist and journalist
* David Pujadas (b.1964), journalist and television hosSee also
* List of places named after people * Communes of the Ain departmentReferences
External links
Ferney-Voltaire commune
Pays de Gex Tourism
**
Official website of Voltaire’s chateau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferneyvoltaire Communes of Ain Ain communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia