Ferney-Voltaire () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Ain department 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

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 Fre ...

and the Swiss border; it forms part of the metropolitan area of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

History

Ferney was first noted in 14th-century Burgundian 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 Gen ...

and the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, french: Office des Nations Unies à Genève) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG ...

. 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 François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

, 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 A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US * Potter, Arkansas * Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jer ...

and

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...

s of modern France. The town was eventually renamed "Ferney-Voltaire" in his honor. In 1759, after having lived in

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 Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

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 Prévessin-Moëns is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France, in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The residents of Prévessin-Moëns are known as ''Prévessinois'' or ''Prévessinoises'' (feminine). Geography The commune of P ...

, 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 Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (March 6, 1755 in the château of Florian, near Sauve, Gard – September 13, 1794 in Sceaux) was a French poet, novelist and fabulist. Life Florian's mother, a Spanish lady named Gilette de Salgues, died when ...

, 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

, 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 Lycée international de Ferney-Voltaire is a public secondary school in Ferney-Voltaire, Ain, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The school serves junior high school (''collège'') and senior high school/sixth form college (''lycée'') students. It has ...

, 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 Saint-Genis-Pouilly (; frp, Sant-Genés-Polyi) is a commune in the Ain department within the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It is located in the Pays de Gex, at the foot of the Jura Mountains. Bordering the Swiss frontier, ...

Sights

Ferney's main attraction is Voltaire's house (''

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

''), built 1758–66, now owned and administered by the ''

Centre des monuments nationaux The Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) (French, 'National monuments centre') is a French government body (Établissement public à caractère administratif) which conserves, restores and manages historic buildings and sites that are the propert ...

'' (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 The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, 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

, 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 renovation

Personalities

Harrikrisna Anenden Harrikrisna Anenden (born 1947) is a Mauritian film director. Biography Anenden was born in Mauritius in 1947. He began taking photographs at age 12 and later moved to London to study medical photography. He graduated from the London Film Schoo ...

(b. 1947), film director *

Hina Aoyama is a Japanese paper-cutting artist and illustrator born on December 27, 1970, in Yokohama, Japan. She has been creating super fine lacy-paper-cuttings since 2000. She currently lives and works in Ferney-Voltaire, France. Art style Hina Aoyam ...

(b. 1970), paper-cutting artist and illustrator *

Saphia Azzeddine Saphia Azzeddine ( December 12, 1979 ) is a French naturalized Moroccan writer, actress, and screenwriter. Biography Saphia Azzeddine lived in Agadir during her early days of life. At the age of nine, she went to live in France in the ci ...

(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 Jean-Antoine Lépine (L’Pine, LePine, Lepine, L’Epine), born as Jean-Antoine Depigny, was an influential watchmaker. He contributed inventions which are still used in watchmaking today and was amongst the finest French watchmakers, who were c ...

(1720-1814), watchmaker * Gaspard Mermillod (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 p ...

(1939-2020), politician * Gilles Mirallès (1966-2022), chess player * Antoine Porcel (1937-2014), boxer * Brian Savegar (1932-2007), production designer * Georges Vianès, mayor of Ferney-Voltaire from 1995 to 2001 QuiElire.fr
''Commune de FERNEY VOLTAIRE (01210)''
. consulted 11 April 2008. * Jean-Louis Wagnière (1739-1802), Voltaire's secretary for over twenty years, later mayor of Ferney-Voltaire * Nedd Willard (1926-2018), writer, artist and journalist *

David Pujadas David Pujadas (, , ; born 2 December 1964) is a French journalist and television host. A news presenter for TF1's LCI daily news programme, ''24H Pujadas,'' at 18:00 CET, he was an anchorman on France 2's weeknight newscast, ''Le Journal de ...