Friday, 12 August 2011

Another visit to Ferney-Voltaire

On the way to Ferney-Voltaire: a stop in Grand Saconnex

Mirror games in Ferney

The Patriarch of Ferney: Voltaire

Windows in the centre of town

Voltaire's Château in Ferney

A quite unusual curtain at the Château

Playing with the curtain

Monsieur de Voltaire bought the estate of Ferney (then called Fernex) in France near the Swiss border in 1759, after having lived in Geneva for a short while. Theatre was forbidden in Calvinist Geneva, so he became the enlightened "patriarch" of the little village, setting up theatres, but also potteries and watchmaking industry. People came here from Genva to watch his plays and the population of the village increased. Voltaire spent his last 20 years in Ferney before returning to Paris, where he died in 1778.

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