A highlight of Geneva’s lovely green space of Jardin des Alpes is the very ornate Brunswick Monument. The mausoleum commemorates a 19th-century duke. In exchange for its construction and a lavish funeral, the duke left his sizable fortune to the city. Visit the Brunswick Monument to appreciate the incredible detail of the its various sculpted figures and faces.
Charles II, Duke of Brunswick, made Geneva his home. Earlier he had been expelled from his duchy located in present-day Germany for being a tyrant. He traveled to many European cities before choosing this one. Prior to his death in 1873, he greatly admired the Scaliger tombs in Verona, Italy, built five centuries earlier. He had them copied to be his final resting place. Consider the opposition to its construction in 1879 for being a neo-Gothic structure in a city that was rapidly developing into a modern commercial center.
The 69-foot-high (21-meter) monument originally had a bronze statue of the mounted duke topping the structure. Find the statue beside the monument that now keeps company with two marble lions situated as if guarding the area. The statue was moved to the ground when two earthquakes occurred shortly after the mausoleum was constructed. The structure with its marble base was too heavy to be lifted.
Look near the top of the monument to see the duke lying on his sarcophagus surrounded by angels and a lion at his feet.
The duke bequeathed 24 million francs to Geneva, of which 2 million were spent on the mausoleum. The remainder was used to fund city buildings such as the Grand Théâtre, the university and various specialized schools.
Find Brunswick Monument near Lake Geneva in Jardin des Alpes on the Quai du Mont-Blanc. While here, be sure to have a snack at the very popular Cottage Café nearby.
