Collège Calvin

The College Calvin is the oldest secondary school in Switzerland, set in the old town of Geneva close to Saint-Pierre Cathedral. The reformer Jean Calvin founded it in 1559 alongside the new Genevan Academy as a humanist schola privata to train the next generation of Reformed clergy. The Academy later evolved into the University of Geneva, while the College kept its identity as a Gymnasium. The 16th-century main building with its inner courtyard and arcaded gallery is classified as a Swiss cultural property of national importance. It still functions as a public secondary school today; the courtyard can be visited during school hours and the arcaded hall hosts public events.