Geneva (/dÊ'ᵻˈniːvÉ™/, French: Genève [Ê'É™.nÉ›v], Arpitan: Genèva [dzəˈnÉ›va], German: Genf [É¡É›nf], Italian: Ginevra [dÊ'iˈneːvra], Romansh: Genevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

The municipality (ville de Genève) has a population (as of December 2015) of 198,072, and the canton (which is essentially the city and its inner-ring suburbs) has 484,736 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France. Within Swiss territory, the commuter area named "Métropole lémanique" contains a population of 1.25 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area (Vevey, Montreux) and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, in the neighbouring canton of Vaud.

Geneva is a global city, a financial center, and worldwide center for diplomacy due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.

Geneva was ranked as the world's ninth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt, and third in Europe behind London and Zürich. A 2009 survey by Mercer found that Geneva has the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world (behind Vienna and Zürich for expatriates; it is narrowly outranked by Zürich). The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the "Peace Capital". In 2009 and 2011, Geneva was ranked as, respectively, the fourth and fifth most expensive city in the world.

Toponym

The city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from a Celtic toponym *genawa- from the stem *genu- ("bend, knee"), in the sense of a bending river or estuary.

The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis (also Gebennensis), after 1400 becoming the Genevois province of Savoy (albeit not extending to the city proper, until the Reformation the seat of the bishop of Geneva).

The name takes various forms in modern languages, Geneva /dÊ'ᵻˈniːvÉ™/ in English, French: Genève [Ê'(É™)nÉ›v], German: Genf [ˈɡɛnf], Italian: Ginevra [dÊ'iˈneːvra], and Romansh: Genevra.

The city in origin shares its name, *genawa "estuary", with the Italian port city of Genoa (in Italian Genova).

History

Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Romans took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the bishopric of Vienne in the 4th.

In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, when it was granted a charter giving it a high degree of self-governance. Around this time the House of Savoy came to (at least nominally) dominate the city. In the 15th century, an oligarchic republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In the first half of the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation reached the city, causing religious strife during which Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva allied itself with the Swiss Confederacy. In 1541, with Protestantism in the ascendancy, John Calvin, the founder of Calvinism, became the spiritual leader of the city. By the 18th century, however, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France also tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, which inspired the failed Geneva Revolution of 1782 in an attempt to win representation in the government for men of modest means. In 1798, revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, on 1 June 1814, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation. In 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of many international organizations.

Geography and climate

Topography

Geneva is located at 46°12' North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the lake flows back into the Rhône. It is surrounded by two mountain chains, the Alps and the Jura.

The city has an area of 15.93 km² (6.2 sq mi), while the area of the canton is 282 km² (108.9 sq mi), including the two small exclaves of Céligny in Vaud. The part of the lake that is attached to Geneva has an area of 38 km² (14.7 sq mi) and is sometimes referred to as Petit lac (small lake). The canton has only a 4.5 km (2.8 mi) long border with the rest of Switzerland. Of 107.5 km (66.8 mi) of border, 103 are shared with France, the Département de l'Ain to the north and west and the Département de la Haute-Savoie to the south and east.

Of the land in the city, 0.24 km² (0.093 sq mi) or 1.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.5 km² (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 14.63 km² (5.65 sq mi) or 91.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.49 km² (0.19 sq mi) or 3.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.4% of the area while housing and buildings made up 46.2% and transportation infrastructure 25.8%, while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 15.7%. All the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 0.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 2.9% is in rivers and streams.

The altitude of Geneva is 373.6 metres (1,225.7 ft), and corresponds to the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age. This rock was chosen by General Guillaume Henri Dufour as the reference point for surveying in Switzerland. The second main river of Geneva is the Arve which flows into the Rhône just west of the city centre. Mont Blanc can be seen from Geneva and is an hour's drive from the city centre.

Climate

The climate of Geneva is temperate, oceanic (Köppen: Cfb). Winters are cool, usually with light frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day. Summers are pleasantly warm. Precipitation is adequate and is relatively well-distributed throughout the year, although autumn is slightly wetter than the other seasons. Ice storms near Lac Léman are quite normal in the winter. In the summer many people enjoy swimming in the lake, and frequently patronise public beaches such as Genève Plage and the Bains des Pâquis. Geneva, in certain years, receives snow in the colder months of the year. The nearby mountains are subject to substantial snowfall and are suitable for skiing. Many world-renowned ski resorts such as Verbier and Crans-Montana are just over two hours away by car. Mont Salève (1379 m), just across the border in France, dominates the southerly view from the city centre. The famous Mont Blanc is visible from most of the city, enclosed in the mountain alp range surroundi ng nearby Chamonix, which is one of the closest French skiing destinations to Geneva. There are a number of other Northern Alps ski resorts that are easily accessible from Geneva, including those of the Grand Massif such as Samoens, Morillon and Flaine as well as Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz.

During the years 2000â€"2009, the mean yearly temperature was 11 °C and the mean number of sunshine-hours per year was 2003.

The highest temperature recorded in Genèveâ€"Cointrin was 39.7 °C (103.5 °F) in July 2015, and the lowest temperature recorded was âˆ'20.0 °C (âˆ'4.0 °F) in February 1956.

Politics

Administrative divisions

The city is divided into eight quartiers, or districts, sometimes composed of several neighborhoods. On the Left Bank are (1) Jonction, (2) Centre. Plainpalais, and Acacias, (3) Eaux-Vives, and (4) Champel, while the Right Bank includes (1) Saint-Jean and Charmilles, (2) Servette and Petit-Saconnex, (3) Grottes and Saint-Gervais, and (4) Paquis and Nations.

Government

The Administrational Council (Conseil administratif) constitutes the executive government of the City of Geneva and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors (French: Conseiller administratif/ Conseillère administrative), each presiding over a department. The president of the executive department acts as mayor (la/le maire). In the governmental year 2016/2017 the Administrational Council is presided by Monsieur le maire de Genève Guillaume Barazzone. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Municipal Council are carried by the Administrational Council. The election of the Administrational Council is held every five years. The current mandate period (la législature) is from 1 June 2015 to 31 May 2020. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz. The mayor changes in turnus every year, while the heads of the other departments are assigned b y the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Palais Eynard, near the Parc des Bastions. The building was built between 1817 and 1821 in Neoclassical style.

As of 2015, Geneva's Administrational Council is made up of two representatives of the PS (Social Democratic Party), and one member each of PES (Green Party, who is also the mayor for the current year), Ensemble à Gauche (an alliance of the left parties PST-POP (Parti Suisse du Travail â€" Parti Ouvrier et Populaire) and solidaritéS), and PDC (Christian Democratic Party), giving the left parties a very strong four out of five seats. The last election was held on 19 April 2015. All of the previous members were re-elected.

Parliament

The Municipal Council (Conseil municipal) holds legislative power. It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every five years. The Municipal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Administrational Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz with a seven percentage threshold.

The sessions of the Municipal Council are public. Unlike members of the Administrational Council, members of the Municipal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Geneva allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the Town Hall (Hôtel de Ville), in the old city.

The last election of the Municipal Council was held on 20 April 2015 for the mandate period (législature) of 2015â€"2020. Currently the Municipal Council consist of 19 members of the Social Democratic Party (PS), 15 Les Libéraux-Radicaux (PLR), 11 Christian Democratic People's Party (PDC), 11 Geneva Citizens' Movement (MCG,), 10 Ensemble à Gauche (an alliance of the left parties PST-POP (Parti Suisse du Travail â€" Parti Ouvrier et Populaire) and solidaritéS), 8 Green Party (PES), and 6 Swiss People's Party (UDC).

Elections

National Council

In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 23.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the PLR (17.6%), the UDC (16.3%), the Green Party (11.4%), the PDC (10.7%), and the solidaritéS (8.8%). In the federal election, a total of 36,490 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 44.1%.

International relations

Geneva does intentionally not have any particular "sister" tie with any city in the world. It declares itself related to the entire world.

Demographics

Population

Geneva has a population (as of December 2015) of 198,072. The city of Geneva is at the centre of the Geneva metropolitan area, known as the Grand Genève in French (Greater Geneva). The Greater Geneva includes the Canton of Geneva in its entirety as well as the District of Nyon in the Canton of Vaud and several areas in the neighboring French departments of Haute-Savoie and Ain. In 2011, the agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise had 915,000 inhabitants, two-thirds of whom lived on Swiss soil and one-third on French soil. The Geneva metropolitan area is experiencing steady demographic growth of 1.2% a year and the agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise is expected to reach soon the mark of one million people.

The official language of Geneva, in both the city and canton is French, the main language used in Romandie. As a result of immigration flows in the 1960s and 1980s, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish are also spoken by a considerable proportion of the population. English is also quite common due to the high number of anglophone expatriates and foreigners working in international institutions and in the bank sector. Lack of proficiency in French of English-speaking expatriates (even after years spent in Geneva) is an increasing concern.

Most of the population (as of 2000) speak French (128,622 or 72.3%), with English being second most common (7,853 or 4.4%) and Spanish third (7,462 or 4.2%). There are 7,320 people who speak Italian (4.1%), 7,050 people who speak German (4.0%) and 113 people who speak Romansh.

In the city of Geneva, as of 2013, 48% of the population are resident foreign nationals. For a list of the largest groups of foreign residents see the cantonal overview. Over the last 10 years (1999â€"2009) the population has changed at a rate of 7.2%. It has changed at a rate of 3.4% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% due to births and deaths.

As of 2008, the gender distribution of the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population was made up of 46,284 Swiss men (24.2% of the population) and 45,127 (23.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 56,091 Swiss women (29.3%) and 43,735 (22.9%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality 43,296 or about 24.3% were born in Geneva and lived there in 2000. There were 11,757 or 6.6% who were born in the same canton, while 27,359 or 15.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 77,893 or 43.8% were born outside of Switzerland.

In 2008 there were 1,147 live births to Swiss citizens and 893 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in same time span there were 1,114 deaths of Swiss citizens and 274 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration, the population of Swiss citizens increased by 33 while the foreign population increased by 619. There were 465 Swiss men and 498 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 2933 non-Swiss men and 2662 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders) was an increase of 135 and the non-Swiss population increased by 3181 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.8%.

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0â€"19 years old) make up 18.2% of the population, while adults (20â€"64 years old) make up 65.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16%.

As of 2000, there were 78,666 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 74,205 married individuals, 10,006 widows or widowers and 15,087 individuals who are divorced.

As of 2000, there were 86,231 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.9 persons per household. There were 44,373 households that consist of only one person and 2,549 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 89,269 households that answered this question, 49.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 471 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 17,429 married couples without children, 16,607 married couples with children There were 5,499 single parents with a child or children. There were 1,852 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3,038 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing.

In 2000 there were 743 single family homes (or 10.6% of the total) out of a total of 6,990 inhabited buildings. There were 2,758 multi-family buildings (39.5%), along with 2,886 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (41.3%) and 603 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.6%). Of the single family homes 197 were built before 1919, while 20 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (277) were built between 1919 and 1945.

In 2000 there were 101,794 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 27,084. There were 21,889 single room apartments and 11,166 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments, a total of 85,330 apartments (83.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13,644 apartments (13.4%) were seasonally occupied and 2,820 apartments (2.8%) were empty. As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 1.3 new units per 1000 residents.

As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Geneva was 1163.30 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$930, £520, €740 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 641.60 CHF (US$510, £290, €410), a two-room apartment was about 874.46 CHF (US$700, £390, €560), a three-room apartment was about 1126.37 CHF (US$900, £510, €720) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2691.07 CHF (US$2150, £1210, €1720). The average apartment price in Geneva was 104.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.25%.

In June 2011 the average price of an apartment in and around Geneva was 13,681 Swiss francs (CHF) per square metre (11 square feet). The average can be as high as 17,589 Swiss francs (CHF) per square metre (11 square feet) for a luxury apartment and as low as 9,847 Swiss francs (CHF) for an older or basic apartment. For houses in and around Geneva, the average price was 11,595 Swiss francs (CHF) per square metre (11 square feet) (June 2011), with a lowest price per square metre (11 square feet) of 4,874 Swiss francs (CHF), and a maximum price of 21,966 Swiss francs (CHF).

Historical population

Monter calculates that the city's total population was 12,000â€"13,000 in 1550, doubling to over 25,000 by 1560.

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Religion

The 2000 census documented that 66,491 residents (37.4% of the population) were Roman Catholic, while 41,289 people (23.20%) belonged to no church or were agnostic or atheist, 24,105 (13.5%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, and 8,698 (4.89%) were Muslim. Of the rest of the population, there were 3,959 members of an Orthodox church (2.22%), there were 220 individuals (or about 0.12% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, and there were 2,422 individuals (1.36%) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2,601 individuals (1.46%) who were Jewish. There were 707 individuals who were Buddhist, 474 individuals who were Hindu and 423 individuals who belonged to another church. A total of 26,575 individuals (14.93%) did not answer the question.

According to 2012 statistics by Swiss Bundesamt für Statistik 49.2% are Christian, divided into 34.2% Roman Catholic, 8.8% Swiss Reformed (organized in the Protestant Church of Geneva) and 6.2% other Christian (mostly various other Protestants). 38% of Genevans are unaffiliated, 6.1% are Muslim and 1.6% are Jews.

Geneva has historically been considered a Protestant city and was known as the Protestant Rome due to it being the base of John Calvin, William Farel, Theodore Beza and other Protestant Reformers. Over the past century, substantial immigration from France and other predominantly Roman Catholic countries, as well as general European secularization, especially among Christians, has changed its religious landscape. As a result, three times as many Roman Catholics as Protestants lived in the city in 2000, while a large number of residents were members of neither group. Roman Catholics form part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg.

The World Council of Churches has its headquarters at the Ecumenical Centre in Grand-Saconnex, Geneva.

World Communion of Reformed Churches, a worldwide organization of Presbyterian, Continental Reformed, Congregational and other Reformed churches gathering more than 80 million people around the world was based here from 1948 until 2013. The Executive Committee of the World Communion of Reformed Churches voted in 2012 to move its offices to Hanover, Germany, citing the high costs of running the ecumenical organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The move was completed in 2013.

The Lutheran World Federation of 74 million people is also based here.

Protestant Rome

Prior to the Protestant Reformation the city was de jure and de facto Roman Catholic.

As highlighted by popular perception, the Protestant Reformation caused major transformations in the religious and political life of Geneva. Reaction to the new movement varied across Switzerland. While Bern favoured the introduction of the new teaching, Fribourg renounced its allegiance to Geneva in 1531 and stayed Catholic. John Calvin went to Geneva in 1536 after William Farel encouraged him to do so. Calvin's previous residence was Strasbourg in his native France, where he ministered on invitation from fellow reformer Martin Bucer. In Geneva, the Catholic bishop had been obliged to seek exile already in 1532 as a new Protestant leader was to arrive to take his place as city's ecclesiastical leader. Geneva became a stronghold of Calvinism, making religious progress and theological advances within that tradition. Some of tenets created there influenced Protestantism as a whole through the lasting influence of Calvinism. St. Pierre Cathedral was where Calvin and his Protestant Re formers preached. A hotbed of thriving religious debate among major clergy, it constituted the epicenter of the newly developing Protestant thought that would later become to be known as the Reformed tradition. Many prominent Reformed theologians operated there, including William Farel and Theodore Beza, Calvin's successor who progressed Reformed thought after his death.

Geneva was deeply shaped by Calvinism, and Calvin was its spiritual leader until his death. It was a shelter for Calvinists, but at the same time it persecuted Roman Catholics and other heretics. The case of Michael Servetus, an early Nontrinitarian, is notable. Condemned by Catholics and Protestants alike, he was arrested in Geneva and burnt at the stake as a heretic by order of the city's Protestant governing council. John Calvin and his followers denounced him, and possibly contributed to his sentence.

Nowadays, Protestants simply use the word Geneva in multiple contexts to refer to the collective legacy of John Calvin and his theological successors. Another major city in Switzerland during the Protestant Reformation, often placed alongside Geneva, was Zürich. Several major Reformed theologians like Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger operated there.

In 1802, during its annexation to France under Napoleon I, the Diocese of Geneva was united with the Diocese of Chambéry, but the 1814 Congress of Vienna and the 1816 Treaty of Turin stipulated that in territories transferred to a now considerably extended Geneva the Catholic religion was to be protected, and that no changes were to be made in existing conditions without agreement with the Holy See. Napoleon's common policy was to emancipate Catholics in Protestant-majority areas, and the other way around, as well as emancipating Jews. In 1819 the city of Geneva and 20 parishes were united to the Diocese of Lausanne by Pope Pius VII and in 1822 the non-Swiss territory was made into the Diocese of Annecy. A variety of concord with the civil authorities came as a result of the separation of church and state, enacted with strong Catholic support in 1907.

Crime

In 2014 the crime rate, of crimes listed in the Swiss Criminal Code, in Genève was 143.9 per thousand residents. During the same period, the rate of drug crimes was 33.6 per thousand residents. The rate of violations of immigration, visa and work permit laws was 35.7 per thousand residents.

Cityscape

Heritage sites of national significance

There are 82 buildings or sites in Geneva that are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance, and the entire old city of Geneva is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Religious buildings: Cathedral St-Pierre et Chapel des Macchabés, Notre-Dame Church, Russian church, St-Germain Church, Temple de la Fusterie, Temple de l'Auditoire

Civic buildings: Former Arsenal and Archives of the City of Genève, Former Crédit Lyonnais, Former Hôtel Buisson, Former Hôtel du Résident de France et Bibliothèque de la Société de lecture de Genève, Former école des arts industriels, Archives d'État de Genève (Annexe), Bâtiment des forces motrices, Library de Genève, Library juive de Genève «Gérard Nordmann», Cabinet des estampes, Centre d'Iconographie genevoise, Collège Calvin, École Geisendorf, University Hospital of Geneva (HUG), Hôtel de Ville et tour Baudet, Immeuble Clarté at Rue Saint-Laurent 2 and 4, Immeubles House Rotonde at Rue Charles-Giron 11â€"19, Immeubles at Rue Beauregard 2, 4, 6, 8, Immeubles at Rue de la Corraterie 10â€"26, Immeubles at Rue des Granges 2â€"6, Immeuble at Rue des Granges 8, Immeubles at Rue des Granges 10 and 12, Immeuble at Rue des Granges 14, Immeuble and Former Armory at Rue des Granges 16, Immeubles at Rue Pierre Fatio 7 and 9, House de Saussure at Rue de la Cit é 24, House Des arts du Grütli at Rue du Général-Dufour 16, House Royale et les deux immeubles à côté at Quai Gustave Ador 44â€"50, Tavel House at Rue du Puits-St-Pierre 6, Turrettini House at Rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville 8 and 10, Brunswick Monument, Palais de Justice, Palais de l'Athénée, Palais des Nations with library and archives of the SDN and ONU, Palais Eynard et Archives de la ville de Genève, Palais Wilson, Parc des Bastions avec Mur des Réformateurs, Place Neuve et Monument du Général Dufour, Pont de la Machine, Pont sur l'Arve, Poste du Mont-Blanc, Quai du Mont-Blanc, Quai et Hôtel des Bergues, Quai Général Guisan and English Gardens, Quai Gustave-Ador and Jet d'eau, Télévision Suisse Romande, university of Geneva, Victoria Hall

Archeological sites: Fondation Baur and Museum of the arts d'Extrême-Orient, Parc et campagne de la Grange and Library (neolithic shore settlement/Roman villa), Bronze Age shore settlement of Plonjon, Temple de la Madeleine archeological site, Temple Saint-Gervais archeological site, Old City with Celtic, Roman and medieval villages

Museums, theaters, and other cultural sites: Conservatoire de musique at Place Neuve 5, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain, Ile Rousseau and statue, Institute and Museum of Voltaire with Library and Archives, Mallet House and Museum international de la Réforme, Musée Ariana, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Museum d'art moderne et contemporain, Museum d'ethnographie, Museum of the International Red Cross, Musée Rath, Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Salle communale de Plainpalais et théâtre Pitoëff, Villa Bartholoni et Museum d'Histoire et Sciences

International organizations: International Labour Organization (BIT), International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Meteorological Organization, World Trade Organization, International Telecommunication Union, World Alliance of Young Men's Christian Association

Society and culture

Media

The city's main newspaper is the Tribune de Genève, with a readership of about 187,000, a daily newspaper founded on 1 February 1879 by James T. Bates. Le Courrier, founded in 1868, was originally supported by the Roman Catholic Church, but has been independent since 1996. Mainly focussed on Geneva, Le Courrier is trying to expand into other cantons in Romandy. Both Le Temps (headquartered in Geneva) and Le Matin are widely read in Geneva, but cover the whole of Romandy.

Geneva is the main media centre for French-speaking Switzerland. It is the headquarters for the numerous French language radio and television networks of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, known collectively as Radio Télévision Suisse. While both networks cover the whole of Romandy, special programs related to Geneva are sometimes broadcast on some of the local radio frequencies in the case of special events such as elections. Other local radio stations broadcast from the city, including YesFM (FM 91.8 MHz), Radio Cité (Non-commercial radio, FM 92.2 MHz), OneFM (FM 107.0 MHz, also broadcast in Vaud), and World Radio Switzerland (FM 88.4 MHz).

Léman Bleu is a local TV channel, founded in 1996 and distributed by cable. Due to the proximity to France, many of the French television channels are also available.

Traditions and customs

Geneva observes Jeûne genevois on the first Thursday following the first Sunday in September. By local tradition, this commemorates the date the news of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots reached Geneva.

Geneva celebrates L'Escalade on the weekend nearest 12 December celebrating the defeat of the surprise attack by troops sent by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy during the night of 11â€"12 December 1602. Besides festive traditions that includes chocolate cauldrons filled with vegetable-shaped marzipan treats and the Escalade procession on horseback in seventeenth century armour, Geneva has been organizing 'Course de l'Escalade', which means 'Climbing Race'. This race takes place in Geneva's Old Town, and has been very popular amongst racers across all ages. Non-competitive racers have fun by dressing up in fancy costumes, while walking in the race. 2015 marks the 38th edition of this race.

Since 1818, a particular chestnut tree has been used as the official "herald of the spring" in Geneva. The sautier (secretary of the Parliament of the Canton of Geneva) observes the tree and notes the day of arrival of the first bud. While this event has no practical effect, the sautier issues a formal press release and the local newspaper will usually mention the news.

As this is one of the world's oldest records of a plant's reaction to climatic conditions, researchers have been interested to note that the first bud appears earlier and earlier in the year. During the first century, many dates were in March or April. In recent years, it has usually been in mid-February and sometimes even earlier. In 2002, the first bud appeared unusually early, on 7 February, and then again on 29 December of the same year. The following year, which was one of the hottest years recorded in Europe, became a year with no bud. In 2008, the first bud also appeared very early, on 19 February.

Music and festivals

The opera house, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, which officially opened in 1876, was partly destroyed by fire in 1951 and reopened in 1962. It has the largest stage in Switzerland. It features opera and dance performances, recitals, concerts and, occasionally, theatre. The Victoria Hall is used for classical music concerts. It is home of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Every summer, the Fêtes de Genève (Geneva Festival) are organised in Geneva. According to the Radio télévision suisse, in 2013, hundreds of thousands of people came to Geneva to see the annual one-hour long grand firework display of the Fêtes de Genève.

Besides, a music festival occurs in Geneva every year in June. Different groups of artists make their show in different areas of the city. In 2016, the festival celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Museums

Museums and art galleries are numerous throughout the city. Some are related to the many international organizations as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum or the Microcosm in the CERN area. The Palace of Nations, home of the United Nations headquarters, can also be visited.

Education

Geneva is home to the University of Geneva. In 1559, John Calvin founded the Geneva Academy, a theological and humanist seminary. In the 19th century, the Academy lost its ecclesiastic links and in 1873, with the addition of a medical faculty, it became the University of Geneva. In 2011, the ranking web of universities ranked it 35th European university.

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies was among the first academic institutions to teach international relations in the world and is today one of Europe's most prestigious institutions, offering MA and PhD programmes in law, political science, history, economics, international affairs, and development studies.

Also, the oldest international school in the world is located in Geneva, the International School of Geneva, founded in 1924 along with the League of Nations. The Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations is a private university on the grounds of the Château de Penthes, an old manor with a park and view of Lake Geneva.

The Canton of Geneva's public school system has écoles primaires (ages 4â€"12) and cycles d'orientation (ages 12â€"15). The obligation to attend school ends at age 15, but secondary education is provided by collèges (ages 15â€"19), the oldest of which is the Collège Calvin, which could be considered one of the oldest public schools in the world, écoles de culture générale (15-18/19) and the écoles professionnelles (15-18/19). The écoles professionnelles offer full-time courses and part-time study as part of an apprenticeship. Geneva also has a choice of private schools.

Out of all the educational and research facilities in Geneva, CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is probably the best known on a world basis and most recently renown for the Large Hadron Collider. Founded in 1954, CERN was one of Europe's first joint ventures and has developed as the world's largest particle physics laboratory. Physicists from around the world travel to CERN to research matter and explore the fundamental forces and materials that form the universe.

In 2011, 89,244 (37.0%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 107,060 or (44.3%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule). Of the 107,060 who completed tertiary schooling, 32.5% were Swiss men, 31.6% were Swiss women, 18.1% were non-Swiss men and 17.8% were non-Swiss women.

During the 2011â€"2012 school year, there were a total of 92,311 students in the Geneva school system (Primary to University). The education system in the Canton of Geneva has eight years of primary school, with 32,716 students. The secondary school program consists of three lower, obligatory years of schooling, followed by three to five years of optional, advanced schools. There were 13,146 lower secondary students who attended schools in Geneva. There were 10,486 upper secondary students from the municipality along with 10330 students who were in a professional, non-university track program. An additional 11,797 students attended a private school.

Geneva is home to five major libraries, the Bibliothèques municipales Genève, the Haute école de travail social, Institut d'études sociales, the Haute école de santé, the Ecole d'ingénieurs de Genève and the Haute école d'art et de design. There were (as of 2008) 877,680 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year 1,798,980 items were loaned.

Economy

Geneva's economy is mainly services oriented. The city has an important and old finance sector, which is specialised in private banking (managing assets of about 1 trillion USD) and financing of international trade.

Geneva hosts the international headquarters of companies like Japan Tobacco International, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Vitol, Gunvor, Mercuria Energy Group. Merck Serono, SITA, Société Générale de Surveillance, STMicroelectronics, and Weatherford International. Many other multinational companies like Caterpillar, DuPont, and Cargill have their international headquarters in the city; Take Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, INVISTA, Procter & Gamble and Oracle Corporation have their European headquarters in the city. Hewlett Packard has its Europe, Africa, and Middle East headquarters in Meyrin, near Geneva. PrivatAir has its headquarters in Meyrin, near Geneva.

There is a long tradition of watchmaking in Geneva which roots back to the 16th century, directly related to the Calvinism of Geneva. Many watchmakers are based in Geneva since their foundation, such as (Baume et Mercier, Charriol, Chopard, Franck Muller, Patek Philippe, Gallet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Rolex, Universal Genève, Raymond Weil, Omega, Vacheron Constantin, Frédérique Constant, etc.). Two major international producers of flavours and fragrances, Firmenich and Givaudan, have their headquarters and main production facilities in Geneva.

The private sector is organized in different Union of employers, including the Fédération des Entreprises Romandes Genève (FER Genève) and the Fédération des métiers du bâtiment (FMB).

Many people also work in the numerous offices of international organisations located in Geneva (about 22,233 in March 2012).

The Geneva Motor Show is one of the most important international auto shows. It is held at Palexpo, a giant convention centre next to the International Airport.

In 2009, Geneva was ranked as the fourth most expensive city in the world. Geneva moved up four places from eighth place the previous year. Geneva is ranked behind Tokyo, Osaka, and Moscow at first, second, and third respectively. Geneva also beat Hong Kong, which came in at fifth place.

As of 2011, Geneva had an unemployment rate of 6.3%. As of 2008, there were five people employed in the primary economic sector and about three businesses involved in this sector. 9,783 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 1,200 businesses in this sector. 134,429 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 12,489 businesses in this sector. There were 91,880 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 47.7% of the workforce.

In 2008 the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 124,185. The number of jobs in the primary sector was four, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 9,363 of which 4,863 or (51.9%) were in manufacturing and 4,451 (47.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 114,818. In the tertiary sector; 16,573 or 14.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 3,474 or 3.0% were in the movement and storage of goods, 9,484 or 8.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 4,544 or 4.0% were in the information industry, 20,982 or 18.3% were the insurance or financial industry, 12,177 or 10.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 10,007 or 8.7% were in education and 15,029 or 13.1% were in health care.

In 2000, there were 95,190 workers who commuted into the municipality and 25,920 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.7 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 13.8% of the workforce coming into Geneva are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.4% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work. Of the working population, 38.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 30.6% used a private car.

Sports

Among the most popular sports in Switzerland is ice hockey. Geneva is the home of the Genève-Servette HC, who play in the Swiss National League A. In 2008 and 2010, the team made it to the league finals but lost to the ZSC Lions and SC Bern respectively.

There is also a football team in Geneva. The Servette FC is a football club founded in 1890 and named after a borough on the right bank of the Rhône. The home of Servette is Stade de Genève. Servette plays in the Premiere League Promotion. It was relegated to the third division in 2004â€"2005 due to a bankruptcy and was promoted to the Swiss Challenge League after the 2005â€"2006 season, where the club remained until 2011. Servette earned promotion to the Swiss Super League after defeating Bellinzona in a relegation/promotion playoff on 31 May 2011 and have since re-established themselves in the elite of Swiss football. The club finished fourth in its first season back in the top flight, thereby gaining entrance to the Europa League second round qualification round for the 2012â€"13 season.

Infrastructure

Transport

The city is served by the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. It is connected by Geneva Airport railway station (French: Gare de Genève-Aéroport) with both the Swiss Federal Railways network and the French SNCF network, including to Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Montpellier by TGV. Geneva is connected to the motorway systems of both Switzerland (A1 motorway) and France.

Public transport by bus, trolleybus or tram is provided by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG). In addition to an extensive coverage of the city centre, the network covers most of the municipalities of the Canton, with a few lines extending into France. Public transport by boat is provided by the Mouettes Genevoises, which link the two banks of the lake within the city, and by the Compagnie Générale de Navigation sur le lac Léman (CGN) which serves more distant destinations such as Nyon, Yvoire, Thonon, Évian, Lausanne and Montreux using both modern diesel vessels and vintage paddle steamers.

Trains operated by Swiss Federal Railways connect the airport to the main station of Cornavin in six minutes. Regional train services are being increasingly developed, towards Coppet and Bellegarde. At the city limits, two new railway stations have been opened since 2002: Genève-Sécheron (close to the UN and the Botanical Gardens) and Lancy-Pont-Rouge.

In 2011, work started on the CEVA (Cornavin â€" Eaux-Vives â€" Annemasse) project, first planned in 1884, which will connect Cornavin with the Cantonal hospital, Eaux-Vives railway station and Annemasse, in France. The link between the main railway station and the classification yard of La Praille already exists; from there, the line will go mostly underground to the Hospital and Eaux-Vives, where it will link to the existing line to France. Support for this project was obtained from all parties in the local parliament.

In May 2013, the demonstrator TOSA Flash Mobility, Clean City, Smart Bus of a large capacity (133 passengers) full electric bus system with opportunity charging starts its service between Geneva Airport and PALEXPO. The project aims to introduce a new system of mass transport with electric "flash" recharging of the buses at selected stops while passengers are disembarking and embarking. By December 2016, the TOSA buses will run on line 23.

Taxis in Geneva can be difficult to find, and may need to be booked in advance especially in the early morning or at peak hours. Taxis can refuse to take babies and children because of seating legislation.

An ambitious project to close 200 streets in the centre of Geneva to cars has been approved in principle by the Geneva cantonal authorities, and is projected to be implemented over four years (2010â€"2014).

Utilities

Water, natural gas and electricity are provided to the municipalities of the Canton of Geneva by the state-owned Services Industriels de Genève (shortly SIG). Most of the drinkable water (80%) is extracted from the lake; the remaining 20% is provided by groundwater originally formed by infiltration from the Arve. 30% of the Canton's electricity needs is locally produced, mainly by three hydroelectric dams on the Rhône (Seujet, Verbois and Chancy-Pougny). In addition, 13% of the electricity produced in the Canton is made from the heat induced by the burning of waste at the waste incineration facility of Les Cheneviers. The remaining needs (57%) are covered by imports from other cantons in Switzerland or other European countries; SIG buys only electricity produced by renewable methods, and in particular does not use electricity produced using nuclear reactors or fossil fuels. Natural gas is available in the City of Geneva, as well as in about two-thirds of the municipalities of th e canton, and is imported from Western Europe by the Swiss company Gaznat. SIG also provides telecommunication facilities to carriers, service providers and large enterprises. From 2003 to 2005, "Voisin, voisine" a Fibre to the Home pilot project with a Triple play offering was launched to test the end-user market in the Charmilles district.

International organisations

Geneva is the European headquarters of the United Nations, in the Palace of Nations building (French: Palais des Nations), which was also the headquarters of the former League of Nations. Several agencies are headquartered at Geneva, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Apart from the UN agencies, Geneva hosts many inter-governmental organizations, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Maison de la Paix building hosts the three Geneva centres supported by the Swiss Confederation, the International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and the Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), as well as other organisations active in the field of peace, international affairs and sustainable development.

Organizations on the European level include the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) which is the world's largest particle physics laboratory.

The Geneva Environment Network (GEN) publishes the Geneva Green Guide, an extensive listing of Geneva-based global organisations working on environment protection and sustainable development. A website (by the Swiss Government, WBCSD, UNEP and IUCN) includes stories about how NGOs, business, government and the UN cooperate. By doing so, it attempts to explain why Geneva has been picked by so many NGOs and UN as their headquarters location.

The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) and the World Scout Bureau Central Office are headquartered in Geneva.

Geneva in popular culture

Literature

• The Geneva Strategy by Jamie Freveletti for Robert Ludlum
• Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
• Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
• Belle du Seigneur by Albert Cohen, ISBN 2-07-040402-1
• Her Lover (Belle du Seigneur) by Albert Cohen, ISBN 978-0-14-118830-0
• Generation A (2009), by Douglas Coupland
• Asterix in Switzerland by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
• Doctor Fischer of Geneva by Graham Greene
• The Calculus Affair by Hergé
• Daisy Miller by Henry James
• Three Colors: Red by Krzysztof KieÅ›lowski
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
• This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
• Nuages dans la main, Comme le sable, Le Creux de la vague, Jette ton pain by Alice Rivaz
• Politics and the Arts by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Doctor of Geneva by Wallace Stevens
• Le voyage de sa vie by Lisa Ray Turner
• Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad
• The 'Edith Trilogy' by Frank Moorhouse
• Chalet School Fete (pb)/A Genius at the Chalet School (hb) by Elinor Brent-Dyer

Music

• Switzerland (2011), a song off the album entitled "Quill" by the Hampton Roads Virginia band The Last Bison.
• Geneva (2009), an album by the Chicago band Russian Circles
• The song "Goin' Down Geneva", by Van Morrison, opens his album Back on Top (1999).
• The city is mentioned in the song "Higgs Boson Blues", featured in the 2014 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Push the Sky Away.

Television

• How I Met Your Mother, the character Ted Mosby sometimes wears a shirt with Geneva's Coat of Arms printed on it
• Geneva is depicted as the Earth Alliance Capital in Babylon 5.

Notable people

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The National Mall is a national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Park Service (NPS) administers the National Mall, which is part of its National Mall and Memorial Parks unit. The term National Mall commonly includes areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to refer to the entire area between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol, with the Washington Monument dividing the area slightly west of its midpoint. A smaller designation, sometimes referred to as the Mall proper, excludes both the Capitol grounds and the Washington Monument grounds, applying only to an area between them . The National Mall contains a number of museums and memorials and receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.

History

In his 1791 plan for the future city of Washington, D.C., Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length and 400 feet (120 m) wide, in an area that would lie between the Capitol building and an equestrian statue of George Washington to be placed directly south of the White House (see L'Enfant Plan). The National Mall occupies the site of this planned "grand avenue", which was never constructed. The Washington Monument stands near the planned site of its namesake's equestrian statue. Mathew Carey's 1802 map is reported to be the first to name the area west of the United States Capitol as the "Mall".

During the early 1850s, architect and horticulturist Andrew Jackson Downing designed a landscape plan for the Mall. Over the next half century, federal agencies developed several naturalistic parks within the Mall in accordance with Downing's plan. Two such areas were Henry Park and Seaton Park. In addition, railroad tracks crossed the Mall on 6th Street, west of the Capitol. Near the tracks, a large market (Central Market) and a railroad station rose on the north side of the Mall. Greenhouses belonging to the U.S. Botanic Garden appeared near the east end of the Mall.

In 1901, the McMillan Commission's plan, which was partially inspired by the City Beautiful Movement and which purportedly extended L'Enfant's plan, called for a radical redesign of the Mall that would replace its greenhouses, gardens, trees, and commercial/industrial facilities with an open space. The plan differed from L'Enfant's by replacing the 400 feet (120 m) wide "grand avenue" with a 300 feet (91 m) wide vista containing a long and broad expanse of grass. Four rows of American elm (Ulmus americana) trees planted fifty feet apart between two paths or streets would line each side of the vista. Buildings housing cultural and educational institutions constructed in the Beaux-Arts style would line each outer path or street, on the opposite side of the path or street from the elms.

In subsequent years, the vision of the McMillan plan was generally followed with the planting of American elms and the layout of four boulevards down the Mall, two on either side of a wide lawn. In accordance with a plan that it completed in 1976, the NPS converted the two innermost boulevards (Washington and Adams Drives) into gravel walking paths. The two outermost boulevards (Jefferson Drive Southwest (SW) and Madison Drive Northwest (NW)) remain paved and open to vehicular traffic.

In 1918 contractors for the United States Navy's Bureau of Yards and Docks constructed the "Main Navy" and "Munitions" Buildings along nearly a third of a mile of the south side of Constitution Avenue (then known as B Street), from 17th Street NW to 21st Street NW. Although the Navy intended the buildings to provide temporary quarters for the United States military during World War I, the reinforced concrete structures remained in place until 1970. Much of the buildings' area then became Constitution Gardens, which was dedicated in 1976.

From the 1970s to 1994, a fiberglass model of a triceratops named "Uncle Beazley" stood on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History. The life-size statue, which is now located at the National Zoological Park (the National Zoo) in Northwest Washington, D.C., was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by the Sinclair Oil Corporation. The statue, which Louis Paul Jonas created for Sinclair's DinoLand pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair, was named after a dinosaur in Oliver Butterworth's 1956 children's book, The Enormous Egg, and the 1968 televised movie adaptation in which the statue appeared.

In 2003, the 108th United States Congress enacted the Commemorative Works Clarification and Revision Act. This Act prohibits the siting of new commemorative works and visitor centers in a designated reserve area within the cross-axis of the Mall.

In October 2013, a two-week federal government shutdown closed the National Mall and its museums and monuments. However, when a group of elderly veterans tried to enter the National World War II Memorial during the shutdown's first day, the memorial's barricades were removed. The NPS subsequently announced that the veterans had a legal right to be in the memorial and would not be barred in the future. During the shutdown's second week, the NPS permitted a controversial immigration rally and concert to take place on the Mall.

On October 15, 1966, the NPS listed the National Mall on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1981, the NPS prepared a National Register nomination form that documented the Mall's boundaries, features and historical significance.

On December 8, 2016, the NPS listed on the National Register of Historic Places an increase in the National Mall Historic District's boundary to encompass an area bounded by 3rd Street, NW/SW, Independence Avenue, SW, Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW, the CSX Railroad, the Potomac River, Constitution Ave., NW, 17th Street, NW, the White House Grounds and 15th Street, NW. The listing's registration form, which contained 232 pages, described and illustrated the history and features of the historic district's proposed expanded area.

Measurements

Dimensions

• Between the Capitol steps and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall spans 1.9 miles (3.0 km).
• Between the Capitol steps and the Washington Monument, the Mall spans 1.2 miles (1.8 km).
• Between the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial, the Mall covers 309.2 acres (125.13 ha).
• Between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall is 1,586 feet (483 m).
• Between Madison Drive NW and Jefferson Drive SW at 7th Street, the width of the Mall's open space is 656 feet (200 m).
• Between the innermost rows of trees near 7th Street, the width of the Mall's vista is 300 feet (91 m).

Boundaries

In its 1981 National Register of Historic Places nomination form, the NPS defined the boundaries of the National Mall (proper) as Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues on the north, 1st Street NW on the east, Independence and Maryland Avenues on the south, and 14th Street NW on the west, with the exception of the section of land bordered by Jefferson Drive on the north, Independence Avenue on the south, and by 12th and 14th Streets respectively on the east and west, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture administers and which contains the Jamie L. Whitten Building (U.S. Department of Agriculture Administration Building).

However, a 2010 NPS plan for the Mall contains maps that show the Mall's general area to be larger. A document within the plan describes this area as "the grounds of the U.S. Capitol west to the Potomac River, and from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial north to Constitution Avenue". A map within the plan entitled "National Mall Areas" illustrates "The Mall" as being the green space bounded on the east by 3rd Street, on the west by 14th Street, on the north by Jefferson Drive, NW, and on the south by Madison Drive, SW. A Central Intelligence Agency map shows the Mall as occupying the space between the Lincoln Memorial and the United States Capitol.

In 2011, the 112th United States Congress enacted the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012, which transferred to the Architect of the Capitol the NPS "property which is bounded on the north by Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, on the east by First Street Northwest and First Street Southwest, on the south by Maryland Avenue Southwest, and on the west by Third Street Southwest and Third Street Northwest". This act removed Union Square (the area containing the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial and the Capitol Reflecting Pool) from NPS jurisdiction.

Purposes

The National Park Service states that the purposes of the National Mall are to:

• Provide a monumental, dignified, and symbolic setting for the governmental structures, museums and national memorials as first delineated by the L'Enfant plan and further outlined in the McMillan plan.
• Maintain and provide for the use of the National Mall with its public promenades as a completed work of civic art, a designed historic landscape providing extraordinary vistas to symbols of the nation.
• Maintain National Mall commemorative works (memorials, monuments, statues, sites, gardens) that honor presidential legacies, distinguished public figures, ideas, events, and military and civilian sacrifices and contributions.
• Forever retain the West Potomac Park section of the National Mall as a public park for recreation and enjoyment of the people.
• Maintain the National Mall in the heart of the nation's capital as a stage for national events and a preeminent national civic space for public gatherings because it is here that the constitutional rights of speech and peaceful assembly find their fullest expression.
• Maintain the National Mall as an area free of commercial advertising while retaining the ability to recognize sponsors.

Landmarks, museums, and other features

The National Mall (proper) contains the following landmarks, museums and other features:

With the exception of the National Gallery of Art, all of the museums on the National Mall (proper) are part of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Gardens maintains a number of gardens near its museums. These gardens include:

The broader area of the National Mall includes numerous other landmarks and features.

Features east of the National Mall (proper) include the following:

Features west of the National Mall (proper) include the following:

The population of American elm trees planted on the Mall and its surrounding areas in accordance with the McMillan Plan has remained intact for the past 70 years because of disease management and immediate tree replacement. Dutch elm disease (DED) first appeared on the Mall during the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1970s. The NPS has used a number of methods to control this fungal epidemic, including sanitation, pruning, injecting trees with fungicide, replanting with DED-resistant American elm cultivars and combatting the disease's local insect vector, the smaller European elm bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus), by trapping and by spraying with insecticides. Soil compaction and root damage by crowds and construction projects also adversely affect the elms.

Other attractions nearby

Other attractions within walking distance of the National Mall proper include the Library of Congress and the United States Supreme Court Building east of the Capitol; the White House (on a line directly north of the Washington Monument), the National Archives, the Freedom Forum's Newseum, the Old Post Office Pavilion, the National Theatre, Ford's Theatre, and the Albert Einstein Memorial to the north. Other nearby attractions include the National Postal Museum and Union Station to the northeast; and the Tidal Basin, the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the George Mason Memorial, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to the south.

Usage

The National Mall, in combination with the other attractions in the Washington Metropolitan Area, makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. It has several other uses in addition to serving as a tourist focal point.

Protests and rallies

The National Mall's status as a wide, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a political rally for African American civil rights, at which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. However, in 1995, the NPS issued a crowd estimate for the Million Man March with which an organizer of the event, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, disagreed. The next year, a committee of the 104th United States Congress provided no funds for NPS crowd-counting activities in Washington, D.C. when it prepared legislation making 1997 appropriations for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

As a result, the NPS has not provided any official crowd size estimates for Mall events since 1995. The absence of such an official estimate fueled a political controversy following the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump in 2017 (see: Inauguration of Donald Trump crowd size).

On April 25, 2004, the March for Women's Lives filled the Mall. On January 27, 2007, tens of thousands of protesters opposed to the Iraq War converged on the Mall (see: January 27, 2007 anti-war protest), drawing comparisons by participants to the Vietnam War protest.

Presidential inaugurations

During presidential inaugurations, people without official tickets gather at the National Mall. Normally, the Mall between 7th and 14th Streets NW is used as a staging ground for the parade. On December 4, 2008, the Presidential Inaugural Committee (see United States presidential inauguration#Organizers) announced that "for the first time, the entire length of the National Mall will be opened to the public so that more people than ever before will be able to witness the swearing-in of the President from a vantage point in sight of the Capitol." The Committee made this arrangement because of the massive attendance â€" projected to be as many as 2 million people â€" that it expected for the first inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.

Despite the arrangement, a throng of people seeking access to the event climbed and then removed temporary protective fences around the Smithsonian's Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, six blocks from the site at which Obama took his inaugural oath. Hordes then trampled the garden's vegetation and elevated plant beds when entering and leaving the event. Others could not find a way to enter the Mall in time to view the ceremony.

More than a thousand people with tickets missed the event while being stranded in the I-395 Third Street Tunnel beneath the Mall after police directed them there (see Purple Tunnel of Doom). The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies subsequently announced that ticket holders that were not admitted would receive copies of the swearing-in invitation and program, photos of Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, and a color print of the ceremony.

Other events and recreational activities

The National Mall has long served as a spot for jogging, picnics, and light recreation for the Washington population. The Smithsonian Carousel, located on the Mall in front of the Arts and Industry Building, is a popular attraction that operates seasonally. The carousel was built by the Allan Herschell Company and arrived at Gwynn Oak Park near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1947. It was moved to the Mall in 1981.

Annual events

A number of large free events recur annually on the Mall. A kite festival, formerly named the "Smithsonian Kite Festival" and now named the "Blossom Kite Festival", usually takes place each year on the Washington Monument grounds during the last weekend of March as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The 2017 kite festival is scheduled to take place on the Washington Monument grounds on Saturday, April 1.

An Earth Day celebration often takes place on the Mall around April 22. A week-long series of rallies, exhibits, observances and performances occurred on the Mall from April 17 to April 25, 2010 to commemorate Earth Day's 40th anniversary. The final day's events featured performances by Sting, Mavis Staples, The Roots, John Legend, Jimmy Cliff and others. The 2012 Earth Day rally, which featured music, entertainment, celebrity speakers and environmental activities, took place on the Mall during a rainy day on Sunday, April 22. Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Nigel Pilkington, Dan Russell and Emma Tate and The Explorers Club performed and Congressmen John Dingell and Edward Markey spoke. In 2013, an "Earth Month" at Washington's Union Station replaced the Mall's Earth Day event. On April 19, 2015, a "Global Citizen" Earth Day concert featured performances on the Washington Monument grounds by Usher, My Morning Jacket, Mary J. Blige, Train and No Doubt.

The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its National Memorial Day Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Memorial Day (the last Monday of May). The National Gallery of Art hosts a Jazz in the Garden series each year in the museum's Sculpture Garden on Friday evenings from late May through August.

Components of the United States Navy Band, the United States Air Force Band, the United States Marine Band and the United States Army Band perform on the west steps of the United States Capitol on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings, respectively, during June, July and August. The Marine Band repeats each Wednesday Capitol performance on the following evening (Thursday) at the Sylvan Theater on the grounds of the Washington Monument. Components of U.S. military bands also provide evening concerts at the World War II Memorial from May through August.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival takes place on the Mall each year for two weeks around Independence Day (July 4). On that holiday, the A Capitol Fourth concert takes place in the late afternoon and early evening on the west lawn of the Capitol. This and other Independence Day celebrations on and near the Mall end after sunset with a fireworks display between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

The National Symphony Orchestra presents each year its Labor Day Capitol Concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol during the evening of the Sunday before Labor Day (the first Monday of September).

Other events

On April 9, 1939, singer Marian Anderson gave an Easter Sunday concert at the Lincoln Memorial after the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) denied a request by Howard University for her to give an Easter performance at the DAR's nearby racially segregated Constitution Hall (see: Marian Anderson#1939 Lincoln Memorial concert). The event, which 75,000 people attended, occurred after President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his assent for the performance.

The 1976 United States Bicentennial celebration provided the motivation for planning to accommodate large numbers of expected visitors to the National Mall. A number of major memorials were added to the Mall throughout that period. On July 4, the Bicentennial fireworks display on the Mall attracted one million viewers, making it second only to the 1965 presidential inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson as largest event in the Mall's history up to that time.

On Sunday, October 9, 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the National Mall during a visit to Washington. The celebration took place after an appellate court denied a motion for an injunction that atheists Madalyn Murray O'Hair and Jon Garth Murray had filed to prevent the event from occurring.

From 1980 through 1982, The Beach Boys and The Grass Roots performed Independence Day concerts on the Mall, attracting large crowds. However, in April 1983, James G. Watt, President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, banned Independence Day concerts on the Mall by such groups. Watt said that "rock bands" that had performed on the Mall on Independence Day in 1981 and 1982 had encouraged drug use and alcoholism and had attracted "the wrong element", who would mug individuals and families attending any similar events in the future. Watt then announced that Las Vegas crooner Wayne Newton, a friend and supporter of President Reagan and a contributor to Republican Party political campaigns, would perform at the Mall's 1983 Independence Day celebration.

During the ensuing uproar, Rob Grill, lead singer of The Grass Roots, stated that he felt "highly insulted" by Watt's remarks, which he called "nothing but un-American". The Beach Boys stated that the Soviet Union, which had invited them to perform in Leningrad in 1978, "obviously .... did not feel that the group attracted the wrong element". Vice President George H. W. Bush said of The Beach Boys, "They're my friends and I like their music". On July 3, 1983, thousands attended a heavily policed "Rock Against Reagan" concert that the hardcore punk rock band, Dead Kennedys, performed on the Mall in response to Watt's action. When Newton entered an Independence Day stage on the Mall on July 4, members of his audience booed. Watt apologized to The Beach Boys, First Lady Nancy Reagan apologized for Watt, and in 1984 The Beach Boys gave an Independence Day concert on the Mall to an audience of 750,000 people.

On September 4, 2003, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Aerosmith and others performed in a nationally televised "NFL Kickoff Live from the National Mall Presented by Pepsi Vanilla" (see National Football League Kickoff game#Pre-game concerts). Preceded by a three-day National Football League "interactive Super Bowl theme park", the event had primarily commercial purposes, unlike earlier major activities on the Mall. Three weeks later, the United States Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that, when enacted into law, limited displays of commercial sponsorship on the Mall.

On July 7, 2007, one leg of Live Earth was held outdoors at the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. Former Vice President Al Gore presented, and artists such as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed.

Occurring once every two to three years on the Mall in the early fall from 2002 to 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon displayed solar-powered houses that competitive collegiate teams designed, constructed and operated. Igniting a controversy, the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to move the 2011 Decathlon off the Mall, claiming that this would support an effort to protect, improve and restore the park. Federal officials stated that heavy equipment that had placed two-story houses on the Mall during earlier Decathlons had cracked walkways and killed grass to a greater extent than had most other Mall events. On February 4, 2011, a Washington Post editorial criticized attempts to have President Obama restore the event to the Mall. Nevertheless, by February 12, 2011, at least thirteen U.S. Senators had signed a letter asking the DOE to reconsider its decision. On February 23, 2011, the DOE and the Department of the Interior announced that the 2011 Solar Decathlon wo uld take place along Ohio Drive southeast of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in West Potomac Park. The event took place in the Park from September 23 through October 2, 2011. The 2013 Solar Decathlon took place in California instead of Washington.

From 2003 to 2013, the National Book Festival took place on the Mall each year in late September or early October. However, the event moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in 2014 because the NPS became concerned about the damage that pedestrians had inflicted on the Mall's lawn during previous Festivals.

A four-day exhibition took place each year on the Mall during Public Service Recognition Week (the first full week of May) until 2010. Government agencies participating in the event sponsored exhibits that displayed the works of public employees and that enabled visitors to learn about government programs and initiatives, discuss employee benefits, and interact with agency representatives. However, the 2011 United States federal budget (Public Law 112-10), which was belatedly enacted on April 15, 2011, contained no funding for that year's event, forcing the event's cancellation. The event did not take place in 2012.

On June 12, 2010, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, a couple under investigation for allegedly crashing a White House state dinner for the Prime Minister of India in November 2009 (see: 2009 U.S. state dinner security breaches), hosted an America's Polo Cup match between the United States and India on the Mall. The advertised ticket price for this event was $95 per person. Reports of the event stated that the players who represented India were actually of Pakistani origin and were from Florida. A spokesman for the Embassy of India stated that neither the Embassy nor the government of India had any association with the event. The event's website reportedly identified an Indian company, Kingfisher Beer, as a sponsor. However, Kingfishers' chief executive denied that the company had sponsored the event. Yashpal Singh, the president and chief executive of Mendocino Brewing Company, Kingfisher's parent company, stated, "We are not sponsoring this event and have informed the people managing th is event of that, .... We have sent legal notices to this effect, and he keeps on advertising us as a sponsor. I don't know what world he's living in."

The inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival Expo took place on the National Mall and surrounding areas on October 23 and 24, 2010. More than 1,500 free interactive exhibits reportedly drew about 500,000 people to the event, which had over 75 performances. The second Expo took place on April 28â€"29, 2012, in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2014, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Rihanna, Metallica, Carrie Underwood, Dave Grohl, the Zac Brown Band and other pop entertainers performed on the Mall during a free evening Concert for Valor honoring veterans and their families. Attendance was in the hundreds of thousands, making it one of the biggest events on the Mall for the year.

The annual Screen on the Green movie festival took place on the Mall on Monday nights during July and August for 17 years until 2015. Free classic movies were projected on large portable screens and typically drew crowds of thousands of people. Organizers cancelled the event in 2016 when the event's sponsors (HBO and Comcast) terminated their support, stating that they needed their resources for other projects.

National Mall Plan

From 2006 through 2010, the NPS conducted a public process that created a plan for the future of the National Mall. On July 13, 2010, the NPS issued in the Federal Register a notice of availability of a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the National Mall Plan. The two-volume final EIS responded to comments and incorporated changes to a draft EIS for the Plan. On November 9, 2010, the NPS and the Department of the Interior issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that completed the planning process. The ROD contains a summary of the selected alternative, which is the basis for the Plan, together with mitigation measures developed to minimize environmental harm; other alternatives considered; the basis for the decision in terms of planning objectives and the criteria used to develop the preferred alternative; a finding of no impairment of park resources and values; the environmentally preferable alternative; and the public and agency involvement.

The Plan proposed a number of changes to the Mall. The NPS would construct at the east end of the Mall a wide expanse of paved surface in Union Square to accommodate demonstrations and other events by reducing the size of the Capitol Reflecting Pool or by replacing the pool with a fountain or other small water feature. Additional proposed changes included the replacement of the Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument grounds with a facility containing offices, restaurants and restrooms.

On December 2, 2010, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) unanimously approved the final National Mall Plan at a public hearing. The NCPC's approval allowed the NPS to move forward with implementation of the Plan's recommendations. On March 1, 2012, the NCPC discussed a proposal that would decrease the Mall's existing green space by widening and paving most of the north-south walkways that cross the Mall between Seventh and Fourteenth Streets and by replacing with gravel large areas of grass that are located near the Smithsonian Metro Station and the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden.

On September 8, 2011, the Trust for the National Mall and the NPS announced an open competition for a redesign of the spaces on the National Mall that Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and the Constitution Gardens lake now occupy. Former First Lady of the United States Laura Bush agreed to be the honorary co-chair of a drive to raise funds for the three projects.

On April 9, 2012, the Trust for the National Mall announced the ideas for the redesign of Union Square, the Sylvan Theater grounds and Constitution Gardens lake area that finalists in the competition had submitted. The Trust asked the public to submit online comments that the competition jury would consider when evaluating each design. The Trust announced the winners of the competition on May 2, 2012. Groundbreaking for the first project was expected to take place by 2014, with the first ribbon-cutting ceremony by 2016.

On October 1, 2015, the NCPC approved preliminary and final site and building plans that the NPS had submitted for the first phase rehabilitation of Constitution Gardens. Plans include the relocation and rehabilitation of the Lockkeeper's House, C & O Canal Extension, a new entry plaza at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 17th Street, NW, landscaping, a meadow and pollinator habitat and a new perimeter garden wall. A temporary path will connect to an existing plaza located at the eastern end of Constitution Garden’s lake.

Reconstruction and restoration

From 2010 to 2012, NPS contractors rebuilt the aging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which had first been constructed in the early 1920s and whose water had come from the pipes that supply Washington, D.C., with its drinking water. As a result of the project, the pool now receives filtered water from the Tidal Basin through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline.

The NPS then began a four-year restoration of the portion of the central axis of the Mall that lies between 3rd Street and 14th Street. By 2016, the restoration project had completely replaced the deteriorated and weedy turf that had previously covered much of that part of the Mall with a new cover containing soil, fescue (Festuca) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis).

Transportation

Public transportation

The National Mall is accessible via the Washington Metro, with the Smithsonian station located on the south side of the Mall, near the Smithsonian Institution Building between the Washington Monument and the United States Capitol. The Federal Triangle, Archives, and Union Station Metro stations are also located near the Mall, to the north. The L'Enfant Plaza, Federal Center Southwest and Capitol South Metro stations are located several blocks south of the Mall. Metrobus and the DC Circulator make scheduled stops near the Mall.

Bicycles

The NPS provides parking facilities for bicycles near each of the major memorials as well as along the National Mall. From March to October, an NPS concessionaire rents out bicycles at the Thompson Boat Center, located near the intersection of Virginia Avenue NW and Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the Lincoln Memorial along the Potomac River-Rock Creek Trail. The first two of five approved Capital Bikeshare stations opened on the National Mall on March 16, 2012, shortly before the start of the 2012 National Cherry Blossom Festival.

The National Mall is the official midpoint of the East Coast Greenway, a 2,900 mileâ€"long system of shared-use bicycle trails linking Calais, Maine, with Key West, Florida.

Pedicabs

The NPS licenses pedicab drivers to provide transportation and tours of the National Mall through its Commercial Use Authorization program.

Motor vehicle parking

General visitor parking is available along Ohio Drive SW, between the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials. Bus parking is available primarily along Ohio Drive, SW, near the Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Memorials and along Ohio Drive SW, in East Potomac Park. There is limited handicapped parking at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and World War II Memorials and near the Washington Monument and the Thomas Jefferson, Lincoln, Korean War Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans Memorials; otherwise, parking is extremely scarce in and near the Mall.

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Málaga (/ˈmæləɡə/, Spanish: [ˈmalaɣa]) is a municipality, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 569,130 in 2015, it is the second-most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth-largest in Spain. The southernmost large city in Europe, it lies on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun ) of the Mediterranean, about 100 kilometres (62.14 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 km (80.78 mi) north of Africa.

Málaga's history spans about 2,800 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. It was founded by the Phoenicians as Malaka about 770 BC, and from the 6th century BC was under the hegemony of Ancient Carthage. Then, from 218 BC, it was ruled by the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire as Malaca (Latin). After the fall of the empire and the end of Visigothic rule, it was under Islamic rule as Mālaqah (مالقة) for 800 years, but in 1487, the Crown of Castille gained control after the Reconquista. The archaeological remains and monuments from the Phoenician, Roman, Arabic and Christian eras make the historic center of the city an "open museum", displaying its history of nearly 3,000 years.

This important cultural infrastructure and the artistic heritage have culminated in the nomination of Málaga as a candidate for the 2016 European Capital of Culture.

The internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher Solomon Ibn Gabirol and the actor Antonio Banderas were born in Málaga. The magnum opus of Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, "Malagueña", is named for the music of this region of Spain.

The most important business sectors in Málaga are tourism, construction and technology services, but other sectors such as transportation and logistics are beginning to expand. The Andalusia Technology Park (PTA), located in Málaga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992. Málaga is the main economic and financial centre of southern Spain, home of the region's largest bank, Unicaja, and the fourth-ranking city in economic activity in Spain behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

History

The Phoenicians from Tyre founded the city as Malaka about 770 BC. The name Malaḥa or mlḥ is probably derived from the Phoenician word for "salt" because fish was salted near the harbour. (Cf. "salt" in other Semitic languages, e.g. Hebrew מלח mélaḥ or Arabic ملح malaḥ).

After a period of Carthaginian rule, Malaka became part of the Roman Empire. In its Roman stage, the city (Latin name, Malaca) showed a remarkable degree of development. Transformed into a confederated city, it was under a special law, the Lex Flavia Malacitana. A Roman theatre was built at this time. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was ruled first by the Visigoths and then by the Byzantine Empire (550â€"621).. It was regained by the Visigoths in 621 and ruled by them until the Umayyad Muslim conquest in 711.

In the 8th century, during the Muslim Arabic rule over Spain, the city became an important trade center. Málaga was first a possession of the Caliphate of Córdoba. After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty, it became the capital of a distinct kingdom ruled by the Zirids. During this time, the city was called Mālaqah (Arabic مالقة). From 1025 it was the capital of the autonomous Taifa of Málaga, until its conquest by the Emirate of Granada in 1239.

The traveller Ibn Battuta, who passed through around 1325, characterised it as "one of the largest and most beautiful towns of Andalusia [uniting] the conveniences of both sea and land, and is abundantly supplied with foodstuffs and fruits". He praised its grapes, figs, and almonds; "its ruby-coloured Murcian pomegranates have no equal in the world." Another exported product was its "excellent gilded pottery". The town's mosque was large and beautiful, with "exceptionally tall orange trees" in its courtyard.

Málaga was one of the Iberian cities where Muslim rule persisted the longest, having been part of the Emirate of Granada. While most other parts of the peninsula had already been won back during the reconquista, the Moors still occupied Málaga. Málaga was retaken by Christian forces on 18 August 1487, The Muslim inhabitants resisted assaults and artillery bombardments before hunger forced them to surrender, virtually the entire population was sold into slavery or given as "gifts" to other Christian rulers, five years before the fall of Granada.

On 24 August 1704 the indecisive Battle of Málaga, the largest naval battle in the War of the Spanish Succession, took place in the sea south of Málaga.

After the coup of July 1936 the government of the Second Spanish Republic retained control of Málaga. Its harbour was a base of the Spanish Republican Navy at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. It suffered heavy bombing by Italian warships which took part in breaking the Republican navy's blockade of Nationalist-held Spanish Morocco and took part in naval bombardment of Republican-held Málaga. After the Battle of Málaga and the Francoist takeover in February 1937, over seven thousand people were killed. The city also suffered shelling later by Spanish Republican naval units. The well-known British journalist and writer Arthur Koestler was captured by the Nationalist forces on their entry into Málaga, which formed the material for his book Spanish Testament. The first chapters of Spanish Testament include an eye-witness account of the 1937 fall of Málaga to Francisco Franco's armies during the Spanish Civil War.

After the war, Málaga and Koestler's old haunts of Torremolinos and the rest of the Costa del Sol enjoyed the highest growth of the tourism sector in Spain.

Geography

Location

Málaga is located in southern Spain, on the Costa del Sol (Coast of the Sun) on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies at the feet of the Montes de Málaga, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of the Strait of Gibraltar and about 130 kilometres (81 miles) east of Tarifa (the southernmost point of continental Europe) and about 130 km (81 miles) to the north of Africa.

Metropolitan area

The urban area, stretching mostly along a narrow strip of coastline, has a population of 1,066,532 on 827.33 square kilometres (319.43 sq mi) (density 1,289 hab / km² â€" 2012 data). It is formed by Málaga proper together with the following adjacent towns and municipalities: Rincón de la Victoria, Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Alhaurín de la Torre, Mijas, Marbella and San Pedro Alcántara. The Málaga metropolitan area includes additional municipalities located mostly in the mountains area north of the coast and also some on the coast: Cártama, Pizarra, Coín, Monda, Ojén, Alhaurín el Grande and Estepona on west; Casabermeja on north; Totalán, Algarrobo, Torrox and Vélez-Málaga eastward from Málaga.

Municipalities of the metropolitan area are connected by the road network (including motorways) with the urban area and Málaga city (the urban area can be reached by car from the farthest reaches in 20 minutes and Málaga city in 45 minutes). In some usages the metropolitan area includes other municipalities to which Málaga's public transport network extends, at least since the establishment of the Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano del Área de Málaga (en: Consortium of Transportation of Málaga Metropolitan Area). Together about 1.3 million (max. 1.6 million) people live in the Málaga metropolitan area and the number grows every year as all the municipalities and cities of the area record an annual increase in population.

Climate

The climate is subtropical-Mediterranean (Köppen climate classification: Csa) with very mild winters and hot summers. Málaga enjoys plenty of sunshine throughout the year, with an average of about 300 days of sunshine and only about 50 days with precipitation annually. Its coastal location with winds blowing from the Mediterranean Sea make the heat manageable during the summer.

Málaga experiences the warmest winters of any European city with a population over 500,000. The average temperature during the day in the period December through February is 17â€"18 °C (63â€"64 °F). During the winter, the Málaga Mountains (Montes de Málaga) block out the cold weather from the north. Generally, the summer season lasts about eight months, from April to November, although in the remaining four months temperatures sometimes reach around 20 °C (68 °F). Its average annual temperature is 23.3 °C (73.9 °F) during the day and 13.7 °C (56.7 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the temperature ranges from 13 to 20 °C (55 to 68 °F) during the day, 5 to 13 °C (41 to 55 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 16â€"17 °C (61â€"63 °F). In the warmest month, August, the temperature ranges from 26 to 35 °C (79 to 95 °F) during the day, above 20 °C (68 °F) at night and the average sea temperature is 26 °C (79 °F).

Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. The highest temperature ever recorded during the day at the airport is 44.2 °C (111.6 °F). In the month of August 1881, the average reported daytime maximum temperature was a record 34.8 °C (94.6 °F). The coldest temperature ever recorded was âˆ'3.8 °C (25.2 °F) on the night of 4 February 1954. The highest wind speed ever recorded was on 16 July 1980, measuring 119 km/h (73.94 mph). Málaga city has once recorded snow in the 20th century, on 2 February 1954.

Annual average relative humidity is 65%, ranging from 58% in June to 72% in December. Yearly sunshine hours is between 2,800 and 3,000 per year, from 5â€"6 hours of sunshine / day in December to average 11 hours of sunshine / day in July. Rain occurs mainly in winter, with summer being generally dry. Málaga is one of the few cities in Europe which are "green" all year round.

Main sights

The old historic centre of Málaga reaches the harbour to the south. In the north it is surrounded by mountains, the Montes de Málaga (part of the Baetic Cordillera) lying in the southern base of the Axarquía hills, and two rivers, the Guadalmedina â€" the historic center is located on its left bank â€" and the Guadalhorce, which flows west of the city into the Mediterranean.

The oldest architectural remains in the city are the walls of the Phoenician city, which are visible in the cellar of the Museo Picasso Málaga.

The Roman theatre of Málaga, which dates from the 1st century BC, was rediscovered in 1951.

The Moors left posterity the dominating presence of the Castle of Gibralfaro, which is connected to the Alcazaba, the lower fortress and royal residence. Both were built during the Taifa period (11th century) and extended during the Nasrid period (13th and 14th centuries). The Alcazaba stands on a hill within the city. Originally, it defended the city from the incursions of pirates. Later, in the 11th century, it was completely rebuilt by the Hammudid dynasty. Occupying the eastern hillside that rises from the sea and overlooks the city, the Alcazaba was surrounded by palms and pine trees.

Like many of the military fortifications that were constructed in Islamic Spain, the Alcazaba of Málaga featured a quadrangular plan. It was protected by an outer and inner wall, both supported by rectangular towers, between which a covered walkway led up the slope to the Gibralfaro (this was the only exchange between the two sites). Due to its rough and awkward hillside topography, corridors throughout the site provided a means of communications for administrative and defensive operations, also affording privacy to the palatial residential quarters.

The entrance of the complex featured a grand tower that led into a sophisticated double bent entrance. After passing through several gates, open yards with beautiful gardens of pine and eucalyptus trees, and the inner wall through the Puerta de Granada, one finds the 11th- and 14th-century Governor's palace. It was organised around a central rectangular courtyard with a triple-arched gateway and some of the rooms have been preserved to this day. An open 11th-century mirador (belvedere) to the south of this area affords views of the gardens and sea below. Measuring 2.5 square metres (27 square feet), this small structure highlighted scalloped, five-lobed arches. To the north of this area were a waterwheel and a Cyclopean well (penetrating forty metres or 130 feet below ground), a hammam, workshops and the monumental Puerta de la Torre del Homenaje, the northernmost point of the inner walls. Directly beyond was the passage to the Gibralfaro above.

The Church of Santiago (Saint James) is an example of Gothic vernacular Mudéjar, the hybrid style that evolved after the Reconquista incorporating elements from both Christian and Islamic tradition. Also from the period is the Iglesia del Sagrario, which was built on the site of the old mosque immediately after the city fell to Christian troops. It boasts a richly ornamented portal in the Isabeline-Gothic style, unique in the city.

The Cathedral and the Episcopal Palace were planned with Renaissance architectural ideals but there was a shortfall of building funds and they were finished in Baroque style.

The Basílica y Real Santuario de Santa María de la Victoria, built in the late 17th century, has a chapel in which the vertical volume is filled with elaborate Baroque plasterwork.

Other sights include:

• Walls. Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Arab and Spanish remains of the defensive compounds of the city.
• La Concepción, botanical and historical garden.
• Church of the Sacred Heart.
• San Felipe Neri Church.
• Church of the Holy Martyrs.
• Atarazanas Market.
• Palm grove and Muelle Uno. Port of Málaga.
• Anglican Cemetery of St. George.
• San Miguel Cemetery.
• La Malagueta bullring.
• Pedregalejo, old fishing district.

Museums

In the early part of the 21st century, the city of Málaga invested heavily (more than 100 million euros in 10 years) in the arts to draw tourists and establish itself as a cultural Andalucia destination with 28 museums. Some notable and recently opened museums are:

• Museo Picasso Málaga, opened in 2003, at the Palacio de los Condes de Buenavista, near the Cathedral.
• Centre Pompidou Málaga, opened in 2015, a branch of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, located in El Cubo, a cuboid glass structure in Málaga port.
• Museo Carmen Thyssen, opened in 2011, sister museum to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in Madrid, located at Palacio de Villalón.
• Museo de Málaga (Fine Arts and Archeology museum) at the Palacio de la Aduana.
• Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga (CAC Málaga), opened 2003, free admission, right behind the Alameda train station in an area known as Soho de Málaga. The most visited museum in Andalusia.
• Fundación Picasso and Picasso Birthplace Museum.
• Colección del Museo Ruso (Collection of the Russian Museum) Saint Petersburg/Málaga, opened in 2015, located in the Tabacalera building one km west of the city center..
• Museum Jorge Rando, opened in 2015.
• Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares (Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions).

Demographics

In 2013 there were 568,479 people residing in Málaga.

The number of resident foreign nationals has risen significantly in Málaga since the 1970s, especially of British and German citizens who move for the pleasant climate. The majority of foreigners live near the coastline.

Politics and administration

Málaga is divided in 11 municipal districts.

Economy

Málaga is the fourth-ranking city in economic activity in Spain behind Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.

The most important business sectors in Málaga are tourism, construction and technology services, but other sectors such as transportation and logistics are beginning to expand. The Andalusia Technology Park (PTA) (In Spanish, "Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía"), located in Málaga, has enjoyed significant growth since its inauguration in 1992 by the King of Spain. In 2010, this high-tech, science and industrial park was home to 509 companies and employed over 14,500 people.

In line with the city's strategic plan, the campaign "Málaga: Open for Business" is directed towards the international promotion of the city on all levels but fundamentally on a business level. The campaign places a special emphasis on new technologies as well as innovation and research in order to promote the city as a reference and focal point for many global business initiatives and projects.

Málaga is a city of commerce and tourism has been a growing source of revenue, driven by the presence of a major airport, the improvement of communications, and new infrastructure such as the AVE and the maritime station, and new cultural facilities such as the Picasso Museum, the Contemporary Art Centre and Trade Fair and Congress, which have drawn more tourists.

The city hosts the International Association of Science and Technology Parks (IASP) (Asociación Internacional de Parques Tecnológicos), and a group of IT company executives and business leaders has launched an information sector initiative, Málaga Valley e-27, which seeks to make Málaga the Silicon Valley of Europe. Málaga has had strong growth in new technology industries, mainly located in the Technological Park of Andalusia, and in the construction sector. The city is home to the largest bank in Andalusia, Unicaja, and such local companies as Mayoral, Charanga, Sando, Vera, Ubago, Isofoton, Tedial, Novasoft, Grupo Vértice and Almeida viajes, and other multinationals such as Fujitsu Spain, Pernod Ricard Spain, Accenture, Epcos, Oracle Corporation, Huawei and San Miguel. Nobel prize-winner Bruce Beutler is planning to set up the biggest mutagenesis research laboratory in the world in Malaga.

Culture

Annual cultural events

The Holy Week celebration, the August Málaga Fair (Feria de Málaga) and the Málaga Film Festival are the three major events held in the city.

The Holy Week has been observed for five centuries in Málaga. Processions start on Palm Sunday and continue until Easter Sunday. Images depicting scenes from the Passion are displayed on huge ornate tronos (floats or thrones), some weighing more than 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds). Famous is the royal archbrotherhood of Our-Lady of Hope Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza. They have more than 5,000 members and 600 nazarenos. These tronos highlight the processions that go through the streets led by penitents dressed in long robes, with capirote, followed by women in black carrying candles. Drums and trumpets play music and occasionally someone spontaneously sings a mournful saeta dedicated to the floats as they make their way slowly round the streets. Some Holy Week tronos are so huge that they must be housed in places outside the churches, as they are taller than the entrance doors. Famous is the military procession of "la legion" (Royal congregati on of Mena) playing marches and singing their anthem (El Novio de la Muerte) during procession.

During the celebration of the Feria de Málaga in August, the streets are transformed into traditional symbols of Spanish culture and history, with sweet wine, tapas, and live flamenco shows. The day events consist of dancing, live music (like Flamenco or Verdiales, traditional music from Málaga) and bullfights at La Malagueta, while the night fair is moved to the Recinto Ferial, consisting of restaurants, clubs, and an entire fair ground with rides and games.

The Málaga Film Festival (Festival de Málaga Cine Español (FMCE)), dedicated exclusively to films produced in Spain, is one of the most important festivals in the country. It is held annually during a week in March or April.

Religion

Most of the population of Málaga professes Roman Catholicism as its religion. Protestants also have a presence in Málaga: one of seven congregations of the Reformed Churches in Spain is based in the city and is the only one that permits paedocommunion, while The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is growing.

Islam is represented by a growing number of immigrants and a mosque, while the Jewish community (primarily Sephardi) is represented by its synagogue and the Jewish Association.

Sports

Málaga is home to three major professional sports teams. These include:

• Málaga CF â€" football club plays in Primera División. Honours: UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002, UEFA Cup: 2003 (Quarter-finals), UEFA Champions League: 2013 (Quarter-finals).
• CB Málaga â€" basketball club plays in ACB League. Honours: Spanish Championship: 2006, runner-up: 1995, 2002; Spanish Cup: 2005, runner-up: 2009; Spanish Super-Cup: runner-up: 2006, 2015; Korać Cup: 2001, runner-up: 2000; Euroleague: third place: 2007
• CD El Palo â€" football club plays in third level of Spanish football: Segunda Division B
• Club Atlético Málaga â€" women's football club plays in Superliga Femenina, Honours: Spain Cup: 1998, runner-up: 1997; Spain Supercup: 1999

The city has four large sports facilities:

• Estadio La Rosaleda â€" football stadium, with a capacity of 30,044. One of the arenas of Primera División (for Málaga CF) and 1982 FIFA World Cup. Final of UEFA Intertoto Cup 2002.
• Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena â€" sports arena, with a maximum capacity of 14,000. It is home of CB Málaga and arena of Spanish Cup 2001, 2007, 2014; Spanish Super-Cup 2004, 2006, 2015; NBA Europe Live Tour 2007;
• Estadio de Atletismo Ciudad de Málaga â€" athletics stadium with a capacity of 7,500. Place where the European Cup 2006 was celebrated; 2006 Vuelta a España; Spain Athletics Championships 2005 and 2011;
• Centro Acuático de Málaga (Málaga Aquatic Centre) â€" water arena, with a capacity of 17,000. Arena of European Water Polo Championship 2008.

In city and neighbourhood, you can engage in many sports, for example: surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, swimming, diving, skydiving, paragliding, running, cycling, rowing, tennis and golf.

The city will host the 21st World Transplant Games from 25 June to 2 July 2017

Tourism

The city is an important tourist destination, known as "the capital of the Costa del Sol". An estimated 6 million tourists visit the city each year. Tourists usually visit the birthplace of Pablo Picasso and the Museo Picasso Málaga, the Carmen Thyssen Museum, the old town or the beaches. The Málaga harbour is also the second busiest cruise port of the Iberian Peninsula.

A popular walk leads up the hill to the Gibralfaro castle (a Parador), offering panoramic views over the city. The castle is next to the Alcazaba, the old Muslim palace, which in turn is next to the inner city of Málaga. Other nearby attractions are the Roman Theatre, the old Jewish quarter, the Cathedral, and the Church of Santiago in mudéjar style. A popular walk follows the Paseo del Parque (a promenade that runs alongside a grand park with many palm trees and statues) to the harbour, ending in Calle Larios, the main commercial street of the city. There is also a curious museum, the Museum of the Holy Week, which includes an impressive display of Baroque ecclesiastical items.

Other events

The Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales takes place every year on 28 December during which Spain's April Fool Day is celebrated.

The Fiestas de Carnaval, in which people dress in all types of costumes, takes place prior to the holy 40 days of Lent every February. A contest is held in the Teatro Cervantes between groups of singers, quartets and choirs who compete in the singing of ironic songs about social and political issues. The Carnival takes to the streets of Málaga on the week before Ash Wednesday, ending on Malagueta beach with the burial of the anchovy (entierro de la sardina).

Education

International schools in Málaga city:

• Lycée Français de Málaga (French school)
• St. George´s School, Málaga (British school)

Transport

Airport

The city is served by Málaga Costa Del Sol Airport, one of the first in Spain and the oldest still in operation. In 2008, it handled 12,813,472 passengers, making it the fourth-busiest in Spain. It is the international airport of Andalusia, accounting for 85 percent of its international traffic. The airport, connected to the Costa del Sol, has a daily link with twenty cities in Spain and over a hundred cities in Europe (mainly in United Kingdom, Central Europe and the Nordic countries but also the main cities of Eastern Europe: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Budapest, Sofia, Warsaw, Riga or Bucharest), North Africa, Middle East (Riyadh, Jeddah and Kuwait) and North America (New York City, Toronto and Montreal).

The airport is connected to Málaga City and surrounding areas through a transport hub, which includes the bus system and suburban trains and car parks.

Seaport

The Port of Málaga is the city's seaport, operating continuously at least since 600 BC. The port is one of the busiest ports on the Mediterranean Sea, with a trade volume of over 428,623 TEU and 642,529 passenger in 2008.

High-speed train

The Málaga María Zambrano railway station is served by the AVE high-speed rail system, and is operated by the Spanish formerly state-owned rail company Renfe.

Roads and highways

The A45 road leads north to Antequera and Córdoba. The Autovía A-7 parallels the N-340 road, both leading to Cádiz to the west through the Costa del Sol Occidental and Barcelona to the east through the Costa del Sol Oriental.

Urban bus

Empresa Malagueña de Transportes buses are the main form of transport around the city. Málaga's bus station is connected with the city by the bus line number 4, although it is only ten minutes' walk to the Alameda from there.

Metropolitan bus

Málaga Metropolitan Transport Consortium's (Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano del Área de Málaga) buses are the main form of transport around the city of Málaga and the villages of the Metropolitan Area.

Mass transit

The city has two commuter train lines Cercanías and a light rail system.

Notable people

• Solomon ibn Gabirol (1021â€"1058), philosopher and poet
• Ibn al-Baitar (1188â€"1248), botanist and pharmacist
• Ruy López de Villalobos (1500â€"1544), explorer
• Diego de Montemayor (1530â€"1611), founder of Monterrey, Mexico and governor of Nuevo León
• Francisco de Leiva (1630â€"1676), playwright
• Luis de Unzaga (1721â€"1790), politician
• Bernardo de Gálvez (1746â€"1786), Count of Gálvez and Viscount of Galveston, military and colonial administrator
• María Manuela Kirkpatrick (1794â€"1879), aristocrat
• José de Salamanca (1811â€"1883), Marquis of Salamanca and Count of Los Llanos, businessman and politician
• Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (1828â€"1897), Prime Minister of Alfonso XII
• José Denis Belgrano (1844â€"1917), painter
• José Moreno Carbonero (1858â€"1942), painter
• Pablo Picasso (1881â€"1973), artist
• José Moreno Villa (1887â€"1955), painter and writer
• María Dávila (1990â€"), painter
• Bernardo Giner de los Ríos (1888â€"1970), architect and politician
• Victoria Kent (1898â€"1987), lawyer and politician
• Luis Bolín (1894â€"1969), lawyer and journalist
• Emilio Prados (1899â€"1962), poet
• Manuel Altolaguirre (1905â€"1959), poet
• Antonio Molina (1928â€"1992), singer
• Antonio Luque (1941â€"), engineer and photovoltaics pioneer
• Juan Madrid (1943â€"), writer and journalist
• Marisol (1948â€"), singer and actress
• Amparo Muñoz (1954â€"2011), Miss Universe Spain 1974, Miss Universe 1974
• Jorge Rando (1941â€"), artist
• Antonio Banderas (1960â€"), actor
• Miguel Ángel Jiménez (1964â€"), professional golfer
• Carlos Álvarez (1966â€"), baritone
• Antonio de la Torre (1968â€"), actor
• María del Mar Rodríguez Carnero, La Mari (1975â€"), singer
• Juan García Postigo (1981â€"), Mister World 2007
• Ana López Rodríguez, Anni B Sweet (1987â€"), singer
• Pablo Alborán (1989â€"), singer
• Joe Atlan (1989â€"), musician
• Isco Alarcón (1992â€"), footballer
• Millie Bobby Brown (2004â€"), actress
• Miguel de Miguel (1975â€"), actor

Twin towns â€" Sister cities

Málaga is twinned with:

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