Cologny

Cologny (kɔlɔɲi) is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Cologny is first mentioned in 1208 as Colognier. The oldest trace of a settlement in the area is a Neolithic lake side village which was discovered near the village of La Belotte. The Lake Geneva area was conquered by the Romans in the 2nd century. They built a road from Corsier through the Cologny area to Frontenex during their 2 centuries of residency. During the Middle Ages, it was part of the lands of the Counts of Geneva, before it was acquired by the Bishopric of Geneva. The village church of Saint Peter was placed under the parish of Vandœuvres in 1406, indicating that it was probably built before the 15th century. In 1536, Cologny joined the new faith of the Protestant Reformation as nearby Geneva became a center of reform. Two years later, in May 1538 a treaty between Bern and Geneva placed Cologny in the city of Geneva. In the late 16th century and into the 17th century a number of Geneva publishers moved to or set up offices in Cologny. By claiming Cologny or Colonia Allobrogum as the publication location, they were able to circumvent French laws which banned books from Geneva. Beginning in the 18th century elegant chalets sprung up along the shores of Lake Geneva in Cologny. One of the most famous is Villa Diodati in which Lord Byron, John Polidori, Mary Shelley and Percy Bysshe Shelley spent part of the Year Without a Summer in 1816. Due to the poor weather, the guests spent days indoors telling each other horror stories. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and John Polidori's The Vampyre, the first modern vampire story, both resulted. The town council of Cologny met for the first time on 9 December 1800, after Geneva had been annexed into France following the 1798 French invasion of Switzerland. The mathematician Louis Necker (1730–1804), elder brother of the Statesman Jacques Necker, died in Cologny. In the 20th century, many wealthy individuals and organizations have moved to Cologny. Traditionally the municipality consisted of small villages with many farms.