You wouldn't believe the heated debates sparked by the construction of the mausoleum right in the center of Geneva! This neo-Gothic monument is an almost exact copy of the Scaliger family tomb in Verona. And it was built at the wish of the eccentric Duke of Brunswick, Charles d'Este-Guelph.
This talented linguist and musician became famous throughout Europe for entirely different “exploits.” He was born in Prussia in 1804, but in 1830 he was exiled from the country for statements far too outrageous for a ruler. Rumor has it that the offended Charles left for Paris, taking with him a huge collection of diamonds, and in France he continued to behave no less provocatively.
After one of his many court cases, the Duke of Brunswick decided to move to Geneva. Contemporaries claim that Charles suffered from paranoia until the end of his life and feared being poisoned and buried alive.
However, in 1873 the Prussian duke died of natural causes during a game of chess. In exchange for the enormous fortune he left to the city, Charles ordered that he be given a lavish funeral and that a monument be built in his honor. As many as 6 sculptors worked on the tomb, trying to take all the deceased's wishes into account. The coffin with the silver sarcophagus is suspended at a height of 6 meters. And the duke's equestrian bronze statue still faces Geneva Bay.
