Pays de Gex - Voltaire and the town


			
			
			
			
					
				
		
							

			

								
					
Voltaire and the town

											
								
							

			

			
		

				

			
				



	
		

			
			
When Fernex Became Ferney


			

			Voltaire’s mark on Ferney can still be seen everywhere... Even in the very spelling of the name of the village! Ferney used to be written F-E-R-N-E-X, with a silent [X] at the end, which is a common suffix in Pays de Gex: Ornex, Versonnex, Echenevex… Upon his arrival, Voltaire decided to spell it the way it sounded by writing Ferney with a Y ! 
			

					
			
			
Guided Visit 

			"Ferney-Voltaire 

			One Town-One Man"

			


			

			For Voltaire, Ferney had two major advantages: its proximity to Geneva and it was far from the capital city! A true lord of the village, he became in turn a farmer, architect, urban planner and entrepreneur : in just 20 years, the hamlet of just 150 residents became a small, prosperous town with more than 1,000 souls! As a tribute to this great man, Ferney officially took the name of Ferney-Voltaire in 1878, on the hundredth anniversary of the death of its patriarch.  
			

			

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						Guided visits in July-August scheduled on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. (except July 14th), from Wednesday to Friday at 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 11th and August 15th at 3:30 p.m. for individual For groups, reservations are required all year long. A booklet offering a discovery tour of the town is on sale at the Tourism Office for 3€.
						

						

						Le livret du circuit découverte est en vente à l'OT au prix de 3€.

						  
						

								
						 
					

					

						 
						 
						 
					

				
			

			

					
		

		

			  
			
Voltaire Castle


			

			A national monument since 1999, the castle invites you to discover the man of theater and action, the writer and the philosopher. Seeking refuge far from Paris, Voltaire went into exile abroad, purchased the seigneury of Fernex in 1759 and had it rebuilt entirely. After its completion in 1762, the castle dominated a landscaped park with a superb view over the Alps. For Voltaire, who was the self-proclaimed "innkeeper of Europe", his stay in Ferny gave him a chance to develop his extraordinary hospitality. Ferney then became the required passageway for the wealthy intellectual elite from all corners of Europe. These numerous visits led him to add two new wings to his castle in 1765 which provided it with its definitive appearance. 
			

			

			 
			

			

			voltaire1.jpgThe last twenty years of his life were the most fruitful for this great thinker of the century of lights: in addition to his abundant literary works and his correspondence, he defended the rights of man and was the first writer to commit.