Geisendorf Park

Geisendorf Park occupies the lower part of a vast estate formerly named "Surinam", created in the 18th century by Jean-Zacharie Robin who, in the 1760s, amassed his fortune in Surinam in South America, where slavery built the prosperity of a few on the systematic exploitation of Africans torn from their lands. Located at that time in the countryside, far from the fortified city, this estate changed hands several times in the 19th century before being acquired in 1883 by Charles Geisendorf, an honest stationery merchant, who gave it its current name. The City of Geneva acquired it in 1931. In the 1960s, a remarkable pavilion-style school complex, designed by architects Waltenspühl and Brera, was built on the site.