Annemasse

Annemasse (French pronunciation: [anmas]; Arpitan: Anemâsse) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France.

Even though it covers a relatively small territory (4.98 km2 or 1.92 sq mi), it is Haute-Savoie's second most populous commune after the prefecture Annecy, with 36,250 residents as of 2018.

Its railway station is served by TGV, RegioExpress, Léman Express and TER Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes trains.

It could come from an Allobroges tribe;[4] it could be derived from the Gallic name Adnamatius;[5] it could be a reference to the Roman city of Annamatia in Pannonia (current-day Hungary).

The main activity is commerce: due to the current foreign exchange situation, many Swiss residents come to Annemasse to purchase food and other commodities.

To encourage mobility, the CEVA project has extended the existing rail connection between Annemasse and Gare de Cornavin through Genève Eaux-Vives.

The committee commissioned a local Geneva sculptor, Clothilde Roch, to do a statue showing a suffering Servetus.

The committee then offered the statue to the neighboring Annemasse, which in 1908 placed it in front of the city hall, with the following inscriptions: “The arrest of Servetus in Geneva, where he did neither publish nor dogmatize, hence he was not subject to its laws, has to be considered as a barbaric act and an insult to the Right of Nations.” Voltaire"I beg you, shorten please these deliberations.

My clothes are torn and I have nothing for a change, nor shirt, only a worn out vest.” Servetus, 1553In 1942, the pro-Nazi Vichy Government took down the statue, as it was a celebration of freedom of conscience, and melted it.

Annemasse (red) in Haute-Savoie
Map of Annemasse, 1:25,000
Mayor Christian Dupessey, 2009
Satellite map with Annemasse Aerodrome on the right
The Michael Servetus Monument in Annemasse, by Clothilde Roch