Lake

Lacus Losannensis

Lac Léman · Genfersee · Lake Geneva

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The map calls Lake Geneva Lacus Losanensis, after Lausanne, the Roman Lousonna, a harbour on its northern shore; most ancient writers knew it as Lacus Lemannus. A hole in the parchment has taken one letter of the name. Caesar describes lake and Rhône as the border between the Roman province and the Helvetii, and a Roman geographer believed the river passed through without mixing its waters, because the Rhône keeps its own colour far into the lake. Guilds of boatmen worked at Geneva and Lausanne, and harbour works at Geneva go back to 121 BC.

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