Île de Peilz: The Tiny Island of Lake Geneva

Île de Peilz, or Peilz Island, is small picturesque island in Lake Geneva in Switzerland, not far from the town of Villeneuve. Measuring somewhere between 20 and 77 square metres, depending on different sources, it is often described as the smallest island in Lake Geneva and possibly the lake's only natural island. A solitary London plane tree dominates the entire islet, its broad canopy visible from passing boats and from the shoreline. This tiny speck of land has inspired poets, generated local legends, and become one of the most photographed features of Lake Geneva.

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According to local tradition, the island was a simple rock until 1797, when it was supposedly enlarged by covering it with earth and building a supporting wall around it by the people of Villeneuve. No contemporary records exist that explains why such an expensive work was undertaken. Yet, it’s clearly visible that the island was shaped by human hands.

Even more puzzling was fact that the wall was repaired several times in the 19th century. In 1851 three plane trees and a couple of horse chestnuts were planted there. Over time, all but one disappeared. The lone survivor gives the island its distinctive silhouette.

The English poet Lord Byron was captivated by the island when he visited Lake Geneva in 1816. In his narrative poem The Prisoner of Chillon, he described the tiny island visible from the prisoner's window:

And then there was a little isle,
Which in my very face did smile,
⁠The only one in view;
A small green isle, it seemed no more,
Scarce broader than my dungeon floor,
But in it there were three tall trees,
And o'er it blew the mountain breeze,
And by it there were waters flowing,
And on it there were young flowers growing,
⁠Of gentle breath and hue

Peilz Island is the subject of various legends. One popular tale from the 19th century tells of a young English couple who went swimming in the lake, when the young man drowned. His grieving fiancée supposedly created a memorial on the spot where his body was found, calling it the "Île de Paix"—the Island of Peace. According to the story, the name gradually evolved into "Île de Peilz."

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The legend inspired the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, who incorporated the island into his 1861 fairy tale The Ice-Maiden. In Andersen's story, the tiny island becomes the setting for a tragic climax involving doomed lovers and a supernatural spirit of ice.

For generations, residents around Lake Geneva have repeated a story that the island was once presented as a gift to Queen Victoria. Some versions claim she later returned it after discovering she would owe taxes on the property. Others insist it remains technically owned by her descendants. Researchers examining municipal and cantonal archives have found no evidence that the island was ever transferred to Queen Victoria or to the British Crown. Local archivists note that such a gift would not even have been legally possible because the island was never a federal property.

Also read: Just Room Enough Island

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