On a warm spring day in Geneva, the tall stern figures of the four “fathers of the Protestant Reformation” – Jean Calvin, John Knox, Theodore de Bèze and William Farel – stare disapprovingly at picnickers in the Parc des Bastions that nestles under the walls of the old town.

The dislike appears to be mutual. As Geneva – “Calvin’s city” – and Protestants all over the world commemorate the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth, many ordinary Genevans do not see much to celebrate.

The legacy of the French theologian, they say, is a city that even today is passionless, moralistic and dull, where it is forbidden to make a noise after 10pm and restaurant kitchens close at 9pm on the dot.

“Calvinism is really ingrained in the upbringing of people here, especially when it comes to money,” says Izet Sheshivari, a book editor. “It’s a way of life.”

But Calvin’s defenders are seeking to use the anniversary to prompt a rethink of his legacy.

Roland Benz, moderator of the Protestant Church of Geneva who chairs the Calvin09 organising committee, argues that this year’s special events, which range from debates and conferences to a play about his life and a mock Huguenot village peopled by actors in period costumes, provide the opportunity for a reassessment of the man whose reputation has traditionally been as a humourless killjoy.

“Most people only know the caricature, but Calvin was a determining figure in history whose ideas still resonate,” he says.

Born on July 10 1509 in Picardy in France, Calvin fled to Switzerland after converting to Protestantism. Under his influence, the then independent Republic of Geneva became the centre of reform theology and practice in Europe, dubbed “the Protestant Rome”.

Protestants credit Calvin with systematising the reform movement but his teachings have had an influence far beyond the Protestant church, especially in the US.

Calvin’s doctrine of wealth as a just reward for hard work, the basis of the “Protestant work ethic” that fuelled modern capitalism, helped put the city on the path to prosperity.

Andrew Stallybrass, a lay preacher in Geneva who works for a foundation promoting inter-cultural dialogue, sums up Calvin’s economic philosophy as: “Money is a good thing but don’t flaunt it. Invest it for the public good and don’t screw the poor.”

Isabelle Graesslé, director of Geneva’s International Museum of the Reformation, which is hosting a multi-media exhibition on “A day in the life of Calvin”, says he needs to be judged in the context of his times.

Though he enforced strict moral rules, including bans on swearing, gambling, fornication and even dancing, the same snooper system for reporting transgressors was also used to help the poor and sick. “It worked as a social service for the city,” Ms Graesslé says. Calvin also pioneered universal education, including for girls, so all would find meaning in the Bible, and founded what later became Geneva University.

A huge influx of Protestant refugees from France, following in Calvin’s footsteps, brought weaving, jewellery and watch-making skills to Geneva while the lifting of the Catholic Church’s ban on usury paved the way for the city’s pre-eminence in private banking.

Calvin influenced Geneva’s destiny in other ways too. US president Woodrow Wilson, a Presbyterian, when asked to decide on the site of the future League of Nations – set up after the first world war – deliberately plumped for Protestant Geneva over Catholic Brussels. The city is now home to the United Nations and scores of other international organisations.

Mr Benz says: “People attribute all Geneva’s faults to Calvin. But . . .  there’s a certain pride that because of him a small town in Switzerland has left its mark on history.”