Geneva is a city of Switzerland located on the shores of the beautiful Lake Leman. This city is also called the capital of the world, because it is here that the most important international meetings are held and often in the Palace of Nations. It is in Geneva that the headquarters of the Red Cross and the UN are located. Today, out of 197 countries, 193 are members of the UN. The palace accepts not only representatives of international organizations, but also tourists.
Short description
The Palace of Nations in Switzerland is a whole complex of buildings and structures that were built gradually, from 1929 to 1938. The building itself is presented in neoclassical style. The project is the result of the joint efforts of five world famous architects.
The length of the entire complex is 600 meters. In total, there are 28 thousand offices and 34 conference rooms. In addition to the UN headquarters, the offices of the regional offices of UNESCO, the IAEA, BOX, WTO, FAO and other international organizations are located. Until 1946, the Palace was used exclusively for the headquarters of the League of Nations, and only in 1966 did the UN European Office appear here.
You can see Lake Leman from the windows of the building, and the complex itself was erected in Ariana Park. There is a cafe on the terrace of the second floor of the complex, but tourists don’t get there, but employees can have a snack there and at the same time enjoy the beauties of the lake.
Pages of history
Competition for the best project for the construction of the Palace of the League of Nations in Geneva was announced back in 1926. And 377 projects were presented, of course, of which it was quite difficult to choose. The commission selected the 5 best and invited architects to develop a new, joint.
In 1929, September 7, the first stone of the building was already laid. And in 1933, in the finished part of the Palace, the Secretariat of the League of Nations had already begun its work. By 1936, almost all employees moved to the new building.
League of Nations Palace
All countries participating in the League of Nations were involved in the construction of the building. The interior decoration is made exclusively from the materials provided by these countries.
At the time of laying the foundation, a temporary capsule was laid. The constituent documents of the organization and the coins of all existing participating countries were invested in it.
By the time the construction was completed, the influence of the organization had practically disappeared, and on April 20, 1946, it was completely dissolved. The building was handed over to the UN, which completed several more buildings.
Modern meaning
To date, the Palace of Nations holds about 8 thousand various congresses, conferences and meetings every year. During the same period, the complex is visited by about 100 thousand travelers.
It regularly hosts exhibitions where you can see works of art from around the world. Concerts are held and museum exhibits are exhibited, even private collections.
Representatives of UN member countries give valuable gifts (paintings, murals or sculptures) when visiting the complex. Such items are transferred to the museum collection.
Repair of buildings of the complex is mainly carried out at the expense of members of the organization, such investments are also considered as a gift.
"Broken chair"
The first thing that catches your eye when you approach the Palace of Nations is the sculpture "Broken Chair". In fact, the structure has a deep meaning. It was erected to show the world the importance of banning the use of anti-personnel mines, because of which people in the world are constantly losing their lower limbs.
The sculpture appeared at a time when a convention was signed banning such weapons and bomb bombs. Then it was assumed that the composition will last only 3 months, but it has existed for more than 20 years.
Other attractions
The city in Switzerland with the Palais des Nations boasts many interesting places. Near the Palace itself, in addition to the Broken Chair, you can see the composition in the form of a cannon with a blindfold, admire the fountains and the well-groomed park area. The gun is a symbol of the main direction of the UN - anti-war policy. Near the main entrance to the Palace there is an alley where the flags of all participating countries are developing.
And if you're lucky, then tourists will be able to see the peacocks. In the park they walk around completely fearlessly, no fences have been installed for them. The absence of fences is the will of the former owner of the land on which the park is now divided. At one time, Raviota de Riva bred peacocks and after selling the land, asked the new owners to let the birds walk freely on their sites.
An interesting sculpture in the form of a celestial sphere is located on the territory of Ariana Park and it is called the “Armillary sphere”. The composition was driven by a motor that no longer works. Once the sculpture revolved around an axis whose direction was towards the North Star.
Excursion
Today, tours are conducted in more than 15 languages. In general, the tour lasts about 2.5 hours. Tourists will be able to see conference rooms, copies of the most significant documents that were signed by UN members. Visitors will learn about the greatest achievements in the field of science, health and in the maintenance of peace on the whole planet.
One of the most interesting places in the Palace is the Hall of Human Rights and the Alliance of Civilizations. Its design was created by the artist Miguel Barcelo. The guide will certainly provide an opportunity to visit the hall called the “Council of the Chamber”, where some of the most significant documents were adopted. The hall itself is inlaid with frescoes of Jose Maria Sert.
Interesting Facts
Despite the fact that the Swiss city with the Palais des Nations has been known worldwide since the last century, Switzerland itself became a member of the organization only in 2002. And for the period when the alpine country was not a member of the UN, it contributed about half a billion francs to the budget of this organization.
Today, at various levels of the United Nations structure, about 1, 500 Swiss citizens are employed.
An interesting fact is that the Swiss architect lost the building design competition. They rejected him because the architect did not use the ink that needed to be embodied on paper. However, in the future it was precisely the innovative style of the architect Le Corbusier that was used to erect a number of buildings of the complex.
In the hall where meetings of the Human Rights Council are held today, only 100 tons of paint were spent on painting the walls, and approximately 18 million euros were spent on the design.
