The Palace of Nations in Geneva

Friday, 1 December 2017 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination:
Category/Kategorie: General, House of the Month
Reading Time:  5 minutes

Palace of Nations © flickr.com - Ville Oksanen/cc-by-sa-2.0

Palace of Nations © flickr.com – Ville Oksanen/cc-by-sa-2.0

The Palace of Nations is the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva, located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was built between 1929 and 1938 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary-General of the United Nations signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss authorities, although Switzerland did not become a member of the United Nations until 2002. In 2012 alone, the Palace of Nations hosted more than 10,000 intergovernmental meetings. An architectural competition held in the 1920s to choose a design for the complex described the project as follows:

The Palace, whose construction is the object of the competition, is intended to house all the organs of the League of Nations in Geneva. It should be designed in such a way as to allow these organs to work, to preside and to hold discussions, independently and easily in the calm atmosphere which should prevail when dealing with problems of an international dimension.

The Celestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson Memorial © Koichi Shibata/cc-by-sa-3.0 Allée des Nations © flickr.com - Leandro Neumann Ciuffo/cc-by-2.0 Assembly Hall © Yann Forget/cc-by-sa-3.0 Palace of Nations © flickr.com - Ville Oksanen/cc-by-sa-2.0 Palace of Nations © Moumou82/cc-by-sa-3.0
<
>
The Celestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson Memorial © Koichi Shibata/cc-by-sa-3.0
A jury of architects was selected to choose a final design from among three-hundred and thirty-seven entries but was unable to decide on a winner. Ultimately, the five architects behind the leading entries were chosen to collaborate on a final design: Julien Flegenheimer of Switzerland, Camille Lefèvre and Henri-Paul Nénot of France, Carlo Broggi of Italy and József Vágó of Hungary. Donations from League members were used in the interior. The Palace constituted at the time of completion (1936), volume wise, the second-largest building complex in Europe after Versailles (440,000 m3 (15,500,000 cu ft) vs. 460,000 m3 (16,200,000 cu ft) ). After its transfer to the United Nations, two extensions were added to the building, which considerably increased the size of the usable area of the building. Between 1950-1952, three floors were added to the “K” building, and the “D” building was constructed to house temporarily the World Health Organization. The “E” building (or “New” Building) was added between 1968-1973 as a conference facility (an additional eleven conference rooms and an extra volume of 380,000 m3 (13,400,000 cu ft)), with bringing the total of conference rooms to 34. With the additions, the complex is 600 metres (2,000 ft) long and holds 2,800 offices, with a total volume of 853,000 m3 (30,100,000 cu ft).

The Palace is located in Ariana Park, which was bequeathed to the City of Geneva in 1890 by Gustave de Revilliod de la Rive, on several conditions: i.a. that the park always remain accessible to the public and that he be buried in the park. The park also contains a 1668 chalet. Beneath the Palace of Nations’s foundation stone is a time capsule containing a document listing the names of the League of Nations member states, a copy of the Covenant of the League, and specimen coins of all the countries represented at the league’s Tenth Assembly. A medal showing the Palace of Nations with the Jura Mountains in the background was struck in silvered bronze. The building overlooks Lake Geneva and has a clear view of the French Alps.

Read more on United Nations Office at Geneva and Wikipedia Palace of Nations. Learn more about the use of photos. To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.




Recommended posts:

Share this post: (Please note data protection regulations before using buttons)

Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz

Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz

[caption id="attachment_162964" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Bphstm/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Badrutt's Palace Hotel is a historic luxury hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The hotel opened in 1896 and it has 157 rooms of which 37 are suites. The Badrutt's Palace Hotel belong to Swiss Historic Hotels, Swiss Deluxe Hotels, and the Leading Hotels of the World. The majority shareholders are Hansjürg and Anikó Badrutt. The history of the hotel and the family Badrutt started in 1856, when Johannes Badrutt bou...

[ read more ]

Hotel New York in Rotterdam

Hotel New York in Rotterdam

[caption id="attachment_200704" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Kromme Zand/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Hotel New York is a hotel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, based in the former office building of the Holland America Lines (Nederlandsch Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij). It was used as temporary accommodation for European emigres in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. "Often, package deals were available which would combine a train ticket, hotel accommodation and passage over the oceans." When ...

[ read more ]

Riva del Garda on Lake Garda

Riva del Garda on Lake Garda

[caption id="attachment_160881" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Rabanus Flavus[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Riva del Garda is a town and comune in the northern Italian province of Trentino of the Trentino Alto Adige region. It is also known simply as Riva. The estimated population is 16.000. Tourism is the most important activity of the town. The town is also home to industries such as paper manufacturing. Riva del Garda is located at the north-western corner of Lake Garda, approximately 70 metres (230 feet) above sea level. Th...

[ read more ]

Inverness and Loch Ness in Scotland

Inverness and Loch Ness in Scotland

[caption id="attachment_152529" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Inverness Castle © Mlm42[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Inverness is a city in northern Scotland. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland. It lies near the site of the 18th century Battle of Culloden and at the northeastern extremity of the Great Glen (An Gleann Mòr), where the River Ness enters the Inverness/Moray Firth making it a natural hub for various transport links. It is the nor...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Tunisia - Galite Islands

Theme Week Tunisia - Galite Islands

[caption id="attachment_168279" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Hassene nostra/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Galite Islands are a rocky group of islands of volcanic origin that belong to Bizerte Governorate, northern Tunisia. They are located 38 kilometres (24 miles) northwest of Cape Serrat, the closest point of the Tunisian mainland coast, from which they are separated by the Galite Channel, and almost 80 km (50 mi) north-by-northeast of the city of Tabarka, and 150 km (93 mi) south of Cape Spartivento in the ...

[ read more ]

Milazzo on Sicily

Milazzo on Sicily

[caption id="attachment_233020" align="aligncenter" width="590"] © Clemensfranz/cc-by-2.5[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Milazzo is a town (comune) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a population of around 31,500 inhabitants. Milazzo borders with the municipalities of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Merì and San Filippo del Mela. Milazzo is the point of reference of a vast territory, from Villafr...

[ read more ]

Theme Week New Zealand

Theme Week New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_234282" align="aligncenter" width="590"] New Zealand Parliament House in Wellington © Office of the Clerk/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering 268,021 square kilometres (103,500 sq mi). New Zealand is about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea ...

[ read more ]

Theme Week Cuba - Varadero

Theme Week Cuba - Varadero

[caption id="attachment_161605" align="aligncenter" width="590"] La Casa de Al, Al Capone's warhouse during prohibition, today a restaurant © Laslovarga/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. The first mention of Varadero was in 1555. The place was first used as a dry dock (Spanish: varadero) and the salt mines of the peninsula (closed in 1961) supplied most of the Spanish Latin America Fleet since 1587. However, the fou...

[ read more ]

Theme Week La Rioja - Haro

Theme Week La Rioja - Haro

[caption id="attachment_153264" align="aligncenter" width="442"] Wine barrels of the famous wine of Haro in the City Hall, waiting for the beginning of the Haro Wine Festival © Bigsus/cc-by-sa-3.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Haro is a town and municipality in the northwest of La Rioja province in northern Spain. It is known for its fine red wine and every year the Haro Wine Festival (Batalla de Vino) is held where locals hold a wine battle. There are several theories about the founding of Haro, though the most realistic t...

[ read more ]

Orlando in Florida

Orlando in Florida

[caption id="attachment_169226" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Downtown Orlando - Church Street Station © Miosotis Jade/cc-by-sa-4.0[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Orlando is a city and the county seat of Orange County. Located in Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2.4 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in March 2016, making it the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, ...

[ read more ]

Return to TopReturn to Top
Palais Garnier © flickr.com - Peter Rivera/cc-by-2.0
Palais Garnier in Paris

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It...

Christmas in Myrtle Beach © Matthew Trudeau Photography
Grand Strand in South Carolina

The Grand Strand is a large stretch of beaches on the East Coast of the United States extending from Little...

© Alex Feldstein/cc-by-2.5
The Miami Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables

The Miami Biltmore Hotel is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables in Florida. It was designed by Schultze and Weaver...

Schließen