The Peace Palace in The Hague, on Carnegie Square, is the one where the International Court of Justice and the arbitration court sit. This beautiful quadrangular building with a courtyard and a fountain, surrounded by a landscaped garden in English style, embodied the dream of the early 20th century about world peace, which at that time still seemed achievable. Our compatriots are particularly interested in the palace, since in its history the Russian initiative played a significant role.
The construction of the palace as the location of the arbitration court was completed in 1913 .Financed the construction of Andrew Carnegie .The building was created according to the project of the French architect and became almost an exact copy of the Town Hall of the town of Calais in the 17th century, combining the characteristic features of Gothic, Romanesque and Byzantine styles .Its exterior is distinguished, firstly, by the contrasting combination of red brick with light sandstone, and secondly - a recognizable corner tower about 80 m high .The third characteristic feature of the design and interior of the palace is that it was built and equipped, it can be said, by the whole world: many details of the furnishings or finishes were donated by the participating powers of the first conference on disarmament in 1907 .
Thus, the most notable clock tower became a gift of Switzerland in 1912 .Gray granite in the exterior decoration of the building is a gift from Norway and Sweden .The fountain in the courtyard was created at the Royal Porcelain Factory in Copenhagen .Forged entrance gates made of iron with bronze medallions became the gift of Germany .The entrance door in the style of art nouveau from bronze and glass was donated by Belgium .Columns and pilasters in the halls and galleries of the palace are made of white Italian marble .Japanese silk panels, woven by hand 48 600 weavers, decorated the walls of the Japanese hall .Vases of majolica in the form of crowns were presented by Hungary, and candelabras with crystal lamps finished with Bohemian semiprecious stones arrived from Austria .
Among other additions to the interior of the palace are the bust of Mahatma Gandhi (India), the marble statue Mir (Poland), the bust of Andres Belo (Venezuela), the statue "Peace through Justice" (USA), the statue "Christ of Andes" (Argentina) marble copy of the throne of Knossos king Minos (Greece), one of the largest carpet of Hehere in Europe (Turkey), porcelain vases with cloisonne enamel (China), elephant tusks (Thailand) and valuable wood species for decoration from Brazil.
The International Court of Justice has been located in the palace since 1946. In 1999, on the initiative of Kofi Annan, the then UN Secretary General, a museum of the history of the functioning of this court and other organizations based in the palace was opened. In addition, in the same building is one of the most extensive libraries of international publications on jurisprudence.
The palace can not be accessed just like that, but on certain weekends of the month it is open for organized group excursions. In the course of them, guests are taken to the Great and Small Halls of Justice, as well as to the Japanese Hall and galleries. Photo and video inside are prohibited. The garden around the palace is closed to the public, but once a month, on Sundays, it also hosts guided tours.
Practical information
The visitors' center is open daily, except Monday, from 10:00 to 17:00. From November to March - from 11:00 to 16:00. Admission is free, audiotur in the center can be taken free of charge.
You can get to the Palace by bus number 24 (direction Kijkduin) or by tram number 1 (direction Scheveningen Noorderstrand). The stop is called Vredespaleis.
Address: Carnegieplein 2.
| Peace Palace |
| View from the city, Palace of Peace |
| Peace Palace in the evening |
| Marble staircase, Peace Palace |
| Interior, Peace Palace |