Palais des Nations - Where Nations Meet... Part IV

Our tour of the Palais des Nations continues and from the Lobby of the Council Chamber we proceed to the Council Chamber.

The Salle du Conseil or the Council Chamber, formerly housed the League of Nations and has stunning murals by José Maria Sert.  Many important negotiations have taken place in this room. This room has hosted many tense negotiations and that's what makes it unique - it has two separate entrances so antagonistic parties can enter and leave at the same time! 

 The Salle du Conseil has been host to the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and, in recent years, the Conference on Disarmament...

The gold and sepia murals on the ceiling and walls leave you spellbound...

The murals, a gift of the Government of Spain in 1936, were painted by the Catalan artist José María Sert. They depict human progress through health, technology, freedom and peace – all united by five colossal Dantesque figures (representing the world’s five continents) grasping each other’s hands in apocalyptical triumph at the dome of the ceiling.
José María Sert (“a baroque painter working in the 20th century”) has been referred to as “the last of the great masters”, in the great Spanish artistic tradition of Velásquez, El Greco and Goya. When his work in this Chamber was first seen, it was compared with the frescos of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

(Source: United Nations Office at Geneva website http://www.unog.ch/virtual_tour/palais_des_nations.html)

Another view of the exterior...

We head to Assembly Hall next...

The Assembly Hall is the biggest room in the Palais which can seat about 2,000 people. The Hall was inaugurated on 25 September 1937 during the 18th session of the League of Nations Assembly. The hall got its present look in 1996 after a major renovation...

Hanuk telling us that the hall hosts the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, besides the UN General Assembly when their sessions are not held in New York. The hall has facilities for simultaneous interpretation in six languages...

And as we prepare to leave the magnificent and historic Palais des Nations...

...we walk past some more works of art...

...expressions of various cultures...

...of rekindling the spirit of hope in humanity...

...to overcome despair and pain!

And we say adieu to the Palais des Nations to head to the Musée International de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge...

Palais des Nations - Where Nations Meet... Part III

And from the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, we continued on the original section of the Palais, the one constructed in the 1920s...

A view of the main building, Building A...

The passageway leading into Building A...

Another artwork...

Hanuk leading the way...

Patek Philippe is the official timekeeper of the UN!

A view of the Armillary Sphere in the Arianna Park. More on the Sphere:

This gold-plated bronze sphere is the symbol of the UN Office at Geneva. It illustrates the different constellations of the universe: its 65 constellations are gold-plated and its 840 stars are silvered, reflecting the world’s cultures existing in harmony.

It is the centrepiece of the Cour d’Honneur, south-east of the Salle des Pas Perdus.

Also known as The Celestial Sphere, it was designed by the American sculptor Paul Manship, then cast and plated in Italy by Bruno Bearzy.

In its early years, the sphere would slowly rotate. But its prolonged exposure to the elements has damaged the internal motor – and any attempts to repair it would mean completely disassembling an original masterpiece of art deco sculpture.

It was donated in 1939 by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation to commemorate the US President’s work for the creation of the League of Nations. 

(Source: United Nations Office at Geneva website http://www.unog.ch/virtual_tour/palais_des_nations.html)

The Conquest of Space monument. More on the imposing monument:

This two-part monument, a gift from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, is dedicated to human success in the conquest of space.

The slender, arrow-shaped plinth is 28 metres high and formed from Ukrainian stone covered with a thin layer of titanium (the heat-resistant element used to protect spacecraft).

A few metres away, the bronze statue of a cosmonaut in a spacesuit with arms reaching to the skies symbolises mankind’s wish to explore outer space.

The work’s major creator was the Russian sculptor Youri Neroda, who was unable to attend the monument’s inauguration in 1971 because of the tragic deaths of three Russian cosmonauts. 

(Source: United Nations Office at Geneva website http://www.unog.ch/virtual_tour/palais_des_nations.html)

Unfortunately the statue of the cosmonaut isn't visible from up here and access to grounds is prohibited!

Members of our group passing through the Salle des Pas Perdus...

More artwork, these ones in the Salle des Pas Perdus...

That's Lake Geneva in the distance...

What a stately building...

Meetings in progress...

A vase shaped like a globe...

A porcelain vase (The Blue Planet of Life) by Yasuhiko Shirakata, given by Japan to mark the UN’s 50 th anniversary in 1995. The vase, deep indigo blue on a white enamelled base, symbolises a world living in peace and respecting the environment.
Shirakata, born in Tobe, a town famous for it pottery and ceramics for more than 200 years, involved schoolchildren in the concept and design of the vase, which is two metres high, including its stand. 

(Source: United Nations Office at Geneva website http://www.unog.ch/virtual_tour/palais_des_nations.html)

Passing by the Lobby of the Council Chamber...

The Lobby’s largest feature is a massive and evocative bas-relief in marble above the main entrance to the Chamber entitled The Creation of Man. The work is by the English sculptor Eric Gill and was donated to the League of Nations by the United Kingdom in 1938. The sculpture is a triptych, with the central panel (2.3m x 9.28m) being inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel fresco. The left panel shows Man’s Gifts to God, the right panel shows God’s Gifts to Man.

(Source: United Nations Office at Geneva website http://www.unog.ch/virtual_tour/palais_des_nations.html)

Palais des Nations - Where Nations Meet... Part II

And finally our tour of the Palais des Nations started. We were guided by a UN official, who went by the name of Hanuk, a Turkish national. Ours was group of about 20 - mostly Europeans, some Africans and Latin Americans. 

Hanuk gave us a brief about the the Palais des Nations. The Palais was home to the League of Nations, a world-body that preceded the UN. The League of Nations was founded in 1920 in aftermath of the First World War as an outcome of the Treaty of Versailles.

To design the League's headquarters an architecture competition was held but the jury was unable to decide on a winner. Ultimately, the five architects behind the leading entries were chosen to collaborate on a final design. These architects were Julien Flegenheimer of Switzerland, Camille Lefèvre and Henri-Paul Nénot of France, Carlo Broggi of Italy and József Vágó of Hungary. 

The Palace is located in Ariana Park, which was bequeathed to the City of Geneva in 1890 by  a local businessman, Gustave de Revilliod de la Rive, on three conditions: that the park always remain accessible to the public, that he be buried in the park, and that peacocks roam freely on its grounds, which they do to this day. 

Contributions from members states were used for the construction and interior works. Beneath  the foundation of the Palais des Nations, a time capsule was buried, which contains 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 Palais des Nations with the Jura Mountains in the background was struck in silvered bronze.

The Palais des Nations was completed in 1936 and it overlooks Lake Geneva and the French Alps.

In a few years after its completion, the Second World War broke out rendering the League ineffective. After the war was over, the League was dissolved and its assets were passed on the newly created United Nations. This included the Palais, despite the fact that the Swiss decided against joining newly created world-body. However, they agreed to let the UN use Geneva as its base.

After its transfer to the UN, the Palais was expanded with two extensions and additional floors.

Our first point of call was the beautiful and stunning Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room...

Hanuk briefing us about the conference room...

This conference room usually hosts discussions on human rights...

The ornate ceiling of the Alliance of Civilizations Room was a gift to the UN from King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain in 2008...

The artwork consists of a multi-colored installation of paint-flecked stalactites covering the conference room's 1500 square meters ceiling. It is indeed unique because the ceiling looks different from various part of the conference room...

The artwork cost about USD 25 million and was designed by Spanish artist Miquel Barceló...

However, the spectacular artwork became controversial after Spanish politicians raised question marks on the raison d'être of its funding. Their contention was that the money could have been better utilized to fight poverty and aid healthcare in the developing world...

While there is merit in these arguments, it doesn't take away the appreciation that Miquel Barceló deserves for creating this masterpiece...

The Palais is also home to various artworks donated by member states like the one above from Iran...

...and this tapestry of the Temple of Heaven from China. Oh yes! We had visited this temple in 2013...

A depiction of an Arab marketplace...