One of the most photographed buildings in Den Haag is the grandiose Peace Palace (Vredespaleis),  standing in 5 hectares of land between the business district and the town centre.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the idea of world peace had come to the fore, with famous pacifists and writers, such a Leo Tolstoy, spreading the idea around the world. The years 1899 and 1907 were important in this context as they saw the two Hague Peace Conferences take place.  The Hague Conventions which resulted from these conferences were among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the body of secular international law.

At the end of the Second Conference, the French emissary proposed that “every nation represented in The Hague contributes to the realisation of the Peace Palace by … sending building materials and decorations that give an impression of the national product of each country, so that the palace, the embodiment of the world’s best intentions and expectations, can actually be built of the most essential raw materials from all countries.”

And it happened: the Peace Palace opened its gates in 1913, after six years of construction, a large building with a plinth of grey Belgian natural stone and facades of Dutch red bricks. Raw materials and works of art were gifted from around the world.  The land was donated by the Netherlands and the entrance gates by Germany.  Norway and Sweden provided granite, Italy marble, Brazil woods, Japan silk and Turkey carpets.  Russia made the very first gift, a vase, Switzerland gifted the tower clock and Britain donated stained glass windows, to list just a few of the gifts received.

The Palace and its treasures stand in beautiful gardens, created by  Thomas H. Manson a London designer.

The Palace is open on certain weekends for guided tours; details and bookings available here.  The World Peace Flame stands just outside the gates.

Linked to Thursday Special.