78 World Record Peace Monuments
Click here for the oldest peace monument in each of 39 physical forms. Go to end of this web page for a rank-ordered list of the world's tallest peace monuments.
Right click any image to enlarge.
| 2600-2400 BCE - Peace Panel, Standard of Ur, British Museum, London (England). World's oldest peace monument? The "Peace" panel [upper image & detail] "portrays a banquet scene. Attendants parade animals, fish & other goods (possibly war booty) before seated figures, while a lyrist entertains the throng." "The 'standard' is a hollow wooden box and a mosaic inlaid with red limestone, lapis lazuli & shells. Its original function is not understood, but it has been suggested it was born upon a pole as a standard, thus its common name, 'The Standard of Ur.' Another suggestion was its use as a carrying case for a musical instrument. Excavated in what was the old royal cemetery in what had been the ancient city of Ur, which was located in modern-day Iraq, south of Baghdad. There are two larger panels - one side depicting peace & the other side war [lower image]." |
October 12, 1792 & 1964 - Columbus Obelisk, Herring Run Park, Harford Road at Walther Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland (USA). Main inscription (smashed in 2017): "SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF CHRIS. COLUMBUS OCTOB. XII MDCC VIIIC [___]." Inscription on side tablet: "COLUMBUS MONUMENT RE-LOCATED FROM NORTH AVENUE EAST OF HARFORD ROAD AND RE-DEDICATED OCTOBER 12, 1964. THEODORE R. McKELDIN, MAYOR" /// "First monument to Columbus in the USA (& in the world). Donated by the French Consul to Baltimore, Charles Francois Adrian de Paulmier, Chevalier d'Anmour. Initially erected on the consul's 50-acre estate [Villa Belmont] at the corner of North Avenue & Harford Road...In 1887, Belmont became the Samuel B. Ready School...It moved to West Baltimore in 1938 to make way for Sears Roebuck’s huge store, which is now the Eastside District Court...The Columbus obelisk was moved to its present location in northeast Baltimore near Herring Run park in 1964...The obelisk, considered too fragile to be moved, was left behind on what became a Sears parking lot...Moved to the present location near the Samuel Ready Institute on Columbus Day, 1964." /// "Smashed with a sledgehammer on August 21, 2017, in opposition to the 'culture of white supremacy,' according to reports. The narrator goes on to refer to such statues to Columbus as 'slap in the face...Racist monuments to slave owners & murderers have always bothered me. Baltimore’s poverty is concentrated in African-American households, & these statues are just an extra slap in the face. They were built in the 20th century [sic] in response to a movement for African Americans’ human dignity. What kind of a culture goes to such lengths to build such hate-filled monuments? What kind of a culture clings to those monuments in 2017?'" /// Click here for a more complete history of the THREE Columbus monuments in Baltimore. PROTESTS VANDALIZED MARYLAND OLD COLUMBUS RECORDS |
c370 BCE - Statue of Irene / Eirene, Glyptothek, Munich (Germany). 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 8-9. Roman copy of a votive statue of the Greek Goddess of Peace. Original was executed in bronze by Cephisodotus the Elder (perhaps the father or uncle of Praxieles) & set up in the Agora of Athens after 371 BC to commemorate the Common Peace / Koine Eirene of that year. Although the original is now lost, it was copied in marble by the Romans, and one of the best surviving copies is in the Munich Glyptothek. According to Baber, "there is no known record of a statue personifying peace produced earlier than this one of Irene." World's oldest peace monument? | c370 BCE - Statue of Irene / Eirene, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York (USA). Another Roman copy. |
28 BCE - Pax: Roman Goddess of Peace Medallion (Asia Minor, now Turkey). 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 10-11. According to Baber, this is "the earliest Roman personification of peace... Produced in honor of the Emperor Augustus [63 BC - 14 AD]. Here Pax [Roman goddess of peace] holds a caduceus, emblem of peace, in her right hand; behind her a serpent (a symbol of healing in Greek & Roman art) rises from a cist or chest containing emblems of the goddess; the whole is surrounded by a laurel wreath." /// Image is from an offer on eBay for $962.50: "AUGUSTUS 28BC Ephesus Mint PAX Cista Mystica LARGE Ancient Silver Roman Coin RARE." |
| R E E | Ancient - Oldest Olive Tree in Bethlehem (al-Badawi), Al-Walaja, Bethlehem Governate (Occupied West Bank). /// From Wikipedia: "Al-Walaja is the site of al-Badawi, a 5,000 year old olive tree, claimed to be the oldest [olive tree] in the world... On April 29, 2010, a joint demonstration involving both [Jewish] settlers of the adjacent Gush Etzion settlement block & local Arab residents protested the construction of a long-delayed extension of Israel's network of security fences & walls around Jerusalem. The event was partially coordinated by the Kfar Etzion-based organization Eretz Shalom / Land of Peace dedicated to building contacts between Jewish settlers & West Bank natives." /// Email from Dr. Mazin Qumsieh of the Palestinian Center for Raprochment Between People in Bethlehem: "We (5 Israelis & 2 Palestinians) were roughed up [July 26, 2011] by Israeli apartheid soldiers, then abducted, while filming the destruction of the land of Al-Walaja. In my case, the [Israeli army] officer recognized me & came straight at me pushing me to the ground, kicking me, then asking his soldiers to take me away. Shireen [Al-Araj, a member of Walaja's Popular Committee Against the Wall] was taken later by the invading fascist soldiers. It hurts so much to see how slowly the old [olive] trees are being uprooted to build [an Israeli separation] wall on village land that will separate the villagers from their agricultural fields. In this case, trees & an agricultural road (built with European funding) were being destroyed. The oldest tree in the Bethlehem district, an olive tree that is perhaps 3-4,000 years old is also in the path of the apartheid wall. [Early this morning] the Israeli soldiers working as subcontractors for land thieves & racists also raided the Freedom Theater in Jenin (founded by our friend & martyr Juliano Mer-Khamis [1958-2011]) & abducted [two] of the workers there. We ask everyone to write to politicians, media & others to alert them of these persistent violations of basic human rights. We must intensify pressure via boycotts, divestments & sanctions [BDS]." /// Top image courtesy of Mazin Qumsieh. |
| January 30, 9 BCE - Ara Pacis Augustae / Altar of Augustan Peace, Rome (Italy). Built by Roman emperor Augustus Caesar [63 BC - 14 AD]. Enclosed in 2006 by new building designed by American architect Richard Meier (seen in right image). 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 12-13. |
A L L | October 1697 - Treveszaal / Truce Chamber, Binnenhof, The Hague (Netherlands). Where several peace treaties have been signed, including Treaty of Friendship & Commerce between Netherlands & USA -- the first US treaty, signed by John Adams [1735-1826] on October 8, 1782, eleven months before peace treaty with Great Britain formally recognized US independence. The Dutch cabinet meets here every Friday. |
1806-1860 - Tripoli Monument or Peace Monument, Navy Yard, Washington, DC (USA). Made in Italy by Charles Micali. Damaged by fire during the War of 1812. Moved to West Grounds of the US Capitol in 1831. Moved to US Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, Maryland (USA) in 1861 (qv). Plaque: "The oldest military monument in the United States honors heroes of the War against the Barbary Coast Pirates [1801-1805], the new republic's first war..." Renovated in June 2000. |
A L L | 1864 & 1872 - Salle de l'Alabama / Hall of the Alabama, Hotel de Ville / City Hall, Geneva (Switzerland). On August 22, 1864, the [First] Geneva Convention was signed here, founding the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) & beginning Geneva's role as an international city." On September 14, 1872, an international tribunal meeting here settled the so-called "Alabama Claims" of the USA against the UK about actions of the CSS Alabama & other raiders during the US Civil War, thus establishing the principle of international arbritration. |
B E L I S K | L A Q U E S | February 21, 1885 - Washington Monument, The Mall, Washington, DC (USA). Construction began in 1845. 555 feet tall. World's tallest obelisk. World's tallest masonry structure. Exterior is plain, but interior stairway (no longer accessible to public) contains 193 plaques from every state & from many foreign countries. (One plaque is said to have been donated by the pope but was ripped out & trashed by US soldiers.).
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1897 - Negro Building, Tennessee Centennial Exposition (now Centennial Park), Nashville, Tennessee (USA). No longer exists. "Largest-ever display of African-American life and achievement." From dedication speech: "Here...the world may see the other side of Negro life than 'Sam Johnson, the chicken thief.' Here it may see the healthful buds of Negro handicraft, Negro art, science, literature, invention... Here... the old master who followed Lee's tattered banners... down to Appomattox sacrifices his pro-slavery ideas, and builds a monument to Negro fidelity and industry; and here the Negro brings the product of his brain and hand in grateful testimony to the friendly feelings between us." |
O N F E R E N C E | 1899 - First Hague Peace Conference, Orange-zaal / Orange Hall, The Hague (Netherlands). "Not driven by the sudden conversion of Europe's rulers to pacifism, but by Russia's desire to escape the crushing burden of keeping up with Germany and England's armament pace in Western Europe. Although certain idealistic motives played roles, no progress was made on disarmament at the end of each day. Nevertheless, the Conference was not without important results: First, it produced a convention for the Pacific Settlement of Disputes -- which resulted in the establishment of the first international organization, the Permanent Court of Arbitration [PCA]; secondly, an issue on Laws and Customs of War on Land known as 'The Hague Convention' -- which remains as the most important source of humanitarian law today; & a third concerning Maritime Warfare. The conference adopted "Declarations" to the effect that throwing projectiles from balloons & other aircraft had an indiscriminate effect on civilians, & the use of asphyxiating gases & dum dum bullets should be forbidden because of their inhumane nature (defenders of nuclear weapons, please note). They further expressed that another conference be held to deal with the unfinished portions of the agenda." Lower image shows the Russian delegation. US delegation headed by Andrew Dickson White [1832-1918]. /// The Orange-zaal / Orange Hall is also known as Huis ten Bosch, House in the Wood, Palais au Bois, etc. |
U S E U M | 1902 - International Museum of War & Peace, Lucerne (Switzerland). Opened by Ivan Bloch, aka Jean de Bloch [1836-1902], a Polish-Russian entrepreneur and author of the 6-volume master work, La Guerre Future / Is War Now Impossible? (1898). Destroyed during World War I. See "The International Museum of War and Peace at Lucerne" by Peter van den Dungen, Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Geschichte, vol, 31, pp, 185-202 (1981). Click here for "Preventing Catastrphe: The World's first peace museum" by Peter van den Dungen, Ritsumeikan Kokusai Kenkyu / The Ritsumeikan Journal of International Studies, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 23-36 (March 2006). Site now occupied by Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern (KKL) / Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. |
| T AT U E | March 13, 1904 - Cristo Redentor de los Andes / Christ of the Andes, Uspallata Pass, Andes Mountains (Argentina/Chile). Elevation 3,810 m (12,500 ft). Highest peace monument in the world. Celebrates the Peace of King Edward VII [1841-1910] of England. The statue was cast from melted military armaments, and hauled thirteen thousand feet to the top of the mountain by the armies of both nations. The monument was on the cover of Time Magazine, December 17, 1928. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 28-29. |
| E LL | 2000 - Glocke für den Frieden "Concordia" / Concordia Peace Bell, Summit of Kronplatz, Bruneck/Branico (Italy). Elevation 2,272 m (7,454 ft). Highest peace monument in Europe. In German speaking part of Italy. Designed by artist Paul de Doss-Moroder from Gröden & cast by bell foundry Glockengiesserei Oberascher in Salzburg (Austria). Weights over 18 tonnes. Heaviest peace bell? Set on an 11 m wide panorama platform. Inscribed "Donet deus populis pacem" / "God gives peace to the people." Has view of the wonderful mountain landscape between the Zillertaler Alps & the Dolomites. Rung on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday at 12:00 noon. Originally identified by Dr. Jutta Lehmann of Blaichach (Germany). |
November 1907 - "Blessed Are The Peacemakers," Arlington Street Church (Unitarian Universalist), Boston, Masssachusetts (USA). In galleries on the right facing the pulpit. Inscription: "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be be called the children of God" [Matthew 5-9]. A memorial to Boston lawyer Alexander Strong Wheeler & presented by his family. "The Tiffany windows in Arlington Street Church are famous for their beauty of design & execution & are believed to be the largest collection of Tiffany windows in any one church. They follow a general plan adopted in 1898 and were installed between 1898 and 1933. The windows represent the highest development of American art in glass. Special Tiffany techniques were used, such as painting certain details & multiple layers of opalescent glass to achieve desired shades of color and Tiffany’s unique creation of folds and drapes. The windows in the galleries, illustrative of the Beatitudes, were designed by Frederick Wilson [1858-1932]. All of the windows were made under the supervision of Louis Comfort Tiffany [1848-1933] & Edward S. George." |
Circa 1908 - Peace Park, Hopkinsville, Kentucky (USA). Bequest by Hopkinsville native John C. Latham [1846-1909] of New York City, whose large tobacco warehouse on this site was destroyed by disgruntled tobacco growers (Night Raiders) on December 8, 1907. Click here for info about a Confederate Monument dedicated by Latham on May 19, 1887. World's first peace park? |
1910 - Garden of Peace / Heiwa-en, Hammersmith Park, South Africa Road, White City, Shepherd's Bush, London (England). "Created in 1910 as a part of the great Japan-British Exhibition in which Meiji Japan fully demonstrated her technology & culture to the West for the first time." Restored for its centennial in 2010. "What remains of a much larger garden... the oldest traditional Japanese garden in a public place in Britain... renovated in accordance with the ancient principles & techniques that dictated its creation 100 years has created two new play spaces with a distinct Japanese inspiration." Chick here for story about "an ecstatic Japanese Matsuri-style garden party in the newly restored Heiwa-en (Japanese Peace Garden)" on May 23, 2010. World's first peace garden? |
O U S E | 1911-1948 - American Peace Society House, 734 Jackson Place, NW, Washington, DC (USA). A Late Victorian 3-story brick house with a hexagonal bay that was the headquarters of the American Peace Society from 1911 to 1948. Constructed in 1878 for financier & philanthropist Charles C. Glover [1846-1936]. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. Included in the Lafayette Square Historic District. Currently used as offices for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. The American Peace Society was founded in 1828 and moved to Washington from Boston in 1911. What happened in 1948? (Stephen Norman [1918-1946], last descendant of Theodor Herzl [1860-1904], jumped off the Charles C. Glover Memorial Bridge three weeks after learning that his parents had died in the Holocaust.) | 1815 - New York, New York (USA). "Élie Ducommun credited the establishment of the world's first Peace Society in New York in 1815, and the concept quickly spread to Europe." David Low Dodge [1774-1852] founded the New York Peace Society in 1815, soon after the end of the War of 1812 [1812-15]. It became an active organization, holding regular weekly meetings & producing literature which was spread as far as Gibraltar & Malta, describing the horrors of war & advocating pacificism on Christian grounds. In 1828, the New York society merged with others in New Hampshire, Maine & Massachusetts to form the American Peace Society. |
E M | October 18, 1913 - Völkerschlachtdenkmal / Monument to the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig (Germany). Commemorates Napoleon's defeat during the Battle of Leipzig October 16-19, 1813. "Considered to be Europe’s largest memorial. Its construction required a total of 120,000 m3 of tamped concrete & 12,500 m3 of porphyroid granite. The imposing 90-metre-high monument is currently being restored. The aim is to have it shining in the same splendour on its 100th anniversary as at its opening in 1913." |
October 30, 1913 - Peace Monument, SW corner, Courthouse Square, Decatur, Adams County, Indiana (USA). Designed by Charles T. Mulligan [1866-1916]. Statue of "Peace" 12 feet 3 inches tall modeled by Margaret McMasters Van Slyke, "said to be Chicago's most perfectly formed woman" (local winner of Bernarr Macfadden's 13-city "best and most perfectly formed woman" contest in 1903-1904?). Side panels bear names of 1,276 Adams County veterans: Five of the War of 1812, eight of the Mexican War, 1,152 of 1861-1865 [sic], and 111 of the Spanish-American War. "The world's first monument dedicated exclusively to peace" (according to Wikipedia). Left photo by EWL 29Jul09. Right photo from 1935. |
I N D O W | 1917 - Tiffany Windows, American Red Cross (ARC), 430-17th Street, Washington, DC (USA). Depict the most significant values of the Red Cross: Hope, faith, charity & love. Designed & constructed by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany [1848-1933], son of the New York City jeweler. Reputed to be the largest set of windows still in their original state. | I N D O W | 1976 - Vitrail de la paix / Peace Window, Chapelle des Cordeliers, Sarrebourg (France). Créé par Marc Chagall [1887-1985]. Largest stained glass peace window? Compare Chagall's peace window at the United Nations in New York City (USA). |
1922 - Fountain of Time, Midway Plaisance Park, Cottage Grove Avenue, Washington Park, Chicago, Illinois (USA). Commemorates century of peace between Great Britain & the US. Sculptor Lorado Taft [1860-1936] took 14 years to complete what was called the "largest single group of statuary in existence." 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 62-63. Entry #270 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). |
E L L | 1924 - "Maria Dolens" / "Grieving Virgin Mary", Miravalle Hill, Rovereto, Trento (Italy). Largest bell outside Russia and East Asia, and the largest sounding bell in the world. "Cast in Trento in 1924 with bronze from cannons of nations that took part in WW-I. Placed on the Bastione Malipiero / Malipiero Bastion of the Castello di Rovereto. Recast in Verona in 1939 to return to Rovereto exactly one year later. In 1960, following a serious and irreparable crack, recast at the Capanni foundry in Castelnovo Né Monti (Reggio Emilia). Blessed in Rome in Piazza San Pietro by Pope Paolo VI on 31st October 1965. Returned to Rovereto on the 4th of November & placed on the Colle di Miravalle / Miravalle Hill, from where it overlooks the city to this day." The International University of Peoples’ Institutions for Peace (IUPIP) was established in 1993 in Rovereto by the Fondazione Opera Campana dei Caduti / Peace Bell Foundation. |
E M O R I A L | June 31, 1931 - Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial, Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio (USA). "Established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the War of 1812, but in equal part it is here to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada & the US." /// "A 352 foot (107 m) monument — the world's most massive Doric column — was constructed by a multi-state commission from 1912 to 1915 "to inculcate the lessons of international peace by arbitration & disarmament." Beneath the stone floor of the monument lie the remains of three American officers & three British officers. It is among the tallest monuments in the USA (the Gateway Arch, San Jacinto Monument & Washington Monument are taller). World's tallest peace monument? Although substantially completed in 1915, funding problems prevented the proper completion of a fully realized memorial complex. In 1919 the federal government assumed control of the monument & provided additional funding. The official dedication was celebrated on July 31, 1931. In 2002, $2.4 million was spent on a new visitor center. The memorial is visited by 200,000 people each year." Entry #818 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). | Future - Khalifa Olympic Peace Tower, Doha (Qatar). Projected 300-meter tower. |
T A T U E | October 12, 1931 - O Cristo Redentor / Christ the Redeemer, Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Formerly Christo redemptor. Statue of Jesus Christ resembling a cross. "Considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world -- 39.6 metres (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meter (31 feet) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft) wide. Weighs 635 tons (700 short tons). At peak of 700 metre (2,300 ft) mountain overlooking the city." |
| June 18, 1932 - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Alberta (Canada) & Montana (USA). "Oldest international peace park [sic]." Established on the initiative of Rotary International. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Upper image is cover of Saturday Evening Post for August 5, 1961, showing a happy family on the international border. Click here for Wikipedia article. Entry #1210 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). |
| 2007 - Peace Exhibit, Goat Haunt Ranger Station, Glacier National Park (USA). At south end of Upper Waterton Lake. No road access! "Visitors can view a new International Peace Park exhibit at Goat Haunt. The exhibits explore the history of the Peace Park - the world's first - as well as the meanings of peace in the world." ["Celebrating 75 Years of Peace & Friendship," National Park Service, July 19, 2007]. | 2007? - Peace Exhibit, Waterton Lakes National Park (Canada). At north end of Upper Waterton Lake. Peace Exhibit exists according to Nigel & Antonia Young. |
July 14, 1932 - International Peace Garden, Dunseith, North Dakota (USA) and Boissevain, Manitoba (Canada). "2,339 acre botanical garden on the world's longest unfortified border." Various monuments built over the years, including Peace Cairn (qv), Peace Carillon (qv), Peace Chapel, two 20-story concrete Peace Towers & 9/11 Memorial. Click here for Wikipedia article. Entry #1209 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). |
E M O R I A L | September 4, 1938 - May 30, 1942 - Monument à la gloire des Américains / Monument to the Glory of the Americans, Point-de-Grave, Le Verdon, Mouth of Gironde River (France). Expressed gratitude for US help during World War I. 75 meters tall (vs. 45.5 meters for the Statue of Liberty). Tallest peace monument in Europe? Cornerstone laid September 6, 1919, by French President Raymond Poincaré [1860-1934]. Dedication (lower left image) attended by John F. Kennedy [1917-1963] representing his father, the US Ambassador in London. Lower right image shows a stele (plaque) about 10 meters high which was erected in 1947 to mark the spot. Its inscription reads: "Ici s'élevait le monument érigé à la gloire des Américains - Aux soldats du général Pershing défenseurs du même idéal de droit et de liberté qui conduisit en Amérique La Fayette et ses volontaires partis de ce rivage en 1777 - Le monument symbolisait la fraternité d'armes et l'amitié franco-américaine - Il fut détruit le 30 mai 1942 par les troupes d'occupation allemandes - Il sera réédifié par le peuple français - They have destroyed it, we shall restore it." |
August 5-7, 1947 - Second Anniversary of the Atomic Bomb (third anniversary according to Japanese custom): "The first Peace Festival was held in an open area in Jisenji-no-hana. (This area is now included in Peace Memorial Park). The festival took place around a wooden peace tower which was built for the occasion. After a silent prayer by the people present, the Peace Bell was rung. Then Mayor Hamai took the platform and read aloud to the world the first Peace Declaration." World's first temporary peace bell? What "peace bell" was used on this occasion, and what happened to it afterwards? Image shows portion of model in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Jisenji-no-hana is the area immediately below T-shaped Aioi Bridge. Photo by EWL. |
June 1948? - UN Headquarters, Alar Street (an extension of Haas Promenade), Jerusalem (Israel). This is the UN's first peacekeeping operation. Sign on wall reads "United Nations, Nations Unies, Headquarters, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, UNTSO." Right two images show UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan addressing the staff at the UNTSO on 13 March 2005. Did the UN occupy this building in 1948 or later? Near the 2008 Tolerance Park & Monument (qv). |
1949 - Bell of Peace, Tamon-in Temple, near Hijiyama Park (just east of Kyobashi-gawa River), Hiroshima (Japan). Original bell taken by military during World War II. Empty bell tower was among very few wooden structures to survive A-bomb on August 6, 1945. Replacement "Bell of Peace" installed in 1949. World's first permanent peace bell? Image from "A-bombed Structures Speak - The First Special Exhibition of Fy 2008," Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, shows 1949 bell & a beam cracked by the A-bomb blast. |
U S E U M | 1949 - Beit Lohamei Hagetaot / Ghetto Fighters' House Museum, Coastal Highway (#4) between Acre (Akko) & Nahariya, Western Galilee (Israel). "Founded by members of Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot, a community of Holocaust survivors, among them fighters of the ghetto undergrounds and partisan units. The museum is named after Itzhak Katzenelson [1886-1944], a Jewish poet who died at Auschwitz. The world’s first museum commemorating the Holocaust & Jewish heroism. Represents the highest expression of its founders’ commitment to Holocaust education in Israel & the world. The museum tells the story of the Jewish people in the 20th century, and particularly during WW-II and the Holocaust. At the center of the narrative is the individual, and the many expressions of Jewish resistance in ghettos, concentration camps, and partisan combat." (One of only two Holocaust museums located on a kibbutz (the other being at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.) |
| U S E U M | 1953 - Yad Vashem at foot of Mount Herzl (Mount of Memory), Jerusalem (Israel). World’s largest Holocaust museum & memorial. A 45-acre complex containing Hall of Remembrance (Arieh Elhanani, 1961), Pillar of Heroism (Buky Schwartz, 1970), Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto (Nathan Rapoport, 1975-6), Children's Memorial (Moshe Safdie, 1976), Memorial to the Jewish Soldiers (Bernie Fink, 1985), Valley of the Communities (Lipa Yahalom & Dan Zur, 1992), International School for Holocaust Studies (1993), Holocaust History Museum (March 15, 2005, lower image), Museum of Holocaust Art, synagogue, archives, research institute, library & publishing house. Non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust at personal risk are honored by Yad Vashem as 'Righteous Among the Nations.'" See Video & Website. |
| U S E U M | August 24, 1955 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Parki, 1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima (Japan). At site of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. World’s largest atomic bomb museum & memorial. New museum building (left) + original building (center) + conference center (right). One of 3 institutions hosting 6th International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) in October 2008. One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. #27 of 56 "cenotaphs & monuments" on the Virtual E-Tour. Click here for Wikipedia article. Click here for other peace monuments in Hiroshma. |
December 11, 1960 - Yokohama Friendship Bell, Shelter Island, San Diego, California, USA. Gift from sister city Yokohama (Japan) to the City of San Diego. Designed by Masahiko Katori [1899-1988], who also designed both Hiroshima Peace Bells (1964 & 1967) & Pacific Bell (1986), at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). World's first sister city monument? |
December 1960-November 1975 - "Raíces de la Paz" / "The Roots of Peace," Organization of American States (OAS), 17th Street & Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC (USA). "In the tunnel connecting the OAS Building with its Administration Building two blocks away is a 162-meter [sic] / 200-foot mural depicting various themes of peace & development in the Americas. World's widest mural? Painted by Uruguayan artist Carlos Paez Vilaró [b.1923] who also painted a mural for the UN building in New York City." Restored in 2002 by Roberto Arce. Both photos by EWL. |
R O S S | 1963 - Bald Knob Cross of Peace, Bald Knob, Shawnee National Forest, Alto Pass, Illinois (USA). Largest cross in North America. "111 feet (34 m) tall and is visible, when lit at night, over an area of 7,500 square miles (19,000 km2). Base made of Illinois marble, and upper portion covered by reinforced steel porcelain panels. Use of interior stairway discontinued in 1982." Site of Easter sunrise services since 1937. "In 1963 when our relations with Russia took a turn for the better, [the foundation] thought the cross could have a good effect if known as The Cross Of Peace around which our prayers could center." |
1970 Tower for World Peace, Church of Perfect Liberty (PL), Osaka (Japan). Arguably the world's tallest peace monument (see chart below)."Reaching to 180 metres (590 feet) in height,..the symbol and quintessence of the most sophisticated contemporary technology (sprayed concrete). It can be seen as far away as Kobe City. The unique shape, originally designed in clay by PL's late Second Founder. It's unique pointing finger-like shape symbolizes the Second Founder's revelation that 'the truth is one'– an understanding that's basic to realizing the desire for the eternal peace and welfare of humankind." |
1972 & 1973 - Pioneer Plaques (Outer Space). "A pair of gold-anodized aluminium plaques which were placed on board the 1972 Pioneer 10 and 1973 Pioneer 11 spacecraft, featuring a pictorial message, in case either Pioneer 10 or 11 are intercepted by extraterrestrial life. The plaques show the nude figures of a human male and female along with several symbols that are designed to provide information about the origin of the spacecraft. The Pioneer spacecraft were the first human-built objects to leave the solar system. The plaques were attached to the spacecraft's antenna support struts in a position that would shield them from erosion by stellar dust. |
E M | March 30, 1978 - Land Day Monument, Sakhnin, Galilee (Israel). By Abed Abdi & Gershon Knispel. "First time that a symbol of Palestinian nationality appeared in the public sphere. From 1978 to this day, on every March 30 the monument is a central marking point of remembrance ceremonies for the Land Day events in Galilee." Land Day is an annual day of commemoration for Palestinians of events on March 30, 1976, when the Israeli government announced a plan to expropriate thousands of dunams of land for "security & settlement purposes," a general strike & marches were organized in Arab towns, & in ensuing confrontations with the Israeli army and police, six Arab citizens were killed, about one hundred were wounded & hundreds of others arrested. |
1978 - Globe Monument, Nordkapp / North Cape (Norway). "North Cape, at 71°10'21 of latitude is referred to as the northernmost point of Europe. The Globe is now the simbol of North Cape, attracting peole from all over the world. Where Europe ends the Arctic Ocean begins." See Children of the World monument nearby. |
About 1980 - Mappamondo della Pace / Globe of Peace, Apecchio, Montefeltro province of Pesaro, (Italy). 10-meters (35-feet) in diameter. Weights 30 tons. Constructed by folk artist Orfeo Bartolucci. World's largest globe until Eartha (qv) was constructed in 1998 according to Guinness Book of Records. Chick here for "Il Mappamondo più grande del mondo." |
1985 - Skulptur "Jüdische Opfer des Faschismus / Jewish Victims of Fascism," Gedenkstätte Große Hamburger Straße, Scheunenviertel, Berlin (Germany). "First memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Nazis." /// In front of the the Alter Jüdischer Friedhof / Old Jewish Cemetery (qv). "In 1985, a sculptural group of figures by Will Lammert [1892-1957] was installed next to the memorial stone. The sculpture was originally intended for the Ravensbrück camp memorial." |
1985 - Schwules Museum (Gay Museum), Mehringdamm 61, Kreuzberg district, Berlin (Germany). "Founded after a successful exhibition on gay topics at the Berlin Museum (Märkisches Museum) in summer 1984, Eldorado, the first public exposition in Germany of recent research on gay life. Located above a gay nightclub. The world's first gay museum. Since December 2004, the permanent exhibition has been Selbstbewusstsein und Beharrlichkeit. 200 Jahre schwule Geschichte ("Self-Awareness and Endurance: 200 Years of Gay History")." |
E M | 1987 - Monument to Disarmament, Work & Peace, University for Peace (UPAZ / UPEACE), Ciudad Colon, 30 kms southwest of San Jose (Costa Rica). By Cuban artist Thelvia Marín. Honors Costa Ricans who have made outstanding efforts in building & maintaining peace. "World's largest peace monument" [sic]. The central slab is topped by two hands releasing a dove of peace. |
E L L S | 1988-2007 - World Peace Bells, World Peace Bell Association (WEBA), Tokyo (Japan). Inspired by the 1954 Japanese Peace Bell [lower image] at UN Headquarters, New York City (USA), WPBA was created in 1882 by Mr. Tomijiro Yoshida of Tokyo (Japan). Twenty peace bells were cast over a 20 year period by Oigo Bell Works of Takaoka (Japan). Largest group of peace monuments. Also most countries involved in a peace monument project. World Peace Bells are now in Cape Soya (northernmost Japan), Ishgaki Island (southernmost Japan), Ankara (Turkey), Berlin (Germany), Warsaw (Poland), Osaka (Japan), Mexico City (Mexico), Cowra (Australia), Ulan Bator (Mongolia), Quezon City (Philippines), Ottawa (Canada), Brasilia (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Quito (Ecuador), Los Angeles (USA), Madrid (Spain), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Amagasaki (Japan), Christchurch (New Zealand) & Mount Hiei (Japan). |
R E E | September 12, 1992 - Vandalized August 8, 1996 - WVU "Peace Tree," West Virginia University, Morgantgown, West Virginia (USA). "Commemorates the University's commitment to the rediscovery of America's Indian heritage. Chief Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho (Presiding Moderator) of the Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, & Chippewa Chief Robert TallTree, also a musician, artisan and storyteller, were invited to plant & bless the tree. On August 8, 1996, vandals cut down the Peace Tree. A second Peace Tree, which still stands today, was planted by Mohawk Chief Jake Swamp on October 19, 1996. /// According to Haudenosaunee oral tradition, the Creator sent a Peacemaker to unite the warring Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Mohawk & Onondaga Nations by planting the original Tree of Peace at Onondaga [New York] ca. 1000 A.D. The Tree marked the formation of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. As told by Chief Jake Swamp, when the Tree was planted, the Peacemaker told the first leaders: 'This will be the symbol that we will use. The white pine will be the symbol of peace. Now the greenery of this tree will represent the peace you have agreed to. Every time you look at this tree and its greenery, you will be reminded of this peace you agreed to because this tree never changes color the year round, it's always green, so shall be your peace.'" |
December 16, 1992 - Stolperstein, Rathaus / City Hall, Cologne (Germany). First Stolperstein -- 10-cm x 10-cm brass marker set among paving stones to identify the last home of a Holocaust victim. This practice was started & is continued by Gunther Demnig (right image). | Typical Stolperstein. Translation: "Here lived Ida Arensberg. née Benjamin *1870 - deported 1942. Murdered in Theresienstadt on 18.9.1942." As of January 11, 2015, there were 50,000 Stolpersteine in 21 countries of Western Europe: Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium, Ukraine, Italy, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, Croatia, Luxemburg, Russia, Switzerland, Greece, Spain, Belarus & Lithuania. According to Wikipedia, "the stolperstein project [is] the world's largest decentralized memorial." |
T A T U E | 1994 - Underground Railroad Memorial, near W.K. Kellogg Manor House, off of West Van Buren Street, Battle Creek, Michigan (USA). "The nation's largest monument to the Underground Railroad. The 28 foot long & 14 foot high bronze statue was made possible by the generosity of the WK Kellogg Foundation & Glenn A. Cross Estate. By sculptor Ed Dwight. The lovely park like setting with flower-lined pathways showcases the beauty of the statue. A information kiosk is on site to provide information. Honors the men & women who operated the Underground Railroad, specifically Harriet Tubman [1822-1913] and Erastus & Sarah Hussey. The latter were local conductors of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman never came to Battle Creek." |
T A B L E T S 1995 - Cornerstone of Peace, Mabuni, Okinawa (Japan). Trys to list all the names (both military and civilian) from all countries involved in the Battle of Okinawa, early April to mid-June 1945 -- the bloodiest battle in human history. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names -- the most names on any monument. Click here for the Wikipedia article. |
1995 - National Monument for Peace, Narvik (Norway). Also known as "Trinigon." Erected by the Norwegian government on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Norway. Rebuilt in 2005. "The brightest 8 mm steel polished plates in the world -- true mirror quality." One of three peace sculptures in Narvik. Dedicated in 1956, 1995 and 2006. Narkik is known as a city of peace. |
| May 3, 1997 - World Peace Crystal Grid (WPCG), Magnetic North Pole, near Ellesmere Island, Nunavut (Canada). Farthest North peace monument. Also the lowest peace monument. From websites of the International Center for Reiki Training (ICRT), Southfield, Michigan (USA): "In May 1997, I placed a specially designed and empowered Reiki Grid... It was created with the intent of promoting world peace by becoming a planetary beacon charged with healing energies sent by people from all over the world... When the sea ice melts in July, it will sink to the bottom of the ocean where it will remain forever." The inscription on the plaque says: "May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on earth." |
November 4, 1997 - Cristo de la Concordia / Christ of Peace, San Pedro Hill, Cochabamba (Bolivia). Statue of Jesus Christ accessible by cable car, or by climbing 2,000 steps. The statue is 34.20 metres (112.2 ft) tall, on a pedestal of 6.24 metres (20.5 ft), for a total height of 40.44 metres (132.7 ft). The statue is slightly larger than Christ the King in Swiebodzin (Poland) if the 2 metres (6.6 ft) high crown of Christ the King is not counted & Christ the Redeemer outside Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), making it the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. It is the third largest statue in the Southern Hemisphere, after the statue of Virgen de la Paz (Venezuela) & the statue of Saint Rita of Cascia (Brazil). The left hand of the statue points to the South, and the right points to the North. |
| December 17, 1999 - World Peace Crystal Grid (WPCG), Geographic South Pole (Antarctica). Farthest South peace monument. "[Both] World Peace Crystal Grid[s are] made of solid copper in the shape of the heart chakra, 12 inches in diameter and plated with 24 carat gold. A 12 sided quartz pyramid is at the center under which are inscribed the Usui power symbol and the Karuna peace symbol. Double terminated quartz crystals are on each petal. Inscribed around the center are symbols for all the world's religions and the words: 'May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on earth.'" |
E L L | December 31, 1999 - World Peace Bell, Newport, Kentucky (USA) -- just across Ohio River from Cincinatti, Ohio. World's largest free-swinging bell. Dedicated on the eve of the new millenium. Cast in France in 1998 for the Verdin Company of Cincinnatti. Not associated with World Peace Bell Association (Japan). Entry #355 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001). Click here for air view. |
E L L | December 31, 1999 - American Freedom Bell, 3500 Shamrock Drive, Charlotte (North Carolina). Seven feet tall, seven feet wide, and weighing seven tons. "World's largest bell at ground level." Dedicated on the eve of the new millenium. "Jewish conceived" (i.e. largely paid for by the Belk department store fortune). Between the new Charlotte Museum of History and the old (1774) Hezekiah Alexander rock house. "Marks Charlotte as the first focus of freedom from Britain with its Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence publicly signed [in 1775] 14 months before the Philadelphia document." |
November 9, 2001 - Holocaust Maenmal der Kinder / Children's Holocaust Memorial, Whitwell, Tennessee (USA). "An authentic German railcar filled with 11 million paper clips (6 million for murdered Jews & 5 million for Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other groups). Most objects in a peace monument. Dedicated on the anniversary of Kristallnacht. A sculpture designed by an artist from Ooltewah, TN, stands next to the car, memorializing the 1.5 million children murdered by the Nazis and incorporating another 11 million paper clips." Click here for the Wikipedia article. |
2003 - Monument to Labor, Omaha-Council Bluffs Bridge, 601 Riverfront Drive, Omaha, Nebraska (USA). Near the Missouri River. By Matthew J. Placzek. "Five figures at various tasks. A salute to the dedication & hard work of all those who built the city of Omaha. The second largest labor monument in the USA." What's the largest?! |
| E M O R I A L | 2003? - Uhuru Monument, Uhuru Gardens, along Langata road, Nairobi (Kenya). Near Wilson Airport. Built on the spot where Uhuru / Freedom was gained from British rule & declared at midnight on December 12, 1963. The column of the Uhuru monument stands 24 meters high & supports a pair of clasped hands as well as the dove of peace plus the column of the statue of a group of freedom fighters raising the flag. Uhuru Gardens is Kenya's largest memorial park. They "are the biggest home to Nairobi memorial tombs of all the Independence freedom fighters. In 2003 however, the Uhuru Gardens was the site of a public damage of arms [sic]. This representational ceremony took place on the third anniversary of the signature [on March 15, 2000] of the Nairobi Declaration on Small Arms & Light Weapons." ("One of the things that brought Professor Wangari Maathai to fame leading to a Nobel peace award [in 2004] was her fight to protect the park when the government attempted to construct office buildings at the park.") |
June 2004 - Peace Sculpture, Woodstock School, Mussoorie, Uttarakhand (India). Depicts world's oldest known word for "peace" (Sumerian cuneiform). Stainless steel sculpture by Jim Havens of Gibsonburg, Ohio (USA). Sumerian is a language created out of necessity for the grain trade circa 2,500 BCE. Monument designed to memorialize end of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), but Iran cancelled the project, & the sculptor donated it to his alma mater. Woodstock is an elite boarding school in a hill station of northern India. Photo by EWL Jan07. |
O L E | May 28, 2005 - Peace Pole, Rockport Park Peace Park, Janesville, Wisconsin (USA). From Wikipedia: "Perhaps the world's tallest Peace Pole, at 52 feet, is located in Janesville at the site of a KKK rally. The initial inspiration for planting Peace Poles often is as a response to a local issue like a KKK rally." This park also "includes a two-story Native American teepee with reproduced Peace paintings inside by Janesville's own Gary Gandy." |
| O L E | September 2005 - Granite Peace Pole, Peace Pole Park, Beech Acres Park, Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio (USA). About 12 miles east of Cincinnati. "A multi-ton granite peace pole that cost $65,000 with landscaping. By artist Joel Selmeier." From Wikipedia: "Another of the largest Peace Poles in the world, as measured in tons, is the granite Peace Pole in Beech Acres Park near Cincinnati, Ohio. The original inspiration for it was hate literature left in the driveways of Jewish residents." /// "Uncharacteristically does not have the message engraved on the pole itself. Instead the translations are on the six granite monoliths around it. On each of the monoliths the phrase "May peace prevail on earth" is engraved in a different language on each side for a total of twelve translations." |
E T T E R | April 2009 - Open Letter to "My dear Palestinian brothers and sisters" from South African activist Farid Esack, painted on the Israeli apartheid wall, ArRam (Occupied West Bank). Between Jerusalem & Ramallah. Contains 1,998 words & stretches 2.6 kilometers, making it probably the world's longest letter. Also world's widest peace monument. Described in "Against the Wall: The Art of Resistance in Palestine" by author & photographer William Parry, PlutoPress, London. Click here for the complete text. Click here for video of the letter's entire length. |
US E U M | February 13, 2010 - People's History Museum, on the Left Bank in Spinningfields, Manchester (England). "Derives its origin from the Trade Union, Labour & Co-operative History Society. From the 1960's the society formed a small collection & between 1975 & 1986 ran a museum in Limehouse Town Hall in London. The museum re-opened in 1990, initially at 103 Princess Street in Manchester. In May 1994 new museum galleries were opened in the Edwardian Pump House on Bridge Street. In October 2007 the museum closed to the public to allow for the start of a multi-million pound re-development scheme. A bigger & better People’s History Museum re-opened on 13 February 2010." /// From Peter van den Dungen 20Jan2012: "The museum is mainly about the growth of universal suffrage; right to unionise; growth of welfare state, etc.). One of the original artefacts is the desk on which Tom Paine wrote 'The Rights of Man.' Also a 1790's painting of Mary Wollstonecraft ('A vindication of the rights of women')." Click here for video. Click here for another video. N.B.: Sculpture in front of the museum is "Doves of Peace" designed by Michael Lyons in 1986 to commemorate Manchester as the World's first nuclear free city." |
April 4, 2010 - Monument de la Renaissance africaine / African Renaissance Monument, Collines des Mamelles, Ouakam suburb, Dakar (Senegal). "A 49m tall bronze statue overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Designed by the Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa after an idea presented by president Abdoulaye Wade & built by Mansudae Overseas Projects, a company from North Korea... Dedication occurred on Senegal's National Day, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from France. It is the tallest statue in Africa." |
November 28, 2010 - Peace Monument, Barangay Sta. Maria, Zamboanga, Mindanao (Philippines). In front of Edwin Andrews Air Base. "Led by Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ) & Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace (IRSMP)." At the dedication, one of the organizers said, "we commit to live in a new space for peace, peace within ourselves, peace among our neighbors, peace with nature & peace with our Great Provider." Local newspaper said this is "the first ever peace monument in the country... The 'First Peace Monument' was created by Tausug artist Rameer Tawasil [a Muslim]. It is shaped like a peace dove & hand extending peace." /// "Individuals, groups & institutions led by Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ) & Interreligious Solidarity Movement for Peace (IRSMP) gathered yesterday to unveil a peace monument. Fr. Angel Calvo, PAZ president, accompanied by Dr. Grace Rebollos, president of Western Mindanao State University (WMSU), & Prof. Ali Yacub, chairman of Golden Crescent Consortium of Peace Builders & Affiliates (GCCPBA) officially unveiled the first ever peace monument in the country [sic]." |
A I N T | June 11, 2011 - Oil Painting, Kiev (Ukraine). "Ukraine-based Palestinian artist Dr Jamal Said Badwan on Wednesday unveiled the biggest oil painting in the world in a public park in Kiev. Palestinian Authority Minister of Tourism Khloud Daibes & hundreds of Ukrainians & Palestinians attended the show. The 310-square-meter painting portrait is expected to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. (A Dutch artist currently holds the record, for a 210-square-meter oil painting.) Badwan told Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language website that the painting was inspired by Noah's Ark. He painted the earth surrounded by people of all ethnicities, panicking as a huge flood approaches. They are led to safety by a dove through Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher & a famous Kiev church." |
A L K | August 18, 2000-October 16, 2011 - Worldwide Walk, Montreal, Quebec (Canada). Jean Beliveau - who arrived home on Sunday to a hero's welcome in Montreal from loved ones, MP's & supporters - said his 'real mission' was to lobby Canada & other governments to create 'ministries of peace.' 'We are all different, & that is what is beautiful about life on Earth - our different colours, different beliefs, different political systems,' he said. 'Those are all musical notes... we must create harmony from them, create a common tune,' an emotional Mr Beliveau told the crowd assembled at city hall in the old part of the city. Mr Beliveau left Montreal on the day of his 45th birthday - August 18, 2000 - after his small sign business went bankrupt. He decided to run around the world to try to escape the pain. The Canadian ran all the way to Atlanta, Georgia, before slowing his stride for what would become the longest uninterrupted walk around the world: 75,000 km across 64 countries." |
March 22, 2011 - Amsary Peace Dove, US Institute of Peace (USIP), Constitution Avenue at 23rd Street, NW, Washington, DC (USA). "Between the Lincoln Memorial & Capitol & passing by the Kennedy Center stands the USIP with its white roof that evokes the wings of a dove. Visible as a dove only from above. World's largest peace dove? The structure has been named after Hushang Ansary, the [Iranian-American] philanthropist & business leader from Houston, Texas." By coincidence, the monument was inaugurated by President George HW Bush at exactly the time US warplanes had started bombing Libya on orders from the incumbent Barack Obama. At a ceremony the following night, all four former presidents still living were present. The guests might have remembered that, in one way or another, all four had been involved in wars. In fact, all 44 men who have served as US president so far have been involved in at least one war." |
Future - El Mano de la Paz / The Hand of Peace, Jardin Binacional / Bi-national Garden, Playas de Tijuana, Baja California (Mexico). Hand showing the peace sign. "By Chaa Youn Woo, [Korean-American] Artist. Significant sculpture that will add positive inspiration to a major port of entry to Latin America. Will be located in a high poverty area. Located at the northern most point of Latin America, approximately 20’ from the border of the United States (San Diego) and 60' from the Pacific Ocean. Latin America refers to those countries that speak romance languages like Spanish, French & Portuguese all derived from Latin. Countries in South America, Central America & the Caribbean make up Latin America. In 2008 the Latin American population was estimated at 570 million. The sculpture will become a generator for peaceful energy. A whimsical yet thought provoking peaceful environment will be created for tourists & locals who visit or live in the area, giving the public the opportunity to interact with the Art installation on a daily basis." |
Future - Peace Monuments, Lamoureux Park, Cornwall, Ontario (Canada). On St. Lawrence River. "Twenty sculptures erected in Lamoureux Park could become the first stop in 'the largest monument in the world' stretching from Canada to Chile. It's a big ambition, but Ottawa sculptor Shaukat Chaney is moving full-speed ahead on the project, which would see 11 sites in 12 countries pay homage to those who have died for peace. He presented his idea to Cornwall council [in 2010], offering to donate 15 to 20 sculptures — each six feet high & weighing a couple tons — if the city would contribute $30,000 for bases & signage. Though each sculptor will donate their time, Chaney said he needs to raise $100,000 to pay for accommodations, food, equipment & supplies. He hopes to collect another $50,000 to get started on the second site, which will be on the Mexican border in Arizona or Texas, with artisans from both sides contributing their talent. After the States, monuments will be erected in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina & Chile — if all goes according to plan. If one site is completed each year, Chaney expects to wrap up by 2023. 'Peace is the theme,' he said." |
2014 - Peace Memorial, Veroli (Italy). 99 kilometres southeast of Rome. "Emphasizes the ties between Italy & United Nations (UN) member countries while recognizing the UN's values of peace & brotherhood. The Government of Italy invited UN member states to contribute to a peace memorial that is to be fashioned from mineral samples. The Honourable Joe Oliver, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Development, today highlighted Canada's contribution of an exceptionally rare piece of Canadian granite to be featured in a new Peace Memorial being constructed in Italy. 'Canada is proud to be part of Italy's new Peace Memorial,' said Minister Oliver. 'Our contribution underscores our commitment to freedom & democracy. It will stand as a lasting symbol of Canada's vast natural resources.' As minerals represent a country's geography, terrain and resources, Natural Resources Canada selected a specimen of granite from the Acasta Gneiss, an outcrop in the Northwest Territories that forms part of the Canadian Shield, the geological core of the North American continent. With an estimated age of 4.2 billion years, the Acasta Gneiss is the Earth's oldest known rock. This is the first time that Canada has sent a sample of rock from the Canadian Shield for use in a UN-related project. Since its inception in 1945, the UN has built over 2,000 peace monuments in order to preserve the memory of an event in a physical & permanent way [sic]." UN COLLECTIONS ITALY 2014 RECORDS |
March 9, 2013 - Peace Dove, Dubai (United Arab Emirates). " Biggest peace dove: Dubai breaks Guinness world record. A 19x19-metre white peace dove, made of 1.2 million buttons in the colours of the UAE flag was completed in Dubai; it was sponsored by Emaar Properties & is spearheaded by Iraqi extreme sportsman Captain Fareed Lafta, 33, a goodwill ambassador & peace-campaigner who roped in Dubai's school children from March 2 to build the dove over seven days, the work sets the new world record for the Biggest peace dove, according to the World Record Academy. |
March 15, 2015 - Peace Icon, Peace Square, Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt). "The height of the icon about 34.5 meters, 26.5 meters height height net, and display the wings 24 meters, flanked Baloiconh Fountain 35 meters in diameter, with about 47 water nozzle out of different heights reaches a height of 16 meters in a spiral,Peace icon is a memorial Peace Park mediates amounting to 36 thousand square meters at the entrance of Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport & the Dahab & the ring road to the city of Sharm El Sheikh. Icon is designed in the form of clusters of black granite bearing the lotus leaf topped eight inspired by the wings of the wings of [Egyptian sun god] Ra carry globe diameter of 10 meters on the world map of stainless steel, the specific location of Egypt in gold & fly above the bathroom that holds an olive branch symbol of peace, & suggests eight wings to the main directions, north & south, east & west-east & north-west & north-east & south-west & the south. It was taking into account the work of the restaurant parking adorned the entrance to the courtyard in front of the icon is surrounded by palm trees & designed light-curve directs visitors to the walkway around the fountain. Icon established and designed in the hands of an Egyptian symbol of peace was registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest & longest metal work of art in the world" [sic]. /// "Sharm el-Sheikh is sometimes called the 'City of Peace,' referring to the large number of international peace conferences that have been held there." |
June 22, 2017 - "3D printed image of Desiderius Erasmus, Schielandshuis / Schieland House, Korte Hoogstraat , Rotterdam (Netherlands). "A homage to one of Rotterdam's most famous citizens. With the placement of the image opposite the Rotterdam Tourist Information, Rotterdam Partners - member of the Erasmus Committee - hopes to extend the commitment of Erasmus to the city. The 3D-printed statue symbolizes the innovative power of Rotterdam & the innovator Erasmus... Replica of Desiderius Erasmus's image of Hendrick de Keyser, which is located on the Groteek Square next to the Lauren Church. From 1945 to 1963 this picture was temporarily on the square for the Schieland house..." [Google translation] /// Information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek. N.B.: This is first example I've see of a 3D printed monument - not etched. |
Here's a table of the world's tallest peace monuments rank-ordered by height:
Height Meters |
Height Feet |
Date | Name | Place | Country |
357 | 1,171 | Future | Manarat Al Salam/Lighthouse of Peace (1st of 12) | Straits of Hormuz (then elsewhere) | Iran |
320 | 1,050 | 1889 | Eiffel Tower - For comparison | Paris | France |
190 | 610 | 1939-1940 | Trylon & Perisphere | NY World's Fair, NY City, New York | USA |
180 | 590 | 1970 | Tower for World Peace | Church of Perfect Liberty, Osaka | Japan |
169 | 555 | 1884 | Washington Monument | National Mall, Washington, DC | USA |
155 | 509 | 1952 | United Nations Headquarters | New York City, New York | USA |
147 | 481 | 2540 BCE | Great Pyramid - For comparison | Giza | Egypt |
128 | 420 | 2002 | Vairocana Buddha | Spring Temple, Lushan, Henan | China |
122 | 400 | 1939-1940 | Temple of the Sun | Golden Gate Intl Expo, San Francisco, CA | USA |
107 | 352 | 1915 | Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial | South Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio | USA |
102 | 335 | 1958 | "Atomium" (by André Waterkeyn) - For comparison | Expo '58, Brussels | Belgium |
99 | 325 | 2010 | Global Vipassana Peace Pagoda | Gorai Creek, Mumbai | India |
93 | 305 | 1886 | Statue of Liberty (by Frédéric Bartholdi) | Liberty Island, NY City, New York | USA |
92 | 303 | 1927 | Peace Tower | Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario | Canada |
91 | 300 | Future | Statue of Responsibility (by Gary Lee Price) | West Coast Port or Utah | USA |
91 | 299 | 1913 | Völkerschlachtdenkmal - For comparison | Leipzig | Germany |
84 | 276 | 1930 | IJzertoren/Yser Tower | Diksmuide/Dixmude | Belgium |
82 | 270 | 1957 | Tower of Peace | Clermont, Florida | USA |
81 | 266 | 1982 | SunSphere | World's Fair Park, Knoxville, Tennessee | USA |
80 | 262 | 1913 | Vredespaleis/Peace Palace | The Hague | Netherlands |
79 | 260 | c1450-c1860 | Bao'ensi/Temple of Gratitude (Porcelain Tower) | Yangtze River | China |
77 | 253 | 2006 | Pyramid of Peace & Accord | Astana | Kazakhstan |
75 | 264 | 1938-1942 | Monument à la gloire des Américains | Point-de-Grave, Le Verdon | France |
66 | 217 | 1926 | Liberty Memorial | Kansas City, Missouri | USA |
64 | 210 | c1940 | Indiana World War Memorial | Indianapolis, Indiana | USA |
62 | 205 | 1929 | Bok Tower | "Iron Mountain," Lake Wales, Florida | USA |
61 | 200 | Future | US Peace Memorial (proposed by Prof Michael Knox) | Washington, DC | USA |
52 | 169 | 1843 | Nelson Column - For comparison | Trafalgar Square, London | England |
51 | 166 | 1993 | Saitama Peace Museum & Tower | Saitama-ken Heiwa Shiryokan | Japan |
50 | 165 | 1939 | Birla Mandir/Birla Temple (proposed by MH Gandhi) | New Delhi | India |
50 | 164 | 1836 | Arc de Triomphe - For comparison | Rondpoint l'Etoile, Paris | France |
50 | 164 | 2000 | Great Stupa for World Peace | Golok | Tibet |
49 | 161 | 2010 | African Renaissance Monument | Dakar | Senegal |
47 | 153 | 1983 | Virgen de la Paz/Virgin of Peace | Trujullo | Venezuela |
46 | 150 | 1954 | Mem Cathedral for World Peace (by Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle) | Nobori-cho, Hiroshima | Japan |
45 | 148 | 1910 | Angel de la Independencia/Angel of Independence | Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City | Mexico |
44 | 144 | 1968 | Tsitsernakapert Erevan/Armenian Genocide Memorial | Yerevan | Armenia |
40 | 130 | 1971 | Cross above Capilla de la Paz/Chapel of Peace | Fraccionamiento Las Brisas, Acapulco | Mexico |
40 | 130 | 1931 | O Cristo Redentor/Christ the Redeemer | Corcovado Mountain, Rio de Janeiro | Brazil |
38 | 125 | 1899 | Friedensengel/Angel of Peace | Stadtteil Bogenhausen, Munich | Germany |
37 | 121 | 1814 | Stoodley Pike Monument | Todmorden, West Yorkshire | England |
37 | 121 | 1940 | Heiwadai Koen/Peace Tower (by Imperial Japan) | Miyazaki, Kyushu Island | Japan |
37 | 120 | 1982 | Dual Peace Towers at International Peace Garden | Boissevain, Manitoba Dunseith, North Dakota |
Canada USA |
36 | 118 | 1804 | Pyramid of Austerlitz - For comparison | Woudenberg | Netherlands |
35 | 115 | 1913 | National Women’s Monument (by Frans Soff & others) | Bloemfontein | South Africa |
35 | 115 | 1653 | Taj Mahal - For comparison | Agra | India |
34 | 111 | 1963 | Bald Knob Cross of Peace | Shawnee National Forest, Alto Pass, Illinois | USA |
32 | 105 | 1995 | "Tanks" Peace Tower (by Arman) | Beirut | Lebanon |
30 | 98 | 2003 | Tower of Peace (by Clara Halter) | Sennaya Ploschad, St. Petersburg | Russia |
30 | 98 | 2001 | Arch of Reunification | Pyongyang | North Korea |
29 | 95 | 1910 | New York Peace Monument | Lookout Mountain, Tennessee | USA |
28 | 92 | 1967 | Friedland Gedächnisstätte/All Nations Peace & Reconciliation Memorial | Above Friedland, Göttingen, Lower Saxony | Germany |
26 | 85 | 1940 | Peace Carillion (by Clarence Day) | Belle Isle Park, Detroit River, Michigan | USA |
26 | 85 | 1791 | "Peace" atop Brandenburger Tor | Berlin | Germany |
26 | 85 | 1912 | Pamatnik Mohyla Míru/Peace Cairn & Muzeum Brnenska | Prace, Moravia | Czech Republic |
21 | 70 | 1939 | "Peace" atop National War Memorial | Ottawa, Ontario | Canada |
21 | 70 | 2008 | Millennium Gate | Atlanta, Georgia | USA |
<21 | <70 | 1912 | "Angel of Peace" atop Wellington Arch | Hyde Park Corner, London | England |
20 | 66 | 1793 | "Goddess of Peace" on Quadriga | Brandenburger Tor, Berlin | Germany |
20 | 66 | 1967 | Peace Clock Tower | Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima | Japan |
18 | 59 | 1914 | Fredsmonument/Peace Monument | Morokulien | Norway Sweden |
16 | 52 | 2005 | Peace Pole | Rockport Park Peace Park, Janesville, WI | USA |
14 | 46 | 1964 | "Peace Arising from Flames of War" (by Marshall Fredericks) | Veterans’ Memorial Plaza, Cleveland, Ohio | USA |
12 | 38 | 1967 | Memorial Tower to Mobilized Students w/Goddess of Peace | Motoyasu-gawa River, Hiroshima | Japan |
12 | 38 | 1936 | "Vision of Peace" (by Carl Milles) | City Hall, St. Paul, Minnesota | USA |
11 | 36 | 2011 | Beacon for Hope & Peace (by WAND) | North Little Rock, Arkansas | USA |
10 | 34 | 1827 | Washington Monument - For comparison | Monument Knob, South Mountain, Maryland | USA |
9 | 30 | 1912 | Peace Statue (by Newbury Abbot Trent) | Between Brighton & Hove, Sussex | England |
9 | 30 | 2011 | Statue of Martin Luther King, Jr. (by Lei Yixin) | West Potomac Park, Washington, DC | USA |
8 | 26 | c1500 BCE | Stonehenge - For comparison | Salisbury Plain | England |
8 | 26 | 1904 | Cristo Redentor de los Andes/Christ of the Andes | Uspallata Pass, Andes Mountains | Argentina Chile |
8 | 26 | 1991 | "Chain Reaction" (by Paul Conrad) | Civic Center, Santa Monica, California | USA |
8 | 25 | 1987 | Whispering Giant "Chief Kno-Tah" (by Peter Wolf Toth) | Shute Park, Hillsboro, Oregon | USA |
? | ? | 1939-1940 | Tower of Peace & Temple of Religion | Golden Gate Intl Expo, San Francisco, CA | USA |
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