Peace Monuments in Switzerland

N.B. This web page has two parts: (1) Geneva and (2) the remainder of Switzerland.

(1) Peace Monuments in Genève / Geneva (Switzerland)

Right click image to enlarge.

1820 - Temple de l'amite et de la paix / Temple of Friendship & Peace, United Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built by Count Jean-Jaques de Sellon [1782-1839] on his estate in Pregny, La Fenetre. Engraved on it (& repeated inside in several languages) were the words "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Mathew 5:9). Destroyed during a storm in 1946, but its stones remain in storage (as shown in lower image).

1832 - Marble Obilisk, Cemetiere du Petit-Saconnex, chemin Moise-Duboule 12, Le Petit-Saconnex, near Geneva (Switzerland). Erected by Count Jean-Jaques de Sellon [1782-1839] on his estate La Fenêtre (which now belongs to the United Nations) in Pregny, but it was transferred in 1907 to the nearby cemetery where he is buried. Inscriptions: "Heureux ceux ui procurent la paix car ils seront appellés enfants de dieu." "Dieu ne veut pas la mort du pecheur mais sa conversion et sa vie." "La Societé de la Paix fut fondée le 1er Décembre 1830 par J.J. de Sellon, Citoyen de Geneve, Comte du St Empire. Il consacra ce monuent a l'inviolabilité de la vie de l'homme l'an 1832." Also bears the names of advocates of peace & of the abolition of the death penalty: William Penn, Casimir Perrier, Livingson, Nicholas de Flue, William Wilberforce, Elisabeth (the queen?), the US states of Maine & New Hampshire (ont aboli la peine de mort l'an 1837 [sic]), Duke Leopold of Tuscany, Victor de Tracy, Charles Lucas, Cesare Beccaria, Grohmann, Fredericc Guillaume of Prussia, Henry IV of France, the Duke of Sully, Fenelon & the Duke of Sussex. ALL information about this monument is from "Itinerary for Peace in the Streets of Geneva" (August 2002), pp. 102-3. Image shows the cemetery but NOT the monument.

Before 1839 - Château Allaman/Allaman Castle, Allaman, Vaud (Switzerland). "Has its origins in the 11th Century but the main components were built by the Count of Vaud in 1253. The wealthy Genevan philanthropist Jean-Jacques de Sellon [1782-1839], who owned the property until 1839, gave accommodation at the castle to, amongst many others, such political refugees as Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte, Joséphine de Beauharnais, the Duke of Bassano, the Count Camille Cavour, Voltaire as well as to Franz Liszt & George Sand. In 1820 [sic], de Sellon founded the Society of Peace, forerunner of the League of Nations & the United Nations Organization (UN). Since then, the Castle has also been referred to 'The Castle of Peace,' & Sellon was also instrumental in the abolition of the death penalty in Switzerland. One of the largest private properties of Switzerland, the private estate covers over 330,000 square metres (33 hectares; 82 acres) and offers some 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) of living space. It is surrounded by private forests, parks, gardens & Grand Cru vineyards."

H 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.

1920? - Cloche / Clock, Salle de l'Alabama / Hall of the Alabama, Hotel de Ville / City Hall, Geneva (Switzerland). "Une réplique en miniature de la Liberty Bell de Philadelphie. Cette cloche sonna l'ouverture de la première assemblée de la Société des Nations le 15 novembre 1920 à Genève, siège voulu par le Président américain Thomas Woodrow Wilson.."

1876 - "Charrue de la Paix" / "Plow of Peace," Salle de l'Alabama / Hall of the Alabama, Hotel de Ville / City Hall,, Geneva (Switzerland). Made for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). /// "Offerte à la Ville et au peuple de Genève après avoir figuré comme symbole de paix à l'exposition de Paris en 1878. Elle fut confectionnée avec les sabres que des officiers américains avaient cédés lors d'un congrès pour la paix tenu en 1872 [sic] à Philadelphie par l' "Universal Peace Union." 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 18-19.

M 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 Catastrophe: 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.

1909 - Weltpostdenkmal / Universal Postal Union Monument, Bern (Switzerland). Bronze & granite. By René de Saint-Marceaux. The five continents join to transmit messages around the globe. 1 of 40 monuments in "Peace Symbols" by Zonia Baber (1948), pp. 30-31.

1924-1949 - Pax Mal / Peace Monument, Walenstadtberg, St. Gallen Canton (Switzerland). "A unique place of contemplation built & adorned with big mosaic murals by one single man, Karl Bickel, Sr. [1886-1982]. To shoot a photo of the entire monument, you need either a fish-eye lens or a helicopter." /// "The left wall represents nature-oriented life: A human couple in various aspects of its evolution, symbolizing love & procreation. The right wall is dedicated to spiritual life: The awakening, toiling, seeing & evolving humankind."

Date? - Statue of Guillaume Henri Dufour, Geneva (Switzerland). Guillaume Henri Dufour [1787-1875] was a general, pioneer cartographer, and co-founder of the Red Cross in 1863.

1936 - Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). Built for the League of Nations. Since the 1950s, it has served as the home of the UN Office at Geneva.

August 1939 - "Armillary Sphere," Ariana Park, Palais des Nations / Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). 410 cm in diameter. Weighs some 5,800 kg. Also called Celestial Sphere. By Paul Manship [1885-1966]. Presented by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation in memory of the founder of the League of Nations.

June 1, 1950 - "Aero Memorial World War I 1917-18," Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). By Paul Manship [1885-1966]. "Proposed during WW-I by the Aero Club of Pennsylvania. Commissioned by Fairmount Park Art Association."

1939 - Statue, ILO Headquarters, International Labour Organization, Geneva (Switzerland). Gift from the Government of Yugoslavia.

1946 - League of Nations Museum, Palais des Nations, B.328, Geneva (Switerland). Operated by the Library of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), the League of Nations Archives (LON) & Historical Collections Unit. Illustrates the history & work of the League of Nations [1919-1946].

1946 - Headquarters Building, Comité International de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) / International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Geneva (Switzerland). Building constructed in 1876 and used for various purposes before becoming ICRC headquarters in 1946.

1970 - "La paix / Peace," Place de la Metropole, Geneva (Switzerland). By Jean-Pierre Pérusset. "A rather large piece of art, set in a fountain (with many spouts). It is attractive & in a little spot for pedestrians, between two busy roads. Next to the imposing Swissôtel Genève Métropole with the Place des Florentins on the other side." Information courtesy of Peter van den Dungen 06Nov12.

June 1987 - Statue, ILO Headquarters, International Labour Organization, Geneva (Switzerland). Gift from the Government of India.

1988 - Musée International de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge / International Red Cross & Red Crescent Museum, 17 avenue de la Paix, Geneva (Switzerland). Click here for Wikipedia article. Right image shows "The Petrified" at museum entrance. Associated with the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP).

Date? - Headquarters building, World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva (Switzerland). WHO was founded on April 7, 1948, but when was its headquarters constructed?

Autumn 1991 - Cloche de Shinagawa / Shinagawa Bell, Parc du Ariana Museum, Geneva (Switzerland). Cast in 1990 by the Oigo workshop in Takaoka (Japan) and offered to the city of Geneva by the community of the Honsen-Ji temple in Shinagawa, Tokyo (Japan). Replaces original bell obained by a Swiss art collector and returned to Japan. "Disparue de son temple au XIXe siècle, découverte puis acquisition en 1873 par le collectionneur genevois Gustave Revilliod à la fonderie Rüetschi d'Aarau, et installée dans le parc du Musée Ariana à Genève, la cloche du temple Honsen-ji de Shinagawa a été restituée au Japon par les autorités de la Ville de Genève en 1930. Soixante ans plus tard, en signe de reconnaissance, le temple offre à Genève une réplique de cette fameuse cloche."

September 1997 - Broken Chair, Palais des Nations, Geneva (Switzerland). "Handicap International unveiled the 12 meter high wooden sculpture made by Swiss artist Daniel Berset, in support of the global movement to eradicate landmines. A daily reminder of the governments' commitment to fully universalize and adhere to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, including providing assistance to landmine victims and clearance of mine-affected land." The International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997.

August 2002 - Itinéraire de la paix dans les rues de Genève / Itinerary for Peace in the Streets of Geneva, Geneva (Switzerland). Three separate routes to 43 peace places, e.g. Palais des Nations, ICRC/CICR headquarters, birthplace of Henry Dunant, the original homes of the High Commission for Refugees and the League of Nations, and the new Swiss-backed Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). The "Itinerary" was created to celebrate the centennial of the Nobel Prize in 2001. Image is a map of Geneva with all 43 peace places marked in three different colors.

September 18, 2003 - Jardin de la Paix / Peace Garden, Domaine de Trembley, rue Moillebeau, Geneva (Switzerland). Jardin impressionniste de Moillebeau renamed in memory of Brazilian Sergio Vieira de Mello [1948-2003] & 21 other Untied Nations employees who were killed in Baghdad (Iraq) on August 19, 2003.

November 14, 2007 - Statue of Mahatma Gandhi sitting & reading a book, Ariana Park, Geneva (Switzerland). A gift of the Indian Government to the City of Geneva commemorating the 60th anniversary of Indo-Swiss friendship (Treaty of Amity, August 14, 1948). Inscribed "Ma vie est mon message. My life is my message."

Another such statue. Where is it? Eucalyptus trees in background?

November 1, 2012 - Plaque Jules-Guillaume Fick et Guillaume Henri Dufour, 14 rue Etienne Dumont, Geneva (Switzerland). Celebrating "Les 150 ans de la publication d'''Un Souvenir de Solferino [Italy]'" by Henri Dunant [1828-1910]. At the site of the Jules-Guillaume Fick printshop which published the first edition of "Un Souvenir de Solferino" in 1862. Guillaume Henri Dufour [1787-1875] lived 20 years in the same house. Dunant & Dufour were both founders of the Red Cross in 1863. Information courtesy of Peter van den Dungen 06Nov12. Image shows Dufour, Dunant & 3 other Red Cross founders, but it does NOT show the 2012 plaque.

(2) Peace Monuments in the Remainder of Switzerland (i.e. Everywhere but Geneva)

Right click image to enlarge.

1536? - Tomb of Erasmus, Basler Münster / Basel Minster, Münsterplatz, Basel (Switzerland). Desiderius Erasmus [1466/1469-1536] was a Dutch Renaissance humanist. "He spent several years in Basel and died here in 1536. Although he stayed a Roman Catholic, he was buried in the Minster that was by then the main church of the Protestants in Basel. His bones were lost following changes to the church during the 19th century. They were only positively re-identified in 1974 and now rest under his epitaph." Information courtesy of Gerard Lössbroek.

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). The world's first anti-wawr or peace museum. Closed for lack of patronage during 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).

1911 - Hotel de la Paix, Luzern / Lucerne (Switzerland). "The [39-room] hotel is located in the heart of Lucerne, near the lion monument, at the entrance of the old quarter and 200 metres from the famous Vierwaldstätter lake." (PvdD: "You might consider staying [here]. This will be 100 years old next year [2011], and was named because of the new Bloch peace museum that opened in 1910, almost next to it. This is where I have stayed a couple of times, also recently. The Bourbaki Panorama is opposite the hotel.")

1910 - Grave of Henry Dunant, Friedhof Zürich-Sihlfeld (Switzerland). Henry Dunant [1828-1910] founded the Red Cross in June 1859 and received the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901.

Date? - Henri Dunant Museum, Asylstrasse 2, Heiden (Switzerland). The museum is in the nursing home where he lived from 1892 until his death in 1910. "A special room is devoted to his vision of a world without war and social need."

Various Dates - Henri Dunant Monuments in Heiden (Switzerland), Geneva (Switzerland), Nobel Peace Walk, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales (Australia), Vienna (Austria), and Nagoya (Japan).

1919-1922 - First Goetheanum, Dornach, Solothurn (Switzerland). Near Basel. A timber & concrete structure designed by Rudolf Steiner [1861-1925]. Intended as a Gesamtkunstwerk (the synthesis of diverse artistic media & sensory effects) & infused with spiritual significance. Built to house the annual summer theater events of the Anthroposophical Society, it became the center of a small colony of spiritual seekers. Architects created the unusual double-dome wooden structure over a curving concrete base, stained glass windows added color into the space, painters decorated the ceiling with motifs depicting the whole of human evolution, & sculptors carved huge column bases, capitals, and architraves with images of metamorphoses. Already during the construction, musicians, actors & movement artists began performing a wide variety of pieces in a neighboring workshop. Destroyed by arson on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1922–January 1, 1923." /// Lower image is "The Representative of Humanity," a 9-meter high wood sculpture executed by Rudolf Steiner in 1922 as a joint project with sculptor Edith Maryon [1872-1924] & "now on permanent display at the Goetheanum."

June 1940 - Peace Monument, Founex (Switzerland). "Les anciens combattants suisses de la Grande Guerre se félicitent d'être encore en paix en Juin 1940."

October 2, 1976 - "Europa-Union" plaque, near boat landing, Hertenstein on Lake Lucerne near Weggis (Switzerland). Final paragraph (in German): "May every visitor to Herteinstein dedicate himself to the idea of a united Europe." Partly hidden by bushes. Erected on 30th anniversry of the 1946 European federalist conference. The idea of a Union of European Federalists, and also the concept for a Swiss "Europapolitik" (the Herteinstein Programme) were born at the historic conference. Information from Prof. Peter van den Dungen 07Aug09.

June 23, 1993 - Musée olympique / Olympic Museum & Olympic Studies Centre, Lausanne (Switzerland). "Lausanne's main permanent attraction." Preceded by a succession of older & smaller museums.

After 1993 - Olympic Monument, Musée olympique, Lausanne (Switzerland).

After 1993 - "Non-Violence" by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, Musée olympique, Lausanne (Switzerland).

August 19, 1999 - Plaque, Caux Conference Center, Caux (Switzerland). At foot of an oak tree planted in 1997. Inscription: "In remembrance of the Jewish refugees who stayed here, and of those who were not admitted to enter Switzerland during World War II. We shall not forget." Towards the end of WW-II, the former Caux-Palace, then the Esplanade Refugee Camp, housed some 1,600 Jews.

After 1999 - Globe atop Breitling Orbiter Monument, Arleshiem, Canton of Basel (Switzerland). "Breitling Orbiter was the name of three different Rozière balloons made by Cameron Balloons to circumnavigate the globe. The first two balloons never made it, while the third was successful in 1999." The Orbiter is in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (USA).

May 29, 2006 - Outdoor Adverstising campaign, Amnesty International (Switzerland). Using the tagline "It's not happening here but it's happening now" in various languages and transparent billboards. Aims to show people what is going on in the world, even if it's not happening in front of them at the bus stop. The ads portray issues in countries like Iraq, China, and Sudan." Amnesty International (AI), London (UK), received the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize.

October 3, 2008 - Friedens-Ei / Peace Egg, Grossmünster place, Zurich (Switzerland). Made by Peace Brigades International (PBI). "The 2.5 meters wide and 80 kilo anniversary egg was at the University of Berne under the direction of Dr. Stefan Stankowski, professor of physics and director Fachschaftssitzung physics, science and research and Giorgio Insom, Researcher, University of Applied Sciences Berne planned and assembled. The interplay between technology and peace is unique and illustrates the fragility and vulnerability of human rights."