Peace Palace

The Peace Palace was built between 1907 and 1913 to house the Permanent Court of Arbitration set up by the Hague conferences of 1899 and 1907, funded by a gift of one and a half million dollars from Andrew Carnegie, who believed a building would help make arbitration between states habitual. Louis Cordonnier won the competition and the result is a brick and stone palace in a mixed Renaissance manner with a clock tower. The states that took part in the conferences each contributed materials and furnishings, so the interior is a catalogue of national gifts - Japanese tapestries, a Danish fountain, Brazilian wood, Swiss clock, Russian jasper vase - which is the most interesting thing about it. It now houses the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and one of the largest international law libraries in the world.

History

The idea grew from a discussion in 1900 between the diplomats Friedrich Martens and Andrew Dickson White about a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration, set up at the Hague conference of 1899, and White secured 1.5 million dollars from Andrew Carnegie. Louis Cordonnier's design was chosen from 216 entries, the first stone was laid in 1907, and the palace opened on 28 August 1913, furnished with gifts from the member states, among them a fountain from Denmark and the tower clock from Switzerland (Wikipedia, Peace Palace).

What's there

• Carnegie's gift - one and a half million dollars given to build a court in 1903.
• Gifts from participating states - tapestries, vases, wood and clocks from many countries.
• A 1913 palace for arbitration - Cordonnier's design with its clock tower.
• The International Court of Justice - the UN court sitting in the building today.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Before you go

The building is only entered on a guided tour, which runs on limited dates, requires booking and identification, and is cancelled whenever the Court is sitting. Most visitors see the visitor centre and the exterior.

Nearby

The Binnenhof and Mauritshuis are east; Scheveningen is north-west.

Key facts