To see the full overview of the Peace Palace check: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iqaFeiLmjY&t=69s Peace Palace The Peace of Palace (Dutch: Vredespaleis; pronounced [ˈvreːdəspaˌlɛis]) is an international law administrative building in The Hague, the Netherlands. It houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Hague Academy of International Law and the Peace Palace Library. The Palace officially opened on 28 August 1913, and was originally built to provide a home for the PCA, a court created to end war by the Hague Convention of 1899.Andrew Dickson White, whose efforts were instrumental in creating the court, secured from Scottish-American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie US$1.5 million ($40,000,000, adjusted for inflation) to build the Peace Palace. The European Heritage Label was awarded to the Peace Palace on 8 April 2014. Occupants The Peace Palace has been occupied at different times by a number of organisations: Andrew Carnegie (1913–present) The original occupant for which the Peace Palace was constructed. From 1901 until the opening of the Palace in 1913, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was housed at Prinsegracht 71 in The Hague. Permanent Court of International Justice (1922–1946) and its successor the International Court of Justice (1946–present). In 1922 the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations was added to the occupants. This meant the Library was forced to move to an annex building, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration was moved to the front left of the building. In 1946, when the United Nations replaced the League of Nations, the International Court of Justice was established as the UN's principal judicial organ. Peace Palace Library of International Law (1913–present). Being the original vision of Carnegie, the library grew quickly to house the best collection of material on international law. Although this stature is well in the past, the library still contains some original classical works, as the original copies of Hugo Grotius' works on peace and law and Erasmus' Querela Pacis. The Carnegie Stichting (1913–present) The Hague Academy of International Law (1923–present). Established in 1914, strongly advocated by Tobias Michael Carel Asser. Funds for the Academy came from another peace project by Andrew Carnegie, namely the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, established in 1910. Conception The idea of the Palace started from a discussion in 1900 between the Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens and American diplomat White over providing a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). White contacted Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had his reservations, and at first was only interested in donating money for the establishment of a library of international law. White, however, was able to convince Carnegie, and in 1903 Carnegie agreed to donate the US$1.5 million ($40,000,000, adjusted for inflation) needed to house the court as well as to endow it with a library of international law. White described his idea to Carnegie: Were such a fabric to be created, men would make pilgrimages from all parts of the civilized world to see it. It would become a sort of holy place, prized and revered by thinking men throughout the world, and to which, in any danger of war between any two countries, the minds of men would turn naturally and normally. The main difficulty now is that the people of the various nations do not really know what was done for them by the Conference; but such a building would make them know it. It would be an "outward and visible sign" of the Court, which would make its actual, tangible existence known to the ends of the earth". Construction To find a suitable design, the foundation called for an open international competition. The winning design, set in the Neo-Renaissance style, was submitted by French architect Louis M. Cordonnier. To build within budget, Cordonnier and his Dutch associate Van der Steur adjusted the design. The palace initially had two big bell towers in front and two small ones in the back. Only one big tower and one small tower remained in the final building. Also to save money, the separate library building from the winning design was incorporated into the Palace itself. The Palace is filled with many gifts of the different nations who attended the Second Hague Conference as a sign of their support. Among the gifts are a 3.2-tonne (3.1-long-ton; 3.5-short-ton) vase from Russia, doors from Belgium, marble from Italy, a fountain from Denmark, wall carpets from Japan, the clock for the clock tower from Switzerland, Persian rugs from Iran and wood from Indonesia and the United States of America. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "LIKE" Share Subscribe Thank You!! I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (http://www.youtube.com/editor)