The story behind the Peace Palace in The Hague

In February, the Peace Palace in The Hague is open every weekend! You can take several tours, inside and in the historic garden. To get you in the mood a little bit, we’ll take you through a piece of the Peace Palace’s past. After all, this one is quite fascinating!

See your own city through the eyes of a tourist

I was born and raised in The Hague, so I have the privilege of growing up in a city full of beautiful buildings steeped in history. Just a bit of a shame that as a resident of the city itself, you don’t see that. It was only when I was armed with a camera to capture my own city on film for an American friend that I saw it. So did the Peace Palace, which also has a very special and mysterious story…

A little history of the Peace Palace

On August 24, 1898, the Russian Czar Nicholas II sent an invitation to all important nations for an international conference on Peace and Disarmament. He chose neutral The Hague as the venue. He did this because in the second half of the nineteenth century more and more money was being spent on army forces. At first people reacted skeptically: Russia, of all nations, was pumping by far the most money into its own army. When surprisingly the U.S. responded positively to the proposal, the first Peace Conference of The Hague was held in 1899.

Only there was no suitable location yet. Therefore, an international design competition was held. French architect Louis M. Cordonnier won the competition with his Neo-Renaissance design. For construction, however, he had to collaborate with Dutch architect Van der Steur to stay within budget. During the second Peace Conference in The Hague, the first stone was symbolically laid. Construction began some time later and the Peace Palace was officially opened on Aug. 28, 1913, by Queen Wilhelmina. A year later, World War I broke out.

A black shadow and the First World War

Shortly after construction in 1913, a black phantom was seen on the roof of the Peace Palace by several eyewitnesses. The phantom would move at lightning speed and appeared each time around midnight. This strange story spread like wildfire through the city and soon “phantom hunters” surfaced. From all corners of the world they went on a phantom hunt. Because of World War I, however, interest in the phantom declined rapidly.

The war began when on June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb nationalist. He was the crown prince of Austria-Hungary. Actually, this was the spark that ignited years of tension between the various European nations. On Nov. 11, 1918, the war ended with a cease-fire better known as Armistice Day.

Different theories

Still, even during the war, the phantom continued to occupy people’s minds. For example, there were different theories about the black phantom. According to some people what the phantom the spirit of one of the construction workers who had fallen down from the roof during construction. This roofer would hunt the birds on the roof of the Peace Palace after his death. In fact, strangely enough, birds never perched on the roof. Another group had a different theory about the birds staying away.

The black shadow could be an escaped black panther or some other feline that hunted the birds on the roof. Still others were sure that the black phantom was the omen of a terrible calamity: World War I. The phantom would chase the symbol of peace, the dove, away from the building built to keep the peace. What the phantom ultimately was, no one knows. But feel free to visit The Hague at midnight, if you dare…

The Peace Palace today

Besides being a familiar sight of The Hague, the Peace Palace has many uses. For example, it is the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the United Nations International Court of Justice, The Hague Academy of International Law, a library and the Carnegie Foundation. And all in one building in The Hague!

Today, the Peace Palace is still the venue for various events in the field of international law and politics. These organizations aim to find peaceful solutions to disputes between different countries. Tours are also given. In February, there is even every weekend! A tour is definitely worth it if you like history, and otherwise you just go for the beautiful garden, right?

For more information about the opening hours and the program of tours, you can check the Peace Palace website.

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