The Palace of Europe (french: Palais de l'Europe) is a building located in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, that has served as the seat of the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

since 1977 when it replaced the "House of Europe". Between 1977 and 1999 it was also the Strasbourg seat of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

Background and history

The first assemblies of the Council of Europe used to take place in the stately, 1880s main building of

Strasbourg University The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, the former '' Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität''. Between 1950 and 1977, they took place in a provisory concrete building of purely functional architecture, the House of Europe (''Maison de l'Europe''), that stood where there now is the lawn leading up to the Palace of Europe. The architect of this building was Bertrand Monnet. The first stone of the Palace of Europe was laid on 15 May 1972 by the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

politician

Pierre Graber Pierre Graber (6 December 1908 – 19 July 2003) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1970–1978). He was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and after studying law in Neuchâtel and Vienna he became attorney-a ...

. The building, designed by architect Henry Bernard, was inaugurated on 28 January 1977. It was built on the site of a

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

that had been inaugurated in the 1930s and also used to serve as an

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

in winter.Palais du Conseil de l'Europe
archi-strasbourg.org

Design

Council of Europe Palais de l'Europe aerial view

The Palace of Europe is square in shape, 106 metres on each side, with a height of 38 metres (nine stories). Its total working area is 64,000 square metres. It has 17 meeting rooms and a thousand offices for staff of the Council of Europe secretariat. The exterior of the building is red, silver, and brown. The Palace of Europe is located in the "European District" of Strasbourg, about two kilometres northeast of the Grande Île. From the outside, the Palace of Europe resembles a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, since the rows of windows are arranged like

arrow slit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interio ...

s. The Parliament chamber is covered by a giant dome and resembles an enormous shell.

Occupants

The

Committee of Ministers The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ( French: ''Comité des ministres du Conseil de l'Europe'') or Committee of Ministers ( French: ''Comité des ministres'') is the Council of Europe's decision-making body. It comprises the Forei ...

, normally represented by the

Ministers Deputies The Ministers Deputies (or Ministers' Deputies) are the Permanent representative, representatives of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers at Strasbourg. While the Committee of Ministers is th ...

, meets in a circular room projecting from a corner of the eastern wing of the building. The

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

uses the large debating chamber in the centre of the building, called ''the

Hemicycle In legislatures, a hemicycle is a semicircular, or horseshoe-shaped, debating chamber (''plenary chamber''), where deputies (members) sit to discuss and pass legislation. Although originally of Ancient Greek roots, the term and modern design de ...

'', famous for its unusual architecture. The

Congress of the Council of Europe The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...

also holds its plenary sessions in the

. The Palace of Europe also accommodates the part of the Council of Europe Secretariat, including the Private Office of the

Secretary General of the Council of Europe The Secretary General of the Council of Europe (french: Secrétaire général du Conseil de l'Europe, links=no) is appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly on the recommendation of the Committee of Ministers for a period of five years. The secreta ...

. Until 1999, the building also hosted plenary sessions of the

(an

institution of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Council ...

, which is separate from the Council of Europe). The European Parliament now has its own building, Immeuble Louise Weiss, across the Ill River.

References

External links

The Council of Europe in StrasbourgMap of Strasbourg from the Council of Europe siteVisits to the Council of EuropePhoto gallery of the Palace of Europe from the Council of Europe site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palace Of Europe Council of Europe Buildings and structures in Strasbourg Buildings and structures completed in 1977 Government buildings in France Legislative buildings in Europe Diplomatic buildings Tourist attractions in Strasbourg

Background and history

Design

Occupants

See also

References

External links