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“Blessed are the Peace monuments
of Geneva
peacemakers”

200 years of peace actions in Geneva

The 100th anniversary of multilateralism in Geneva was The 1830 1 Congress of the Society of Nations (1830) is generally
st
celebrated by the Geneva International and Diplomatic believed to be the ‘ancestor’ of the League of Nations and the UN.
community throughout 2019, also marking the centenary of However, there are archives and monuments showing earlier
the League of Nations. However, the coming year, 2020, is no peace activities by, among others, Count Jean-Jacques de Sellon.
less significant. In terms of peace it celebrates even older events, De Sellon lived from 1782-1839, founded the first continental
and has a deeper “peace ancestry”. To raise awareness of this, European peace society, devoted himself to promoting peace and
we decided to highlight the earliest evidence of peace activities arbitration between nations, and was also an ardent opponent of
in Geneva, which can be traced back for two centuries. the death penalty. A “Peace Column” with inscriptions about
peace and peacemakers, possibly conceived as early as 1816,
This series is for all those who enjoy reading, researching was found recently in one of his castles, and this extraordinary
and analysing history. It is also for all peace-defenders, and discovery made me re-examine other peace monuments to see
peacemakers, because it recognizes their achievements with what they might reveal.
the bicentenary of peace action in Geneva.
The discovery of the Peace Column is itself a fascinating
The long history of Geneva peace movements is generally event. It was uncovered during the renovation works in de
thought to start with the 1 congress of the Société de la Paix, Sellon’s Chateau d’Allaman, his main residence, also known
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established in 1830 and convened soon after by Count Jean- as the Peace Castle. The Column was completely hidden for
Jacque de Sellon in his castle, Château Allaman, near Geneva. almost a century, forgotten by all and not mentioned in any
However, closer study reveals that Geneva peace activities archive. It was discovered by the until-recent owner only a
started earlier, and in Geneva itself. I am therefore inviting few years ago, in 2013, when an inside wall was broken open
all who like to ‘dig deeper’ to make a historic journey with me as part of a renovation. The Column had been hidden inside
through two centuries, but even those just wanting a check- the walls, probably in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII, in order
list of Geneva peace events will quickly see that the landmark to protect this valuable piece of peace heritage from potential
year was a decade earlier - 1820. danger.

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