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Palace of Europe

The Palace of Europe (French: Palais de l'Europe) is a building located in Strasbourg, France, that has served as the seat of the Council of Europe since 1977 when it replaced the "House of Europe". Between 1977 and 1999 it was also the Strasbourg seat of the European Parliament.

Palace of Europe

1972

1977

64,000 m2

Background and history[edit]

The first assemblies of the Council of Europe used to take place in the stately, 1880s main building of Strasbourg University, 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),[1][2] that stood where there now is the lawn leading up to the Palace of Europe.[3][4] The architect of this building was Bertrand Monnet.[5]


The first stone of the Palace of Europe was laid on 15 May 1972 by the Swiss politician Pierre Graber. The building, designed by architect Henry Bernard, was inaugurated on 28 January 1977.[6] It was built on the site of a tennis court that had been inaugurated in the 1930s and also used to serve as an ice rink in winter.[7]

Occupants[edit]

The Committee of Ministers, normally represented by the Ministers Deputies, meets in a circular room projecting from a corner of the eastern wing of the building. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe uses the large debating chamber in the centre of the building, called the Hemicycle, famous for its unusual architecture. The Congress of the Council of Europe also holds its plenary sessions in the Hemicycle. 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.


Until 1999, the building also hosted plenary sessions of the European Parliament (an institution of the European Union, which is separate from the Council of Europe). The European Parliament now has its own building, Immeuble Louise Weiss, across the Ill River.

European Court of Human Rights building

The Council of Europe in Strasbourg

Map of Strasbourg from the Council of Europe site

Visits to the Council of Europe

Photo gallery of the Palace of Europe from the Council of Europe site

Lier, Martijn F.M.A.M. (2018). (MA). Radboud University.

A joint expression of buildings. The House of Europe and the Palace of Europe as a manifestation of ideals and aspirations for the Council of Europe, 1949-1977 (in Dutch)