Le Mur Pour La Paix or The Wall For Peace
Le Mur Pour La Paix, basically translates to the Wall for Peace and this is a monument in Paris located within the Champ de Mars park close to the Eiffel Tower and visitors can submit their messages of peace.
About the Mur Pour La Paix
The Wall for Peace was initially thought of by the artist Clara Halter and inspired by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, it was designed in conjunction with the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte to be a prominent symbol promoting world peace within the city of Paris.
Utilising multiple alphabets and a multitude of different languages all promoting peace, the structure itself is an imposing length of 16.4m, a width of 13.8m and a height of 9m. It has a metal framework covered in wood along with 32 stainless steel columns and a large amount of glass, that is designed to bring together elements that perceive pure space, balance, transparency and harmony.
Also Le Mur Pour La Paix has 30 monitors that are connected to the internet so that visitors can look at the world peace messages and even submit their own message of peace, and through the ideas of the artist and architect, this wall of Peace will take on its true meaning through its visitors. However, when we were there in 2013 we were unable to see any of these monitors.
And even though parts of the world are in still in turmoil and many thought that the idea of building a monument in Paris dedicated to peace was ridiculous, the city of Paris has always been known as a multi-cultural city and this special wall is testament to this.
But since this project was first unveiled, being inaugurated by the President of the French republic on 30th March 2000, other countries have also gone in favour of this idea and Clara Halter and Jean-Michel Wilmotte have produced a Peace Tower in Saint Petersburg, Russia and the Gates of Peace in Hiroshima, Japan.
So when you are thinking about visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris, why not take the time to see the dominant horizontal lines of the Wall for Peace at the wide open space on the Champ de Mars and reflect about what this means to you or humanity as a whole.
Access to The Wall For Peace
To visit this monument in Paris, you will find that it is located in the 7th Arrondissement within the Champ de Mars, at the opposite end of the garden to the Eiffel Tower, where so many people visit whilst they are on holiday in Paris.
When it comes to public transport, you can reach Le Mur Pour La Paix via the Metro station called the Ecole Militaire stop, which serves Line 8, or you have the RER train station called the Champ de Mars - Tour Eiffel stop that serves the RER C Line.
However, the Bus Lines Lines 28, 42, 69, 80, 82, 87 and 92 will get you within easy walking distance of this monument, not forgetting that there is a Velib station for the self service bike hire located nearby and many of the tours in Paris such as L'OpenTour have a stop close to the Champ de Mars.