The turbulent history of the Palais Wilson

The Palais Wilson – a grand sandstone building on Lake Geneva named after American President Woodrow Wilson - recently opened its doors to the public to mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Home to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) since 1998, its French Neo-Renaissance exterior conceals a turbulent past.  The Palais Wilson began life as the Hotel National, a luxury hotel that opened in 1875 for wealthy European holidaymakers. But the high costs weighed heavily on the developers, one of whom killed himself by jumping out of a window two months before the building was finished. The chic guesthouse struggled partly due to its location in the Pâquis area. Two years after opening, the National went bust and was sold at auction.  After the First World War, a new owner modernised the hotel and installed an elevator. But it would soon undergo another transformation after a visit to the city in 1920 by the ...