Broken Chair

What makes it special

Look first at the legs. Three stand whole, and the fourth stops short in a jagged, splintered break, standing for the limb a person loses to a landmine or a cluster munition. Everything else about the chair is plain: dark brown wood, with no plaque or decoration to explain it.

Then take in the size. The chair is 12 metres tall and made of 5.5 tonnes of wood, built up from many separate pieces and bolted to the ground, so up close you can see how the pieces join.

The Swiss sculptor Daniel Berset made it in 1997 for the charity Handicap International. It was meant as a temporary installation and has stayed ever since.

Behind the chair, across the Place des Nations, stands the Palais des Nations, home of the United Nations in Geneva, with the flagpoles of the member states lining the plaza in front of it.

Visiting

Walk round the chair once to see the broken leg up close, then step back.

For the photograph, stand at the edge of the square in front of the main UN gate, so the chair fills the frame with the Palais des Nations behind it.

Public toilets are near the tram terminus, but the square has no lockers, cloakrooms or shops. If you are touring the Palais afterwards, the visitors' entrance at the Pregny Gate is a five-minute walk on, opposite the Red Cross building.

Tips

Fewer visitors stand in your pictures in the morning, and the square is quieter in the evening.

The chair is a short stop, so pair it with the rest of the neighbourhood: the Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum and the Ariana Park are both close by.

If you plan to tour the Palais afterwards, book a slot online well ahead and bring your passport or a Schengen ID card. Large bags are not allowed through security, though lockers are available.