Away and back again: this is what happened with the Zoetermeer peace pole

There has been a Peace Pole in Zoetermeer since 1995 as a symbol of peace on this planet. The pole was moved years ago to a lawn opposite the Grote Dobbe. The pillar of peace has suddenly disappeared for some time now. Was it taken or moved again? indebuurt is looking into it.

The Peace Pole in Zoetermeer is one of more than 200,000 peace poles in the world. The sides of the pole contain the text ‘May peace reign on earth’, but in different languages. The peace pole is a symbol to reflect on peace and a just world.

For our Ukrainian fellow citizens

After 28 years of existence, the Zoetermeer peace pole was in increasingly poor condition. That is why the municipality has decided to remove the old pole and build a new one. Not only because of the age of the pole, but also because of our Ukrainian fellow citizens, the municipality wants the peace column to look neat again: “After all, the war in Ukraine has been going on for more than a year,” according to the municipality.

Readable for everyone

The new Peace Pole has the same message in Dutch and in 7 other languages: Spanish, English, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian. For people who cannot see well, the message has also been placed in Braille on the new pole. This way the message of peace can reach everyone.

Also spotted a mystery?

Another mystery solved! Do you also have a question about something you discovered in Zoetermeer? Then email your mystery to [email protected] and who knows, we might solve your riddle.