John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated land for the UN headquarters in New York City, including a small prayer room. UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld oversaw the creation of the Meditation Room, featuring a mural by Swedish artist Bo Beskow and a gift from the King of Sweden. Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash while traveling to negotiate a ceasefire in the Congolese conflict.
In the late 1940s, John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated an 18-acre site in New York City that would become the headquarters of the United Nations. The complex is located between First Avenue and the East River at the end of East 42nd Street. A small room for silent, interfaith prayer was part of the building’s original design, but UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld insisted on something more. The result was the Meditation Room, where people of all faiths could retreat for silent reflection. Hammarskjöld was supported in the enterprise by a group of Christians, Jews and Muslims known as the “Friends of the United Nations Meditation Hall”. The group raised enough money to build a room that Hammarskjöld considered worthy of a world organization dedicated to peace. Hammarskjöld supervised the construction of the room himself.
Swedish influence at the UN:
A main feature of the room is a 9-foot (2.7m) abstract mural that is meant to evoke a feeling of the essential oneness of God. The fresco was created by Swedish artist Bo Beskow.
At the center of the Meditation Room is a 6.5-ton rectangular block of polished iron ore, illuminated by a single spotlight. It was a gift from the King of Sweden and a Swedish mining company.
Hammarskjöld was the second person to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Swedish diplomat served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961. He died while traveling to negotiate a ceasefire in the Congolese conflict.
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