New headquarters building of the Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union (UPU), whose aim is to promote the development of international postal services, is one of the oldest intergovernmental organizations in the world. It was created in 1874 in Bern, the federal capital of Switzerland, where its International Bureau, the central body of the Union, has since been located. After the Second World War, the activities of the UPU increased rapidly as it became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1947 and following the accession of many new countries to independence. The number of members thus increased from 85 in 1945 to 142 in 1969. The premises of the International Bureau consequently proved too cramped and the different services had to be dispersed in various buildings. To remedy this, the UPU Executive Council decided, in 1966, to construct a building that would be large enough to meet the needs of the Union for many years. Construction work began in 1968 and was carried out diligently so that the inauguration could take place on May 20, 1970. The new UPU headquarters building, located at Oberes Murifeld, in Bern, approximately 1.5 km from the current headquarters, is made up of two interconnected trunks, namely: - the office trunk (basement, ground floor, mezzanine and seven floors; surface useful: 14,578 m2); - the trunk of the rooms (basement, ground floor and two floors; useful surface area: 1,770 m2) including a large conference room (417 m2, 153 seats, two galleries with 40 seats), two small conference rooms (119 m2) with 61 seats each. Many member countries of the Union contributed donations to the equipment and decoration of the new building.