One of Coventry’s 18 Peace Gardens is planted within Lady Herbert’s Gardens. Each is dedicated to a country where Coventry has a twin city. Look for the triangular group of a hazel, holly and maple tree, each representing one of … Continue reading →
Also created by Jochen Gerz, the Future Monument is a glass obelisk surrounded by plaques celebrating former enemies that have become friends to Coventry, while a smaller ring of plaques represents many of the different communities to be found in … Continue reading →
The Public Bench by the German artist Jochen Gerz is decorated with plaques celebrating personal friendships, placed on the wall by more than 2000 local people. For information about the sculptor see this page.
Continue reading →Opened in 2003, Millennium Place, outside the Coventry Transport Museum, features artworks concerned with friendship and reconciliation on both a personal and community level.
Continue reading →The city’s main theatre is named in honour of the capital of Serbia, once Yugoslavia, which was twinned with Coventry in 1957 and provided a gift of wood for the interior of the new building. On the building’s street frontage … Continue reading →
Founded in 1344, the medieval St John the Baptist Church has seen much over its long history. The church hosts a copy of a prayer of atonement, from the Black Prince, seeking peace following his battles in France. In the … Continue reading →
At the entrance to the Lower Precinct a decorative plaque on a free-standing plinth commemorates another of Coventry’s friendship links born out of suffering, this time with the Czech village of Lidice, razed to the ground by the Nazis in … Continue reading →
In 1828, in the age of slavery, Aldridge became Manager of the Coventry Theatre – the first black person ever to run a British theatre. His performances and the plays he presented led the city to petition Parliament to abolish … Continue reading →
Near Dresden Place is the Phoenix sculpture. Coventry sculptor George Wagstaffe’s 1962 work is a personal take on the phoenix that symbolises the new city arising from the flames and destruction of the old.
Continue reading →Dresden was twinned with Coventry in 1956 and remains one of the city’s closest links. A plaque marking the square was unveiled in 1974 by the Lord Mayor of Dresden, testimony to the friendship link ‘born out of wartime destruction … Continue reading →
Godiva was a historic person, the wife of Leofric, the 11th century Earl of Mercia. Legend has it that she rode naked through the streets of Coventry – covered only by her long hair –to gain a remission of the … Continue reading →
Coventry’s links with Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, were established in 1944 as a result of both cities experiencing the devastation of the Second World War. The epic battle for the city raged from the spring of 1942 to February 1943. More … Continue reading →
This church, soaked in history, is a living, worshipping community of over 300 people a week. As a “Cross of nails” church, Holy Trinity Coventry is committed to peace and reconciliation. Things to look out for:— The “Dove of peace” … Continue reading →
The construction of this beautiful building was interrupted by the First World War and finally completed in 1920. The Lord Mayor greets foreign dignitaries in his parlour and his Committee for Peace and Reconciliation meet here, as do Coventry Association … Continue reading →
One of the finest surviving medieval guildhalls in England, St. Mary’s Guild Hall was first built in the 1340s and enlarged and embellished at the end of the fifteenth century. Its main attraction is the Great Hall, with its stained … Continue reading →
A peace garden was formally opened by Her Majesty the Queen Mother in 1990 and a sculpture and plaque marking that event stands at the main entrance to the Herbert Gallery and Museum with olive trees representing peace. A plinth … Continue reading →
The Peace and Reconciliation Gallery within the Herbert Museum reflects Coventry’s experience of war and the city’s post-war commitment to reconciliation. It explores themes of friendship, peace, and reconciliation at local, regional and international levels. In the history section of … Continue reading →
Sited beneath John Piper’s stunning Baptistry window the baptismal font is crafted from a boulder from a hillside near Bethlehem. It was donated in 1960 by the government of Jordan as a gesture towards Muslim, Christian and Jewish cooperation.
Continue reading →This gift to the Cathedral from Kiel was designed with candle-holders for each of the victims, and perpetrators, of the London bombings of 7 July 2005. The candle-stand is a symbol of the cathedral’s enduring commitment to sharing together in … Continue reading →
The original cross of nails was made from medieval roofing nails found amongst the rubble on the morning after the blitz. Since then the Cross of Nails has become the symbol of the cathedral’s international ministry for reconciliation. A network … Continue reading →
A sketch drawn by German army doctor Kurt Reuber while serving on the Eastern Front – the words Light, Life, and Love point to the confidence of hope amid the turmoil and chaos of war. The original is now in … Continue reading →
At the time of the cathedral’s consecration (1962) the idea of a separately administered, ecumenical chapel, for use by many denominations of the Christian faith, was truly innovative. Every year on 6 August, to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima and … Continue reading →
A hand-crafted white wooden pole, displaying the message ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in English, French, German and Japanese. More than 100,000 peace poles have been placed around the world in over 180 countries. Click here for the Wikipedia article … Continue reading →
A few metres from the memorial to civilians killed in war, just across St Michael’s Avenue, are two Japanese oak trees. They were planted by Yoko Ono when she opened the city’s peace month on 14 October 2005. On 15 … Continue reading →
In the shadows of the ruined cathedral lies a stone commemorating non-combatants killed in war. Brought from the United States of America in 2001, the stone was exhibited in many locations before being installed in the gardens of the cathedral. … Continue reading →
A sculpture dedicated to civilians killed or injured in aerial bombing during wars past and present. When the sculpture was unveiled in 2012 specific reference was made to German civilians killed in the Allied bombings in 1940-1945, particularly in Dresden. … Continue reading →
A work by Josefina de Vasconcellos, representing the reconciliation of those divided by war. It was donated to Coventry Cathedral by Sir Richard Branson in 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Identical … Continue reading →
A plaque unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen Mother during the commemorations on 14 November, 1990, marking the 50th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. It bears the words, ‘nation shall not lift up sword against nation…neither shall they learn war … Continue reading →
At the altar of the ruined cathedral stands a charred cross, a replica of two beams found lying in a cruciform shape in the rubble on the morning after the destruction. On the wall behind it are the words Father … Continue reading →
St Michael’s Cathedral was destroyed from the air on the night of 14 November, 1940, the only cathedral church in Britain to be lost in this way. The ruins stand not only as a powerful symbol of the impact of … Continue reading →
The peace trail starts in the Ruined Cathedral of St Michael shown in the map below. Please go there, then click here to find out about the Ruined Cathedral. Click the links at the top of each page to move … Continue reading →
The blue dots on the map below show all the locations on the trail. Click the links at the top and bottom of each page to follow the trail.
Continue reading →Thank you for taking this walking tour which visits many sites associated with peace in Coventry city centre. The city’s willingness to set the past aside after the second world war and hold out the hand of friendship has given … Continue reading →