A woman stands in front of a fresco created by Swiss artist Hans Erni after its inauguration in Geneva on Saturday. The two part, 60-metre-long fresco created by the 100-year-old Erni stands on either side of the entrance to the UN European headquarters. (Valentin Flauraud/Reuters)

A 60-metre-long mural created by celebrated Swiss artist Hans Erni was unveiled in a special ceremony in Geneva at the European headquarters of the United Nations on Saturday.

Tu panta rei sits at the entrance of the Palais des Nations in Geneva on a former plain concrete wall.

The mural is made up of hundreds of weatherproof ceramic tiles and features a dove — one of Erni's favourite symbols — as a recurring motif.

"This satisfies me completely," Erni, who celebrated his 100th birthday in February, told The Associated Press.

"I want to prove that the inside and outside of the United Nations have become one and want our world to save itself through peace."

Recently, Erni told foreign journalists who had visited him that his desire was for "all those people going in there to work every day to see it and think about peace."

Erni, who has outlived contemporaries such as Pablo Picasso, remains an actively working artist in Lucerne, where he lives with his wife, Doris. His work adorns the buildings of several international organizations around Geneva.

The painter, sculptor and designer designed the two stamps that were issued in March to celebrate his centennial.

He was named 2009's Swiss personality of the year by the Geneva-based Foreign Press Association, and is being celebrated with an extensive retrospective at the Lucerne Museum of Art through October.

With files from The Associated Press