The Central Commission for the Navigation

of the Rhine (CCNR) is celebrating its

200^th anniversary.

The Europe of the Congress of Vienna,

which presided over its creation, and the

Europe of which it is a part today have little

in common. Similarly, the Central Commission

of the 19^th century bears little resemblance to

today's CCNR, now a player in international

21^st-century life. It is no exaggeration to say

that the Central Commission has had several

successive 'lives', such have been the changes

in the way it operates and in its environment.

This collective historical work, edited by

Jean-Marie Woehrling, Sylvain Schirmann

and Martial Libera, looks into the history

of the oldest contemporary international

organisation in existence today.