Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. Palace of Ceausescu and the ruins of communism Ceausescu destroyed the historic quarter in Bucharest
The Ceausescu Palace is the world's largest civil administrative building, the largest parliament building (350,000 square meters and a volume of 2,550,000 square meters) and the heaviest building in the world. For a long time, the Palace of Parliament was the second building in the world in terms of area after the Pentagon. Initially, the palace was called the House of the People, but in the post-communist era it was renamed the Palace of Parliament. Despite this, many still call him by his former name.
The dimensions of the Ceausescu Palace are 270 by 240 m. Height - 86 m. The underground part of the palace has a height of 92 m. The palace has 1100 rooms, 12 floors. 4 underground levels have been completed and are already in use and 4 more levels are in various stages of completion. About a million m3 was spent on the construction. marble, mainly from Rushkitsa, 3500 tons of crystal (480 chandeliers, 1409 ceiling lamps and mirrors), 700 thousand tons of steel and bronze for doors, windows, chandeliers and capitals. 900 thousand square meters were also used. wood for parquet and wall panels (hazel, oak, cherry, elm, maple), 200 thousand m? woolen carpets of different sizes. Machine tools were even brought to the palace to make some large carpets on the spot. The building of the palace combines elements of various architectural styles and does not lend itself to a clear classification. The palace was built on the hill of Spiriy, which was partially destroyed for this. Construction began in 1984 under the orders of Nicolae Ceausescu. The building was originally intended as the headquarters of the main government institutions. The palace was built mainly from Romanian-made materials. During construction, there was such a demand for Romanian marble that even tombstones throughout the country were made from other materials. The construction required the destruction of a fifth of the historic center of the city and caused noisy protests, as many temples were destroyed. Construction was almost complete by the time Ceausescu was executed in 1989.
The palace is surrounded by avenues whose scale corresponds to the scale of the Palace. Unirii (Association) Boulevard leads to its foot, flanked by white high-rise buildings. Before they were built, Ceausescu ordered life-size wooden models of all the buildings to be erected along the new boulevard, so that he could make sure that his plans were embodied on a proper scale.
If, having passed the first guard post, you approach the Palace from the corner of the Boulevards of Freedom and National Unity, for the time being it hides its true dimensions.
However, having reached the central axis of the facade, it is impossible not to freeze. It is impossible to cover the facade with your eyes, standing on the upper platform in front of the entrance.
Facades with fantastic generosity are lined with white Romanian marble
Through a series of doors we get into the building of the Ceausescu Palace
Huge chandelier in front hall
Doors to the meeting room. There are thousands of them in the palace...
Ceausescu Palace meeting room
Interior details
The interiors of the palace are endless and amaze with their decoration (it's scary to imagine how much money was invested in this)
Considering that simultaneously with the construction of the Palace (1984-1989), Comrade Ceausescu was paying off Romania's external debt, building a subway in Bucharest and a canal on the Danube, the picture turns out to be quite terrible. Food shortages, especially protein foods, were terrible. Under Ceausescu, chicken eggs (not to mention normal meat - the cards were given ribs rolled into a tube on tendons) could not be obtained for 8 months. At the same time, Ceausescu banned contraception and abortion. How mothers raised their children - and how many women died in illegal abortions, it's scary to even think. “If you are cold, buy a second coat!” - so said Ceausescu), and the House of the people grew prettier and grew. Here you can find first-class marble carvings made in national traditions.
The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest makes an indelible impression on everyone who sees it for the first time. This cyclopean structure has become the largest building in Europe, and in the whole world it is second in size only to the Pentagon. He also has a couple more records - the heaviest and most expensive office building in the world.
The Romanians themselves often call it the Ceausescu Palace, in memory of the dictator, on whose orders it was built.
House of the People
To build a huge House of the People (that was the original name), Ceausescu ordered the demolition of a quarter of the old Bucharest. A large hill was poured on the vacated space, where they erected this colossal structure 86 meters high and with an area of 350 thousand square meters.
According to the evidence found, the idea of building such an impressive Palace came to the dictator after his visit to communist North Korea. Ceausescu arrived deeply impressed by modern architecture Pyongyang and firmly decided to build something similar in his native Bucharest.
The grandiose and ambitious ideas of the Romanian ruler suddenly became expedient. In 1977, Bucharest was shaken by a powerful earthquake. As a result of the natural disaster, many buildings, including administrative ones, were damaged, so the comfortable placement of the vast state apparatus has become a top priority for the capital's architects. It was then that the final decision was made to completely redevelop the city center and build a huge architectural complex, the crown of which was to be the House of the People.
New center of Bucharest
The project of the new center of the capital was carefully prepared, but before starting work, at the behest of Ceausescu, all the buildings were made in the form of life-size models and installed on the territory cleared for construction, so that the dictator could personally appreciate the beauty and harmony of the overall architectural ensemble.
The architects did their best, despite the grandiose scope (the total area of the central part of Bucharest rebuilt under Ceausescu is equal to the area of the entire ancient Venice), the ensemble turned out to be not only monumental, but also very harmonious.
On a high hill, which buried many historical buildings of old Bucharest under it, there is a huge Constitution Square, spectacularly framed by slender administrative buildings.
A wide 3-kilometer Unification Boulevard originates here, which originally bore the loud name of the Victory of Socialism. This boulevard is often called the Romanian Champs-Elysées, and historians say that this is how Ceausescu formulated the task for the city planners - that the new main street of the city should be wider and more beautiful than the bourgeois Champs-Elysées.
And in the alignment of this magnificent boulevard, right behind Constitution Square, majestically rises the very building for which all this great Romanian construction was started - the stunning House of Nations, later renamed the Palace of Parliament.
Palace of Parliament
Huge and heavy, it is a vivid example of socialist realism architecture and looks exactly like the stronghold of a strong dictatorial power, kicking its people towards a brighter future, should look like. Similar buildings can be found in every capital of the countries of the former socialist bloc, not to mention Moscow and St. Petersburg, but only Ceausescu managed to achieve such an impressive architectural scale.
There are more than 1,100 rooms in the palace, and in addition to the ground part, there is an even more extensive underground, going 92 meters deep. The construction took more than a million cubic meters of marble and 3.5 thousand tons of crystal, while the amount of ordinary building materials is simply impossible to calculate.
Interestingly, several hundred architects worked on the construction of the palace, and all of them, without exception, were Romanians. Building materials were also local. Thus, the entire Palace of the Parliament, from the first drawing to the last pendant on the chandelier, can be called a purely Romanian structure. Is it worth explaining that this was done again on the orders of the “Genius of the Carpathians”, who dreams of showing the whole world the greatness of his own country.
In total, more than 300 thousand people were employed in the construction of the Palace, who worked around the clock, in three shifts, not interrupting for a single day. So it was from the moment the cornerstone was laid on the foundation, which took place on June 25, 1984, until 1989, when a coup d'etat took place in Romania and Ceausescu was removed from the post of head of the country.
The dictator did not have time to finish his masterpiece, it is not finished to this day. Construction work is still ongoing on the underground levels of the building.
Today, the Palace of Parliament houses not only the Romanian Parliament, but also the Congress Center and the Museum of Modern Art. Some halls are open for tour groups during their free time. One of the most memorable moments of such excursions is the impressive panorama of Constitution Square and Unification Boulevard, which opens from the balcony of one of the halls.
At all times, strong rulers tried to leave behind some material evidence of the greatness of their power. That's what they did Egyptian pharaohs, ancient Roman emperors and monarchs of the whole world, the leaders of modern times are also no exception. Ceausescu was controversial, but certainly one of the brightest personalities of the 20th century, and as an extraordinary person, he left behind a unique architectural monument.
The Palace of the Parliament became calling card not only Bucharest, but the whole of Romania, so every year thousands of tourists come to look at this miracle of architectural thought. Of course, most foreign guests do not delve into the vicissitudes of Romanian history, but simply admire the grandeur of the building, but for many generations of Romanian residents, the snow-white palace in the center of Bucharest will forever remain the Ceausescu Palace, no matter how official name he did not wear.
Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest (Romania) - expositions, opening hours, address, phone numbers, official website.
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The visiting card of Bucharest, its main asset and pride, the largest and heaviest in the world civil construction, as well as a controversial symbol of dictatorship and oppression - all this is the Palace of the Parliament, the famous architectural monument of Romania. For its impressive size, he even got into the Guinness Book of Records, and twice. The Palace of the Parliament was built during the period of the Socialist Republic of Romania, between 1984 and 1989, but in a short history it managed to change several names. The first name of the attraction is “House of the Republic”, in the post-revolutionary era - “House of Nations”, but the name “House of Ceausescu” has stuck among the people, exposing the former leader of the country. As a result, when the troubled times for the country ended, the administrative building was given the official name of the Palace of Parliament.
The hallmark of Bucharest, its main asset and pride, the largest and heaviest civil structure in the world, as well as a controversial symbol of dictatorship and oppression - all this is the Palace of Parliament, the famous architectural monument of Romania.
Description of the Palace of Parliament
The palace is an eleven-story building, consisting of 1100 rooms, of which 440 are given over to offices, about 30 are ceremonial halls and salons, and among the premises there are four restaurants, three libraries, concert hall, equipped with two underground parking.
In the mid-1990s, the legislative body, the Chamber of Deputies, was transferred to the cyclopean building, and in 2005 the Senate (by the way, Ceausescu also planned to do this at one time). In 2004, in the western wing of the E4 palace, National Museum contemporary art (MNAC), which occupied several floors at once. At the same time, the Museum of Totalitarianism and Socialist Realism joined it.
For ease of access to them, a glass extension was built with panoramic elevators that take tourists upstairs. The chic legislators' restaurant was also renovated in the mid-2000s.
The construction of a luxurious marble castle against the backdrop of the general poverty of the Romanian population aroused natural hostility and condemnation of the inhabitants of Bucharest. The amount of labor and materials used for the construction and interior decoration of the palace is impressive. More than 3500 tons of crystal, about one million cubic meters of marble, 900 thousand cubic meters of valuable wood, 200 thousand meters of high-quality wool carpets were spent. In addition, fantastic funds were spent on luxurious brocade and velvet curtains trimmed with gold and silver embroidery and beads.
The palace is considered the world's largest civil administrative building, the largest parliament building, and the heaviest administrative building in the world. The dimensions of the palace are 270 by 240 m. The height is 86 m. The underground part of the palace goes 92 m deep. The palace has 1100 rooms and 12 floors.
Let's find out more about it...
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The reign of Nicolae Ceausescu left a deep imprint on the architecture of the city of Bucharest. Certainly one of his controversial projects is the Palace of the Parliament, a gigantic creation of the former Romanian dictator.
It is alleged that during the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu, the capital of Romania, Bucharest, changed its appearance by 30-35% and unfortunately not always for the better. The construction of the Palace of Parliament is part of an extensive urban urbanization program approved by the Communist Party of Romania and launched in 1976.
They say that the idea of this project came to Ceausescu after his visit to North Korea and visiting the capital of Pyongyang. The large-scale communist buildings of Pyongyang probably impressed the dictator and he decided to build something similar in Bucharest. In 1977, there was a strong earthquake in the city of Bucharest, which damaged many buildings, including administrative ones. new city center.
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Called at that time the House of the People, and today sometimes the Palace of Ceausescu, it was conceived as the core of the new center of the city of Bucharest, the so-called "Civic Center".
Around the building of the Palace of Parliament rise the huge buildings of the Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Defense of Romania, the Guest House - the current hotel Mayot and other Ministries.
And in front of the main entrance of the palace, a large-scale square, the current Constitution Square (Piata Constitutiei), from where the long (3 km) and wide (90 meters) Unification Boulevard begins, which during Ceausescu was called the "Victory of Socialism".
Jokingly in Romania it is called the "Romanian Champs Elysees". There is such an anecdote, regarding Ceausescu's megalomania, that the dictator allegedly ordered his engineers and architects to build a large boulevard in front of the building, maybe in beauty so that it looks like the Champs Elysees, but the main thing is that it be wider than the Champs Elysees!
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Along this long artery, the "Genius of the Carpathians" ordered the construction of the Palace of Culture, the Tribunal, the National Library, the Palace of Pioneers and the Falcons of the Motherland :) and many residential high-rise buildings, high-rise buildings with a North Korean accent. A lot!
And in the center of the boulevard there are fountains, symbols of Romanian counties, the largest fountain, on the Piata Unirea, symbolizes the capital, Bucharest.
On the site of this new microdistrict, there used to be ancient elegant quarters, medieval buildings, mansions, churches valuable for their architectural styles. With sadness, we can mention some of the destroyed masterpieces of architecture: the New Prince's Court, the Palace with Archives, the Mihai Voda Monastery of 1589, the Alba Postavar Church 1564, Military Museum and Army Theatre, Church of St. Friday 1645, Brancoveanu Hospital 1837, Hospital and Pantelimon Monastery 1750. One of the main and valuable monuments, barbarously destroyed is the Vacaresti Monastery (beginning of the 18th century), which many considered the personification of the Romanian medieval art, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful monuments of the Orthodox world.
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The area of the entire destroyed and rebuilt territory is equal to the city of Venice! In such a sad way, Bucharest gradually lost the title of “Little Paris”, changed its face. What fires, earthquakes and wars did not do, the leaders of that era did. And unfortunately, all this is irrevocable!
The Palace of the Parliament of Bucharest was built on the highest and most earthquake-resistant place in the city of Bucharest, Spira Hill or Arsenal Hill, as it used to be called because of the military barracks located on this hill. The maximum height of the hill before the construction was 18 meters, but from the side of the Constitution Square the hill is artificially elevated.
Photo 6. 
The Palace of the Parliament Bucharest is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. The building is also noted in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the most expensive administrative buildings in the world, in 2006 the cost of the building was estimated at 3 billion euros. than the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
The length of the main facade of the building is 270 meters, the side side is 240 meters. The height of the building, from the foundation to the top, is 178 meters, of which 86 meters above ground level and 92 meters underground. The built-up area above ground level is 66 thousand square meters.
Photo 7. 
For the construction of the building used:
1. 000,000 cubic meters of marble
5.500 tons of cement
7.000 tons of steel
20.000 tons of sand
1.000 tons of sand
900,000 cubic meters of wood
3.500 tons of crystal
200.000 cubic meters of glass
2.800 candelabra
220.000 square meters of carpets
3.500 square meters of leather
Photo 8. 
By order of Ceausescu, all building materials were only from Romania, engineers and architects were Romanian. Allegedly, the dictator wanted to show the whole world that Romania has natural resources and that Romania is capable of implementing even such gigantic projects.
About 300 architects and about 30 thousand workers worked on the construction of the building, 24 hours, changed in 3 shifts. Managed all the work main architector buildings, a young girl, Anka Petrescu. She was 28 years old when work officially begins.
According to other architects, the fact that Anka Petrescu was an obedient, modest girl from a simple peasant family was liked by Nicholas and Elena Ceausescu, who did not like intellectuals and self-confident scientists and architects, although Elena Ceausescu herself was the so-called "luminary of sciences" and led the Academy Sciences. Anka Petrescu tried her best to please the dictator, some even began to say that she was a young relative of Elena Ceausescu (Elena's maiden name is also Petrescu) and in the end it was she who was entrusted with such an important project, although initially other architects were supposed to lead according to the plan.
Photo 9. 
The solemn ceremony of laying the foundation stone took place on June 25, 1984, but work actually begins already in 1980, when about 40 thousand inhabitants were forcibly overpowered and the quarters where they used to live were wiped off the face of the earth to make way for the Palace of Parliament.
Until 1989 (the year when the revolution against Ceausescu took place), more than 3 billion Romanian lei were spent! And this at a time when, thanks to the rash economic policy and the policy of returning the external debts of the state, the standard of living of the inhabitants of Romania dropped to the lowest point. They built the Palace of Parliament mostly military, soldiers of the Romanian army. The exact number of deaths during heavy and high-risk construction work is still unknown.
Photo 10. 
The work is not 100% finished even now. Before the Revolution, the interior decoration was completed only in a few rooms, in general, the construction and interior decoration of most rooms were completed after the overthrow of the Ceausescu dictatorship.
If you look vertically, you can discern that the building is divided into three registers and looks like a pyramid but with a flat top. There are 12 floors above ground level, 4 more underground.
The building has about 1000 rooms, of which 440 are offices, 30 conference and reception halls, 4 restaurants, 3 libraries, 2 underground parking lots, a concert hall, and other service rooms. The palace has 2 courtyards.
The names of the halls were chosen after 1989, most of them are named after famous Romanian personalities.
Photo 11. 
The Parliament of Romania works in the buildings, there are Big hall meetings for the Deputies' Room, as well as the Senate Hall.
The Museum of Modern Art is also open to visitors in the Palace of Parliament.
Every year, the halls of the palace also host international or national conferences, seminars, congresses, exhibitions, and negotiations. The halls are rented out for numerous events.
Palace of the Parliament Bucharest is often included in tourist routes, several halls are visited by tourists. Particularly impressive are the Unification Hall, the Hall of Human Rights, the Main Entrance and the Main Gallery. Tourists are given the opportunity to go to the balcony of the Cuza Protocol Hall from where an interesting panorama of the Constitution Square and the "Romanian Champs Elysees" Unirii Boulevard (Associations) opens.
Photo 12. 
Front Gallery
It is a long corridor, 150 meters long, with a width of 18 meters, divided into three parts by sliding oak doors with crystal.
The central floor, in front of the official entrance, consists of 4 types of Romanian marble: white, beige, red and black, from the area of Ruškica or Moneasa. The vaults of the Front Gallery are supported by 34 octagonal columns, 17 on each side, made of white marble, with decorative ornaments.
The gallery is illuminated with natural light, 14 windows, and 67 crystal candelabra. This gallery intersects with the main Official Entrance, from one of the largest squares in Bucharest, Unirea Square (Piata Unirea).
Here you will also see 2 monumental staircases that lead to the Hall of the Senate and the Hall of Cuza. Each staircase has a window with a height of 16 meters, which are covered with curtains. The weight of each curtain is 250 kg! The height of the steps is 14-16 cm, made specifically for the growth of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu so that they do not get tired when they walk up the stairs.
Photo 13. 
It is named after the prince of Wallachia and Moldova, Alexandru Cuza. This hall should have been called: Romania Hall and was intended for protocols, for negotiations and signing agreements at the highest level, between countries. The height of the hall is 20 meters. It is the second largest hall of 2040 square meters.
Photo 14. 
Uniria Hall
Intended for balls, for banquets. Height 15 meters, area about 2000 sq m
The carpet in this hall weighs 3 tons, 1100 square meters and covers the central part of the hall, under the ceiling. The ceiling ornaments are reflected on the carpet. There is a very strong echo in the hall.
Photo 15. 
Rosseti Hall
Here is the largest chandelier (chandelier?), on which there are 5 tons of crystal!
Photo 16. 
Hall of Human Rights
It was intended as a meeting room of the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of Romania. The interior decoration was completed before 1989. In the center of the hall there is a large round table with original chairs for members of the Committee. At the time of the Revolutions, the Ceausescu chair was in the process of being made. The beauty of the second-largest chandelier, 3 tons of crystal, is impressive. The model of the candelabra is reflected on the carpet.
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sources
beautiful city and beautiful architecture- it's all about the capital of Romania, the city Bucharest . Once upon a time, Bucharest was deservedly called "little Paris". Today, the city is a mixture of old and modern. Bucharest has a lot to see as attractions. One of the attractions of Bucharest is a unique palace built by Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu in 1965.
The largest building in Europe is located right there, in Bucharest, and is called "People's Palace" ("Casa Poporului" ). This building is second in size only to Pentagon and has 1100 rooms. Under the number one there was the office of the leader himself, and under the number two - his wife Elena. At that time she was the head of the Romanian Academy of Sciences.
Gorgeous panels of incredible beauty
On the same scale, the Ceausescu couple built their own residence on Spring Street ( Primaverii Blvd.) and named "Spring Palace" - "Palatul Primavarii".
In 2014, the Romanian government made an attempt to sell this beautiful building, but failed. And today, for the first time in many years, this palace is open to visitors. After the execution of the presidential couple in 1989, the palace was closed for more than 26 years and was not used in any way all these years.
The beautifully preserved chandeliers are amazing
The interior of the rooms has been preserved in its original form. Now a palace with 80 rooms land plot 14000 sq.m, listed in the tourist routes of Romania. Guests of the Romanian capital are shown luxuriously furnished rooms, bathrooms with golden taps, a cinema, a swimming pool, a wine cellar and a greenhouse with peacocks. Having paid about 10 euros, you can see this beautiful and very famous palace.
Palace style
Very modern, safe in the bedroom
The owner of the palace was famous for his love for everything peasant, and throughout the palace there are paintings and carpets with scenes from the life of the peasants of Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu himself was the ninth son in a large peasant family.
Peasant life in paintings and figurines
Being friends with the leaders of many countries, he, of course, received many interesting gifts, most of them are stored here. Ceausescu did not like to spend currency outside the country, so all the beauty was made from local materials and local craftsmen. In the decoration of the walls with carved wooden panels, valuable tree species from the local Carpathians were used.
Such an office will decorate any palace even today.
fine work
Also, everything that glitters like gold in the whole palace is not real gold, which so excited the minds in those days.
Gold faucets are not gold. This is an imitation, and a very skillful one.
Chests of drawers and Louis style armchairs, clearly a favorite in the interior
The interiors of many rooms are said to have been designed by Elena Ceausescu herself. Many are clearly inspired by the East, which the couple often visited.
Descendants of Ceausescu's favorite peacocks still roam around the palace. He planted them in large numbers not only in the garden, but also on the walls of his residence.
Peacocks are shy and did not get into the frame
His wife Elena loved to collect expensive porcelain figurines of people and scenes from their lives. You can see a lot of them in all rooms. It is curious that Elena Ceausescu's clothes and shoes are still preserved here. You can see the style and fabrics of those times.
Everything in the palace was equipped with the latest technology at that time: water massage, underwater massage, sauna and other devices to keep the leader of the nation fit and healthy. For Bucharest of those years, all this was an innovation.
All the decoration of this work of art was made as much as possible from local materials and by Romanian enterprises and craftsmen. The exception was a mosaic brought to Bucharest from abroad.
Joint bedroom of the spouses, even pajamas carefully folded on the bed
Gold color everywhere, from ceiling to floor
In such an interior it is pleasant to sit with the powers that be.
Marble and gold
Photos of the numerous relatives of the President
Of course, home theater
It is worth visiting this beauty and evidence of an entire era. Who knows how long this palace will be available to tourists, and whether there will be a buyer for it.
Photos courtesy of Sevastian Ilasco.
