Romania Day 10- Palace of the People

Travelled back to Bucharest yesterday, and will be leaving for home tomorrow. This is a shot of the home of the Romanian Parliament, which was once Ceausescu's so called 'Palace of the People', and is actually the 3rd largest building the world.

Bucharest was known as the Paris of Eastern Europe until Communist president Nicolae Ceausescu began rebuilding, destroying the tree-lined avenues, tearing down the oldest buildings and creating his new Bucharest.


During his despotic regime (1965-89) Romania and its population suffered. Ceausescu starved the people to pay for a new system of modernisation that saw farmers forcibly rehoused in grim housing blocks in the cities. Food and electricity was rationed, huge amounts of money borrowed from the West, and heavy industrialisation in rural communities caused pollution and starvation. Romanians were not allowed to talk to foreigners, allowed 2kg of meat per year, 2 eggs per month, whilst the Ceausescu's moved between their palatial residences choosing their meals from 6 menus every evening.

The centre piece of Ceausescu's new Romania was built on the rubble of Bucharest's old quarter; 26 churches, and over 7000 homes were destroyed to make way for the Civic centre known as the Ceausima. At its centre looms the infamous Palatul Parliamentului, the Palace of Parliament, the third biggest building on earth after the Pentagon and the Tibetan Potala. Over 20,000 labourers and 600 architects toiled to build the Palace to Ceausescu's exacting standards. On one occasion they were required to rebuild a staircase three times because Ceausescu himself was not satisfied.

The palace stands 12 storeys high with over 1000 halls and rooms and massive underground basements. There is a nuclear bunker, underground parking that could accommodate Buckingham Palace and a lobby stretching for 300ft. The rooms are lavishly decorated in gold leaf and marble and over 4500 chandeliers (of 11,000 originally planned) hang in the Palace. This enormous building was originally known as the Casa Popularii, The House of The People, but the people instead coined it Casa Nebunului - the Madman's House.