|
Basics
Bucharest
Arrival Departure
Hotels
What to see
Museum
of Romanian Peasant
Village Museum
Parliament Palace
All attractions
Sightseeing
Theatres
Museums
Exhibitions
Concerts
Restaurants
Entertainment
Shopping
|
Parliament Palace Bucharest
Address: Calea 13 Septembrie 1, Intrarea A3 (map)
Tel: (21)
311.36.11 Hours: Mon. – Sun. 10:00am – 4:00pm
Admission charge
(English guided tour available)
|
Parliament
Palace, also known
as the House of the People, house both Romanian Parliament Cameras Senate
and Chamber of Deputies.
It was built during the times of Nicolae Ceausescu’s
dictatorial regime, between 1984-1989 and is visible from any point of
Bucharest. The building with all adjacent area (Centrul Civic) required
demolishing much of Bucharest's historic district (Spirii
Hill, Uranus Hill), 30,000 residences, 19 Orthodox Christian
churches, six Jewish synagogues, three Protestant churches
(plus eight relocated churches) and Republic Stadium.
|
 |
|
With a surface of 330.000 m², structured on 6 levels and
having an 84m height, the building is registered in the Guinness Book of
Records as the world’s second building after the Pentagon. Moreover, the
Palace of the Parliament exceeds by 2% the volume of Khufu’s pyramid in
Egypt. It took 20,000 workers and 700 architects to build.
The palace
boasts 12 stories, 1,100 rooms, a 328-ft-long lobby and four underground
levels, including an enormous nuclear bunker Initially meant to shelter all the structures of the communist
state, the building with a modern conference center (sheltered the Crans Montana Forum, the OSCE Ministerial Council of
2001, the Francophony Summit
of 2006 and other major events), hosted also the Contemporary Art Museum, as well as
12 other institutions.
|
|
The numerous rooms
and imposing halls in the Palace of the Parliament can be visited by organized
groups of tourists. All the materials used to raise and arrange the
building originate in Romania. The stone, marble and wood were brought
from the Romanian mountains and forests, while the brocades, tapestries
and heavy carpets were created expressly for the imposing rooms and halls
of the building. The largest hall in the Palace of the Parliament is the
Union Hall, with a height of 16m and a surface of 2.200 m2, which shelters
the biggest chandelier of the Palace, weighing three tons and adorned with
7.000 light balls.
|
 |
|
|