The only buildings on Earth that can compete with the huge project of Nicolae Ceausescu are only the American Cape Canaveral and the Pyramid of Cheops! The impressive size of the Romanian Parliament earned it the award of "the second largest administrative building in the world" after the headquarters of the US Department of Defense - the Pentagon.
As part of the overall Bucharest redevelopment project, the building became the epitome of the government's astonishing ambitions. It all started in the 80s, when more than 7 square kilometers of the old center of the capital were destroyed. Over 40,000 people had to leave the area before the giant structure was erected. 19 Orthodox churches, six Jewish synagogues and three Protestant churches were to be destroyed. The Vacaresti Monastery, the Brankovice Hospital, the National Archives, the Republican Stadium and many other buildings once stood on the site of the Parliament.
Secrets of the construction of the Romanian Parliament
More than 20,000 people died during the construction of the Romanian Parliament! The main reason for their unfortunate death is non-compliance with safety requirements at the construction site. And that is not all! Instead of skilled workers, the facility was built by Ceausescu's political opponents and convicted prisoners.
As many as 700 architects worked on the ambitious project, led by the young Anca Petrescu. Construction crews worked around the clock, in three shifts, so that the building could be erected faster.
The legends surrounding the construction tell of the terrible nights that the workers of Romania had to endure. Many of those present witnessed inexplicable phenomena that made it even more difficult for them to stay in the building. Their stories tell of moving objects, doors that open and close on their own, and strange noises that terrify employees! Local residents believed that all this was a consequence of the former place. Many years ago there was a cemetery where they buried people with the plague!
Romanian parliament in numbers
The famous palace, called the "House of the People" by the locals, rises 270 meters above the ground, and its basement occupies a significant area of 66,000 square meters. The monumental building, erected in the central part of the Romanian capital, consists of 9 aboveground and 9 underground levels, which house more than 1000 rooms.
The project required over 1,000,000 cubic meters of marble, 5,500 tons of cement and about 7,000 tons of steel. The carpets alone covering the huge rooms reach an area of more than 220,000 square meters.
Although today this building is one of the main tourist attractions in Bucharest, the locals still remember the dark days of its construction. Most of the population does not even like the Romanian Parliament! Their negative attitude towards the building was caused by an unprecedented famine that people had to endure in order for the huge building to decorate the Constitution Square.
Today, billions of dollars later, the Romanian parliament building is still incomplete.
The eccentric leader never lived to see the finale of the grandiose project that doomed generations of Romanians to starvation and suffering.