The Palace of the Parliament (Romanian: Palatul Parlamentului), also known as the House of the Republic (Casa Republicii) or People's House/People's Palace (Casa Poporului), is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Dealul Spirii in Bucharest, the national capital. The Palace reaches a height of 84 m and has a floor area of 365,000 m2 (3,930,000 sq and a volume of 2,550,000 m3. The Palace of the Parliament is one of the heaviest buildings in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tonnes (9.04 billion pounds), and also being the second-largest administrative building in the world.[3] The building was designed and supervised by chief architect Anca Petrescu, with a team of approximately 700 architects, and constructed over 13 years (1984–97) in modernist Neoclassical architectural forms and styles, with socialist realism in mind. The Palace was ordered by Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989), the president of Communist Romania and the second of two long-ruling heads of state in the country since World War II, during a period in which the personality cult of political worship and adoration increased considerably for him and his family.
Thanks and credit to Google Earth Studio for this aerial video.
Thanks and credit to Google Earth Studio for this aerial video.
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00:00The Palace of the Parliament, also known as the House of the Republic, Casa Republici,
00:09is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Deleulspiri in Bucharest, the
00:14national capital.
00:16The palace reaches a height of 84 meters, has a floor area of 365,000 meters, the Palace
00:22of the Parliament is one of the heaviest buildings in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tons.
00:29And also the second largest administrative building in the world.
00:32The building was designed and supervised by chief architect Anca Petrescu, with a team
00:36of approximately 700 architects.
00:40And constructed over 13 years, 1984-1997, in modernist neoclassical architectural forms
00:46and styles, with socialist realism in mind.
00:50The palace was ordered by Nicolae Ceausescu, 1918-1989.
00:55The president of communist Romania and the second of two long ruling heads of state in
00:59the country since World War II.
01:02During a period in which the personality cult of political worship and adoration increased
01:06considerably for him and his family.
01:09Known for its ornate interior composed of 23 sections.
01:12The palace houses the two chambers of the Parliament of Romania, the Senate, Senate,
01:17and the Chamber of Deputies, Camera Deputatialor, along with three museums and an international
01:22conference center.
01:24The museums in the palace are the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of
01:28Communist Totalitarianism, established in 2015, and the Museum of the Palace.
01:34Though originally named the House of the Republic when under construction, the palace became
01:38widely known as the People's House after the Romanian Revolution of December 1989.
01:44Due to its impressive characteristics, events organized by state institutions and international
01:49bodies such as conferences and symposia take place there.
01:53But despite this about 70% of the building remains empty.
01:56As of 2020, the Palace of the Parliament is valued at 4 billion euros, making it the most
02:01expensive administrative building in the world.
02:04The cost of heating, electricity, and lighting alone exceeds 6 million dollars per year.
02:10Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered the building of a colossal structure a systematization
02:15project had existed since the 1930s, during the time of King Carol II, for the Unarii
02:20Delul.
02:21Arsenolului area.
02:23The Vranșia earthquake of 4 March 1977 gave Ceaușescu a pretext to demolish parts of
02:29Old Bucharest.
02:30He wanted a civic center more in line with the country's political stance and started
02:34a reconstruction plan for Bucharest based on the socialist realism style.
02:39The House of the Republic was the centerpiece of Ceaușescu's project.
02:43Named Project Bucharest, it began in 1978 as an intended replica of the North Korean
02:48capital, Pyongyang.
02:50North Korean President Kim Il-sung had started construction on a similarly monumental residence,
02:55the Kim Susan Palace two years earlier.
02:58A contest was held and won by Enka Petrescu, 1949-2013, who was appointed chief architect
03:05of the project at the age of 28.
03:08The team that coordinated the work was made up of 10 assisting architects, which supervised
03:12a further 700.
03:15Construction of the palace began on 25 June 1984, and the inauguration of the work was
03:20attended by Ceaușescu, who also frequently inspected the site.
03:24Uranus Hill was leveled, and the Uranus-Izvor neighborhood was destroyed so the building
03:28could be erected.
03:30The area had also been home to the National Archives, Mihai Voda Monastery and other monasteries.
03:36Brankovenesc Hospital, as well as about 37 old factories and workshops.
03:42Demolition in the Uranus area began in 1982.
03:45Approximately 7 kilometers of the old city center were demolished.
03:49With 40,000 people being relocated from the area, between 20,000 and 100,000 people worked
03:55on the site and project.
03:57Operating in three shifts made up of 5,000 Romanian people's army soldiers and huge numbers
04:02of volunteers.
04:03That is all.
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