02 Nov2015

Gigantic Palace of Parliament Bucharest

One of the 12 things that surprised me about Bucharest during my first visit in April 2015 was also the Parliament. I am not into politics at all but I did enjoy our Parliament visit. It felt peaceful, fancy and simply gigantic.
 

As you can see, Romania is a country of paradoxes. Not the best economy but on the other hand it has many expensive and stylish things and buildings. One of the best examples of this big contrast could be the Palace of the Parliament Bucharest.

 
 
The Palace of Parliament Bucharest is one of the two biggest Government buildings in the world. Some say it’s the biggest one, the others it is the second largest just after the US Pentagon.
 
 
Its construction began in 1984  and was finished in 1997. After the revolution the new regime came up and wanted to demolish the parliament but it would cost more than to finish the building so they did finish it in the end.
 
Around 20,000 people worked in three shifts 24 hours per day to build the Parliament.
 
All year materials used for the construction were from Romania, also the marble, crystal, basalt, cement, sand, steel and glass.
 
It was designed by a group of 700 architects and cost more than 3 billion euros which makes it the most expensive administrative building. It i also the heaviest building in the world.
 
It symbolized the biggest building of Communism but nowadays there are no signs of Communism inside. It was built on a hill to show Communism, though.
 
In the communist era many buildings were destroyed and rebuilt or new buildings constructed at their place instead. That’s exactly what happened with the Parliament construction when part of the old city together with the Republica Stadium were demolished so the Parliament could be built.
 
You need an ID or passport to visit the Parliament Bucharest which is kept at the entrance door until the end of the tour. The screening of your bags is done (similar to airports), so no knives and other weapons, just personal belongings are allowed.
 
You need to pay to take photos inside, otherwise no photography is allowed.
 
 
 

Our guide Ana-Maria took us around the Parliament building which covers 365,000 square metres.

 
Palatus Parlamentului (Romanian name) is the seat of the Romanian Parliament – Chamber of Deputies.
 
Sometimes it is called the People’s House or the People’s Palace. 
 
In 2005 the Senate moved in there; and it is also the seat of the Court and 3 museums.
 
The Parliament consists of about 1,100 rooms half of which are offices and the rest are used for conferences. It has 8 underground levels and 12 floors above the ground.

 

 
 
 
Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (9) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (10) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (11) 
 
 

Rooms and halls are named after former historical personalities or leaders. There is symmetry between decorations in most of them.

 

We first entered to the Chearoseti Cupola Hall. It was planned to be a theatre but has no backstage. Its capacity is of 600 seats (made of leather.) The biggest chandelier in the building is located here which weighs 5 tons. Interesting fact is that 4 people need to change one light bulb at this Art deco styled chandelier.

 

Then we entered the Press Gallery Hall with red carpet. There we could observe several traditional clothes from different parts of Romania on one side and permanent contemporary Romanian paintings were hanging on the right wall. Here 1,700 square metres as used for different receptions.

 

The Nicolae Iorga Hall named after Iorga, a Romanian politician, Prime Minister and poet. Decorated in the German neo-classical style in the memory of the first Romanian King who was of German origin (Carol I who live at the Peles castle.) The hall is used for conferences. Funny is that the curtains have the same pattern like the tapestries on the wall.

 
 

The next hall we walked into was the Nicolae Balcescu Hall named after Balcescu who was a revolutionist and a journalist. It’s also used for conferences. It’s unique in the palace as the columns are made of pink marble which has neutral color that cannot be found on any flag. Radiator masks are decorative and the carpet has the same decoration, too. Simply said, the hall looks like dsigned by a woman :)

 

Then we took a lift to go up to the terrace.

 

After a toilet break we climbed white stairs and entered a room decorated in light brown and golden color with leaves called the Alexandrian Hall. It was supposed to be named ”Romania” but of course it carries a name of yet another politician. Its 1,200 seats are also used for concerts. White marble comes from the same place like the pink one in the Nicolae Balcescu Hall. Its 18 m ceiling makes it the highest conference hall in the Parliament building.

 

The balcony is used during different events; otherwise you can visit it and take photos as we did. You can see 41 fountains outside because Romania is divided into 40 counties + the capital Bucharest.

 

The Unification Boulevard (Bulevardul Unirii) seen from both the balcony and the building roof is longer and wider than the Champ-Elysee in Paris (yet another similarity between Bucharest and Paris.) It’s a Champ-Elysee replica.

 
 

No weddings take place inside the Parliament Bucharest, just one was there.

 
 
 
 
Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (2) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (3) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (4) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (5) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (6) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (7) Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (8)
 
 
And thanks to Alin Popescu, I have some cool quick yoga photos on the red carpet inside the Palace of Parliament Bucharest :)
 
 
Alin Popescu photography Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (12)
 
Alin Popescu photography Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (13) Alin Popescu photography Palace of the Parliament Bucharest Romania (14)
 
 
Thanks to Eventur for organizing our Parliament Bucharest visit.

Posted in Europe, photo, Romania, travel Tags: ,

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Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler

Alex is a crazy Slovak girl who made traveling the reason of her life. In March 2011 she quit her stewardess job and hasn't stopped ever since. Her motto is ''I live to travel, I travel to live.'' She writes about crazy travel, fun adventures and sexy photos.
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