Last updated on December 20, 2023.

Imagine waking up one morning with a knock on the door and being told by your government that you have just one day to leave your house. That’s what happened in the heart of Bucharest in 1984, when megalomaniac communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu decided to build his new Civic Center (Centrul Civic). 40,000 people were displaced from their homes with one day’s notice in order for the government to go ahead with this project.

 

Civic Center

Neither Allied bombings in WWII nor a devastating earthquake in 1977 had as much of a negative impact on the cityscape as this redevelopment project did. Over 8 square km and hundreds of historic buildings were destroyed, including several churches, synagogues, and much of the historic Jewish Quarter. The empty spaces were quickly nicknamed “Ceaușima” – a combination of Ceaușescu and Hiroshima.

 

Union Boulevard

The project centered on a boulevard meant to rival the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The now-named Union Boulevard (Bulevardul Unirii) is actually wider and 6m longer than its French counterpart. It’s lined with ugly concrete buildings with marble façades that were supposed to be used as government buildings and apartments for the Communist elite. The buildings may look elegant from the front but go behind them and you’ll quickly see how much of a farce this project really was.

Bulevardul Unirii in Bucharest, Romania
Union Boulevard
Bulevardul Unirii from Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Union Boulevard
Behind one of the concrete blocks in Bucharest, Romania
Behind one of the concrete blocks

 

Union Square

At the center of the boulevard is Union Square (Piața Unirii). It’s filled with several huge fountains and a park in the middle, and all kinds of roads criss-crossing it. The square is massive and you have to be there to truly appreciate the size of the place. It’s so big it even covers the Dâmbovița River, which flows underneath the square.

Piața Unirii in Bucharest, Romania
Union Square

 

Palace of Parliament

The crown jewel of the Civic Center project was the Palace of Parliament. Again, it’s something so huge you have to see it in person. Construction started in 1984 and was completed in 1997, although there were still several details not yet finished at the time of my visit.

The Palace is the second largest building in the world by volume behind the Pentagon and the world’s largest civilian building. It stands 12 stories high, counts around 3,100 rooms, and has 340,000 m² (1.7 million ft²) of floor space. It was originally intended for the Communist Party, but after the revolution, the Romanian democracy moved in. The architect was Anca Petrescu.

Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Palace of Parliament

 

Tours

Tours of the Palace of Parliament are highly recommended and run about 45 minutes on average. Tours run daily and a passport or ID is required for entry. A standard tour costs 60 lei, while a standard tour plus a visit to the basement costs 65 lei (as of April 2023). If you want to visit the terrace, there’s a maximum of six people per group at a total cost of 600 lei. When I visited, I did the standard tour plus the terrace and basement (no longer available). A personal photo pass (also no longer available) cost extra.

Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Palace of Parliament

 

Standard Tour

Highlights of the standard tour include the theatre, which is used as a meeting room. It has the largest chandelier in the building, weighing five tons.

Theatre at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Theatre

The press hall, where members of the press can mingle with dignitaries.

Press hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Press hall

A meeting room, which has translation booths in the back and elegant trim.

Meeting room at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Meeting room
Meeting room at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Meeting room
Meeting room at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Booths in the Meeting room

Nicolae Bălcescu Hall, a conference room with pink marble pillars and translation booths.

Bălcescu Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Bălcescu Hall
Bălcescu Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Marble pillars in Bălcescu Hall
Bălcescu Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Bălcescu Hall
Bălcescu Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Booths in Bălcescu Hall
Bălcescu Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
A booth in Bălcescu Hall

A room with a huge circular table intended for meetings of the communist party but now used as a regular conference room. A huge space on the wall was supposed to contain a giant map of Romania (reminds me of something out of a Bond movie).

Meeting room at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Meeting room
Meeting room at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Meeting room

Unification Hall, the largest room in the building. Two empty panels at either end were supposed to contain portraits of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena.

Unification Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Unification Hall
Unification Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Door in Unification Hall
Unification Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Chandelier in Unification Hall

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Hall, an auditorium that leads to the central balcony.

Cuza Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Cuza Hall
Cuza Hall at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Cuza Hall

A 100m long corridor with staircases and three sets of huge wooden sliding doors.

Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Corridor
Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Stairway in the corridor
Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Corridor

Even the simple corridors were incredible.

Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Corridor
Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Corridor
Corridor at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Large hall in a corridor

The standard tour finishes at the central balcony, which views Union Boulevard. It was built with the intention that Nicolae Ceaușescu would address crowds from it. He never got to speak from it because he was executed before it was finished.

Central balcony at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Central balcony
Central balcony at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Central balcony
View from the central balcony at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
View from the central balcony
View from the central balcony at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
View from the central balcony

 

Other Tour Options

The other tour options take visitors up to the terrace, which has sweeping views of the whole city, and the basement, which really isn’t interesting.

View from the terrace at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
View from the terrace
View from the terrace at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
View from the terrace
Basement at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Basement
Basement at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Basement

 

Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral

At the time of my visit, a gigantic Orthodox cathedral, the Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral, was being built behind the Palace of Parliament. Opened on November 25, 2018, it’s the new patriarchal cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church and the tallest Orthodox church in the world. It has been criticized as a megalomaniacal project similar to those of Ceaușescu.

Romanian People's Salvation Cathedral construction site from the terrace at Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania
Romanian People’s Salvation Cathedral construction site
Author

Owner of Paisadventure. World traveler. Chicago sports lover. Living in Colombia.

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