The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is the second largest building in the World.
Once known as Casa Poporului (House of the People), the Palace is the current seat of the Romanian Parliament and houses the Chamber and Senate.
The dimensions of the building are really impressive: 12 floors, 270 meters long, 245 meters wide and over 3,100 rooms. The Palace is a total of 63 meters high, of which only 48 are visible. The Palace boasts, in fact, four underground levels and an anti-atomic bunker.
The Parliament Building was built in the “golden age” of the Romanian dictatorial regime, in 1984.
About 700 architects participated in the construction project together with 20,000 workers.
The Palace of Parliament was built at the behest of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu who wanted at all costs to own the largest palace in the world.
The entire economy of the state, moreover, was entirely oriented towards the realization of the project. Public state funds (over 3 billion dollars) were used, which caused the entire country to fall into misery.
The Arc de Triomphe in Bucharest (Arcul de Triumf in Romanian) was built and modified several times over the years.
The very first wooden structure was erected on the occasion of the independence of Romania obtained in 1878.
A second wooden arch, also provisional, replaced the first following the First World War, in 1922.
Between 1935 and 1936 it was decided to modify the structure and finally make the arch permanent. The old granite structure was covered.
The Arc de Triomphe is a total of 26 meters high.
On the first of December each year, Romania’s National Day, the Arch is the scene of spectacular celebrations with military parades.
This triumphal arch is intended to be a commemoration of Romania’s victorious participation in the First World War.
