November 30, 2024, 6:48 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Romania’s capital is home to a building of truly gigantic proportions. The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest is so huge that, according to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the heaviest building in the world. However, the mega block still reminds the locals of one of the darkest chapters in their country’s history.
The Romanian capital is home to a terrifying, yet fascinating example of human megalomania. And this is meant literally, because the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest is a block of such unimaginable dimensions that it could have come straight out of a dystopian vision. According to the Guinness Book of Records, the building is the heaviest in the world, and as such, it remains a silent memorial to one of the darkest chapters in Romania’s history.
According to the website “History“, the foundation stone for the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest was laid on August 25, 1984. The first construction work had already begun a year earlier, as the then ruling dictator Nicolae Ceausescu wanted his prestigious building to be completed quickly. The building and its immense dimensions were intended to prove to everyone his sovereignty as the country’s supreme ruler. Ironically, the despot named his demonstration of power in stone “Casa Poporului” which translates as House of the People. But it is precisely the Romanian people who are suffering the most from the construction.
30,000 displaced people
Ceausescu simply had large parts of the historic old town demolished to make room for his parliamentary palace in Bucharest. More than a dozen churches and six synagogues were destroyed, among other things, and an estimated 30,000 people were driven from their homes for the gigantic construction project. An architect and a 700-strong team oversaw the construction, while countless workers toiled day and night. The end result is a true monument of a building with a floor area of an incredible 340,000 square meters. Some of the 1,100 rooms in the palace are as big as soccer pitches.
According to the official website of the Guinness Book, the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest will consist of one million cubic meters of marble and 700,000 tons of steel when it is completed. The 270-meter-long, 245-meter-wide and 45-meter-high building weighs a staggering 4.1 million tons. It also contains 900,000 cubic meters of wood and 3,500 tons of crystal glass. Twelve floors are above ground, at least six below. Unsurprisingly, the costs for the heaviest building in the world are also astronomical. Its construction tore a hole of around four billion US dollars in the state coffers.
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Uprising and execution
The enormous block also symbolizes the downfall of the Ceausescu regime. When the Parliament Palace in Bucharest was almost finished in the winter of 1989, popular anger against the dictator erupted. While he had a pompous residence built for himself, his people were suffering more and more from poverty. The cost of construction had further weakened the already fragile Romanian economy, and so a bloody uprising finally broke out. Ceausescu flees the capital but is soon caught. On December 25, 1989, one of the darkest chapters in Romanian history ended with the execution of the dictator and his wife.
The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest still houses both chambers of the Romanian parliament today. Many other government departments are also based here. In 2004, the National Museum of Contemporary Art opened in the heaviest building in the world. For many locals, however, the block naturally remains a symbol of horror. A reminder of the 35-year nightmare of a regime that held the country firmly in its stranglehold. Visitors should also remember this when they see this gigantic building, which still dominates Bucharest’s city center today, with their own eyes.