12 Interesting Palace of Parliament Facts You Didn't Know

Spanning an area of 365,000 square meters, the Palace of Parliament is the world's second-largest administrative building. Not only grand in size, it also boasts the distinction of being the heaviest building in the world, weighing about 4.098 million metric tons. The palace also holds the title of the most expensive administrative building ever constructed.

The imposing Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, is known by several names, reflecting its historical and political significance. Locally, it's often called the "People's House Bucharest" or "People's Palace Bucharest." Other names include the "Palace of the People," "House of the Republic," "Romanian Parliament", and "The Ceausescu Palace."

The Palace of Parliament serves multiple functions, including housing the Romanian Parliament, museums, and conference centers. Hosting the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, it offers exhibition halls and underground parking for 20,000 cars. With multiple stories below the ground, it even features nuclear bunkers and secret tunnels.

The Palace of Parliament's construction incurred immense financial and social costs, estimated in billions of dollars. It displaced thousands of residents, leading to widespread discontent. The project razed entire neighborhoods overnight, displacing 40,000 people and demolishing 9,000 homes, along with historic monuments and churches.

For the construction of the Palace of Parliament, detailed foam models were made at a 1/1000 scale, showing the city of Bucharest with its streets, plazas, buildings, and landmarks. This innovative approach facilitated the Ceaușescu couple's understanding of architectural designs as they navigated the models and provided directives, resulting in frequent changes in designs.

Maintaining the Bucharest parliament building is no small feat. With its vast size and intricate architecture, the building requires substantial upkeep, costing more than 6 million euros annually. This includes preservation efforts to ensure the structural integrity of the building and the conservation of its lavish interiors.

The Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, Romania, is a behemoth of a building that's so massive it's said to be visible from space! Yes, you read that right! Its colossal size earns it a spot among rare structures like the Great Wall of China and the Pentagon, adding a certain appeal to it.

Despite its grand appearance, much of the Palace of Parliament remains unfinished since construction began in 1984. The basement levels, especially, lack completion, with vast raw concrete spaces. Workers are still adding tiles and decorations in some areas while other areas undergo refurbishment.

Approximately 100,000 workers were involved in constructing the People's Palace in Bucharest, with up to 20,000 working 24 hours a day in three shifts. Tragically, a considerable number of individuals lost their lives due to accidents. Furthermore, between 1984 and 1990, around 12,000 soldiers also contributed to the building efforts.

In 2009, the Palace of Parliament was featured on Top Gear in an episode called "Romanian GT Road Trip to Find the Transfagarasan Highway." The show's hosts raced through Bucharest, ending at the Palace of Parliament. After the race, the episode also showed the three of them driving through the Palace of the Parliament tunnels.

Many secret tunnels were built on the commands of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Stretching 20 kilometers, they linked government buildings and residences equipped with direct military communication. Designed for Ceaușescu's safe passage from the Palace to the airport during emergencies, the tunnels couldn't aid him during the Romanian Revolution.