00:00The Palace of the Parliament, also known as the House of the Republic, Casa Republici,
00:09is the seat of the Parliament of Romania, located atop Deleulspiri in Bucharest, the
00:14national capital.
00:16The palace reaches a height of 84 meters, has a floor area of 365,000 meters, the Palace
00:22of the Parliament is one of the heaviest buildings in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tons.
00:29And also the second largest administrative building in the world.
00:32The building was designed and supervised by chief architect Anca Petrescu, with a team
00:36of approximately 700 architects.
00:40And constructed over 13 years, 1984-1997, in modernist neoclassical architectural forms
00:46and styles, with socialist realism in mind.
00:50The palace was ordered by Nicolae Ceausescu, 1918-1989.
00:55The president of communist Romania and the second of two long ruling heads of state in
00:59the country since World War II.
01:02During a period in which the personality cult of political worship and adoration increased
01:06considerably for him and his family.
01:09Known for its ornate interior composed of 23 sections.
01:12The palace houses the two chambers of the Parliament of Romania, the Senate, Senate,
01:17and the Chamber of Deputies, Camera Deputatialor, along with three museums and an international
01:22conference center.
01:24The museums in the palace are the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of
01:28Communist Totalitarianism, established in 2015, and the Museum of the Palace.
01:34Though originally named the House of the Republic when under construction, the palace became
01:38widely known as the People's House after the Romanian Revolution of December 1989.
01:44Due to its impressive characteristics, events organized by state institutions and international
01:49bodies such as conferences and symposia take place there.
01:53But despite this about 70% of the building remains empty.
01:56As of 2020, the Palace of the Parliament is valued at 4 billion euros, making it the most
02:01expensive administrative building in the world.
02:04The cost of heating, electricity, and lighting alone exceeds 6 million dollars per year.
02:10Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu ordered the building of a colossal structure a systematization
02:15project had existed since the 1930s, during the time of King Carol II, for the Unarii
02:20Delul.
02:21Arsenolului area.
02:23The Vranșia earthquake of 4 March 1977 gave Ceaușescu a pretext to demolish parts of
02:29Old Bucharest.
02:30He wanted a civic center more in line with the country's political stance and started
02:34a reconstruction plan for Bucharest based on the socialist realism style.
02:39The House of the Republic was the centerpiece of Ceaușescu's project.
02:43Named Project Bucharest, it began in 1978 as an intended replica of the North Korean
02:48capital, Pyongyang.
02:50North Korean President Kim Il-sung had started construction on a similarly monumental residence,
02:55the Kim Susan Palace two years earlier.
02:58A contest was held and won by Enka Petrescu, 1949-2013, who was appointed chief architect
03:05of the project at the age of 28.
03:08The team that coordinated the work was made up of 10 assisting architects, which supervised
03:12a further 700.
03:15Construction of the palace began on 25 June 1984, and the inauguration of the work was
03:20attended by Ceaușescu, who also frequently inspected the site.
03:24Uranus Hill was leveled, and the Uranus-Izvor neighborhood was destroyed so the building
03:28could be erected.
03:30The area had also been home to the National Archives, Mihai Voda Monastery and other monasteries.
03:36Brankovenesc Hospital, as well as about 37 old factories and workshops.
03:42Demolition in the Uranus area began in 1982.
03:45Approximately 7 kilometers of the old city center were demolished.
03:49With 40,000 people being relocated from the area, between 20,000 and 100,000 people worked
03:55on the site and project.
03:57Operating in three shifts made up of 5,000 Romanian people's army soldiers and huge numbers
04:02of volunteers.
04:03That is all.
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