Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

572 SOUTHERN EASTERN EUROPE

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp596–7 and pp598–9

. Alexandra Ioan Cuza Hall
(Sala Alexandru Ioan Cuza)
One of the palace’s many elegant
rooms, the auditorium was intended
for international meetings. The room
opens on to a central balcony with
sweeping views of Bulevardul Unirii.

Nicolae Bălcescu

Hall, an imposing

conference hall,

has pink Transylvanian

marble pillars

adorned with gilt

Corinthian capitals.

The grand chandelier in the

Palace Theatre

IIC Bratianu Hall, a venue for

international conferences,

features floor-to-ceiling

marble panelling.

Palace of Parliament 1

Palatul Parlamentului

Towering over the western end of Bulevardul Unirii, the

Palace of Parliament is the second larg est adminis trative
building in the world, next to the Pentagon. Covering an
area of 33 ha (82 acres), this colossal struc ture has 15
floors, 5 of which are under ground. President Nicolae
Ceauşescu ordered its con struc tion in 1983, clear ing a

large area of historic Bucharest to make way for the
project. The Romanian govern ment conti nued the
project after his death and in 1997 moved the Chamber
of Deputies there, followed by the Senate in 2005. An
estimated 10 per cent of the building remains unfinished.

The 137-seat Senate, Romania’s Upper

House, was moved here in 2005 from

Palatul Senatului in Revolution Square.

NICOLAE CEAUŞESCU (1918–1989)

Romania’s former president, Nicolae Ceauşescu, joined the Romanian

Communist Party at the age of 14. He rose to ministe rial level fol low-

ing the Communist take over in 1947 and

succeeded Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej as

First Secretary of the Party in 1965. Dur ing

his leadership, he earned the respect of

Western governments, but his megalo ma-

niac vision of devel opment caused immense

suffering to the Romanian people. By the

1980s, poverty was rife and food and

fuel shortages were crippling the coun try,

giving rise to the Romanian Revolution

of December 1989. On 25 December,

Ceauşescu and his wife were tried by a

military court and executed.

Ceauşescu at his last session

of the party congress

The 100-m (328-ft) corridor,

the longest in the building,

is sep arated by three sets of

enormous sliding wooden doors.