One of the unshakable emblems of Bucharest is the Palace of the Parliament or, as it was called during communism, the People's House. In addition to being the second largest administrative building in the world, it is also the most expensive administrative building. Moreover, it is the heaviest building on Earth.

At present, the Parliament Palace is a strong symbol of democracy, in which the structures of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Legislative Council and many others operate. But to get here, the building has come a long and difficult road, which we will discover in the following lines.

History and presentation

The construction of the Parliament Palace was one of the memorable wishes of President Nicolae Ceausescu. Thus, immediately after the 1977 earthquake, the dictator publicly stated his intention to lay the foundations of a realistic socialist architecture. The construction process lasted 17 years, starting in 1980 and successfully completed in 1997.

The People's House requested a cost of 3 billion euros from the state. The design team took part of 700 architects, able to realize the 9 surface levels and the 9 underground ones. In addition, more than 100,000 people worked day and night to complete the entire construction.

During this process, approximately 57,000 families were evacuated. This was the price that the inhabitants had to pay so that the Parliament Palace could be built, on an area 5 times bigger than the one originally thought, of 80,000 sq m. Another 20 churches were destroyed and 10,000 houses were demolished, including the Brâncovenesc Hospital, the Central Military Museum and the first forensic institute in the world.

The architectural plans were changed weekly, in accordance with the recommendations drawn up by the Ceausescus following the visits made. This made the process more difficult, which is why, shortly before the 1989 Revolution, the People's House had a 60% completion rate. Subsequently, the works were resumed between 1992-1996.

Location

The Parliament Palace is located in the central part of Bucharest, being part of sector 5. The place where it is located is called Dealul Arsenalului, being only 10 minutes from Piata Unirii and 20 minutes from Gara de Nord.

Visit

The Parliament Palace building is open to visitors. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to official sources, 3 daily tours of standard type based on programming are allowed, of maximum 10 people each, as follows:

· Tour at 10:00 in Romanian / English;

· Tour at 12:30 in Romanian / English;

· Tour at 15:00 in Romanian / English;

Also, the official visiting schedule is:

· March - October interval - every day, from 09:00 to 17:00. The last tour starts at 16:30;

· November - February interval - every day, from 10:00 to 16:00. The last tour starts at 15:30.

Established rates

The visit of the Palace of the Parliament is made on the basis of the entrance ticket, respectively:

· Standard tour - 40 lei per adult, 20 lei per student (19 - 26 years) and 10 lei per child (7 - 18 years);

· Standard tour + basement - 45 lei per adult, 23 lei per student (19 - 26 years) and 15 lei per child (7 - 18 years);

· Panoramic tour of the city - terrace (with elevator) - 600 lei per group of maximum 6 people;

· Standard tour package 35 - 1400 lei per tour;

· Standard tour package + basement 35 - 1575 lei per tour.

Children up to 6 years old, people with disabilities, their companions and accompanying guides for groups of adults over 10 people are free.