The Parliament Palace is not only the largest edifice in Bucharest, but it is also one of the largest in the whole world. Its surface (330,000 sq. m) makes it second only to the Pentagon. Its volume places it third after the building at Cape Canaveral in Florida and the Quetzalcoatl pyramid in Mexico. Also, it is four times larger than the Louvre. Erecting it at the heart of the Civic Centre of the Capital required enormous human and material resources during the 1980s. A witness to this immense country-wide effort imposed by the Communist regime, the palace was first named the PeopleÆs Palace. This name was changed to the Parliament Palace in the early 1990s, when the building became the seat of RomaniaÆs Parliament.
The position of the palace on the Arsenal Hill, at one end of a monumental avenue, which is one meter larger than the famous Parisian Champs-ElysΘes and four kilometre long, enhances the viewerÆs impression of greatness.
Inside, the six thousand rooms are sumptuously decorated with marble, rare wooden essences meticulously carved, bronze and other valuable materials.
With a surface that totals between 300 and 500 sq. m and a height which equals that of a six-floor building, the reception halls are decorated with rugs weighing more than 20 tones, enormous chandeliers, and immense tables. The halls bear the name of great events or great figures in Romanian history, e.g. The Union Hall, The Iorga Hall, The Bπlcescu Hall, etc. Some of these halls are equipped with booths for interpreters, making it possible for the Palace to house congresses or international seminars. All these halls are open to visitors. The surrounding garden stretches to the DΓmbovi■a channel, all the way to the Izvor Bridge
