R evolutions have begun as a conse- quence of dissatisfaction, women and territory, but also because of the Parliament building in Bucha- rest that was the reason for the Romani- an revolution that led to the overthrow of Ceausescu. But that isn’t just any kind of building. It is the largest building in Europe, and the second largest in the world, with only the Pentagon bigger. Many Romanians claim that this building can be seen from space and that only a small number of people have managed to tour it in its entirety. One ur- ban legend claims that a tourist got lost in the building and security staff needed 14 hours to find him. And perhaps it’s actually true, considering that this building covers more than 300,000 square metres. Such a building was the wish of former Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. He took advantage of the large earthquake that hit Romania in 1977 to completely change the face of Bucharest. Another of his desires was also a great House of the Nation, today’s Palace of the Parliament. He envisaged the site for a palace, then cleared the area. He ordered the demolitions of 20 churches, a sports stadium and several hospitals, and the relocating of 40,000 people. He want- ed the works to be completed in 500 days. The foundation cornerstone was laid in 1984 and works could commence. Some 700 architects and 20,000 workers were em- ployed at the site and worked in three shifts, while 5,000 soldiers were engaged and as many as 1.5 million workers in the facto- ries that produced everything needed for this complex. And the final result: 360,000 square metres, packaged in 12 storeys above
Hodajući neprekidno ceo sat, nećete videti više od 10 odsto ove megalomanske građevine After walking uninterrupted for an hour you won’t have seen more than 10 per cent of this megalomaniacal complex
ground and 8 underground levels, surround- ed by parks and Unification Boulevard, which is larger than the Champs-Élysées and adorned with 44 fountains. More than 70 per cent of state reve- nue then went on this construction project. The dictator was finally overthrown in 1989, leading to the suspending of construction. The building is 240 metres wide, 270 meters long, 86 metres tall and reaches a depth of 92 metres, and today it is the home of the Romanian Parliament, President and Sen- ate, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Totalitarianism. This is also the world’s heaviest build- ing, which includes in its structure three mil- lion tonnes of marble, 700 tonnes of bronze, 900,000 cubic metres of timber, 5,000 tonnes of concrete and 7,000 tonnes of steel. And when you open the door you are awaited by the unimaginable. The 100-metre-long entrance hall is covered with a carpet weigh- ing 1.5 tonnes. But that’s only part of the weight, as there are 200,000 square metres of carpet in this palace. And the curtains are a special story: hand-woven in the building itself, using special machines, each curtain weighs 250 kilograms and some are laced with silver and gold thread. As you look around you will see gilded vaults, mosaics with golden tiles, marble pil- lars. You can’t help but notice the chande- liers, of which there are 2,800. The most im- posing is located in the Hall of the Republic. It is composed of crystals and weighs five tonnes. And if you descend to the under- ground levels, you will be met by a space that can accommodate 20,000 cars, a nuclear bunker and miles and miles of wide corridors. This palace has been open to visitors since 1990, and if you visit it you should know that after walking uninterrupted for an hour you won’t have seen more than 10 per cent of this megalomaniacal complex.
tonu i po. Ali to je samo delić, jer se u ovoj palati nalazi čitavih 200.000 kvadratnih metara tepiha. A zavese, one su posebna priča. Ručno tkane u samom zdanju na posebnim ma- šinama, svaka je teška 250 kilogra- ma, a neke su protkane srebrnim i zlatnim nitima. Kada se osvrnete oko sebe, vide- ćete pozlaćene svodove, mozaike sa zlatnim listićima, mermerne stubove. Ne možete da ne primetite lustere, ima ih 2.800. Najimpozantniji se na- lazi u Sali republike, urađen je od kri- stala i težak pet tona. A ako se spusti- te ispod zemlje, dočekaće vas prostor u kojem može da se parkira 20.000 automobila, nuklearni bunker i ki- lometri i kilometri širokih hodnika. Ova palata je otvorena za pose- tioce 1990. godine, a ako je posetite, znajte da, hodajući neprekidno ceo sat, nećete videti više od 10 odsto ove megalomanske građevine.
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