Palace of Parliament Bucharest

Palace of Parliament, Bucharest - darkometer rating : 2 - A behemoth of a building that is the quintessential and most massive expression of Romania 's former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu 's magalomaniacal architectural ambitions. Not only is it by far Bucharest 's largest edifice, it even used to be the second largest building (by area space) in the whole world (after the Pentagon ). The Palace is so massive it beggars belief, especially when you remember at what time and at what cost it was built. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: while Ceausescu starved the country's population, he pumped billions into the construction of this Palace, his pet project in Bucharest , which thus ate up a good proportion of Romania 's GDP (which could have been put to much better use elsewhere). Hundreds of architects and tens of thousands of workers toiled away from 1984 on the construction of the Palace – which was preceded by a massive demolition programme to make room for it. About one sixth of old Bucharest was bulldozed for this purpose. Then the construction of the Palace began, using almost exclusively materials from Romania, including massive amounts of marble. Carpets of unprecedented sizes had to be sewn together, staggering amounts of crystal for countless chandeliers were used, curtains weighing tons, … it's all a Guinness Book of Records orgy. The official purpose of the Palace was to serve as the seat of government, as a conference centre and, not least, as Ceausescu 's own residence. Not without irony the building was, and still is, known informally as the "House of the People" ('Casa Poporului').