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A Romanian Monument Shrouded in Mystery

Peoples House or the Palace of Parliament

The capital of Romania, Bucharest, is home to one of the famous buildings of the

country. I am referring to the Peoples House situated on the former Spirii Hill, the nameof a renowned doctor. This particular building stands out as a symbol Romanians both

abhor and cherish. For some it means Communism and kitsch for others it is a site worth

visiting by tourists, that is, money for the country.

The Peoples House is heavily laden with cultural markers, both old and post-Communist. President Ceausescu was the one who came up with the idea of its being

erected after his visit in North Korea. In Phenian he saw a similar architectural display

and decided to have his own replica back in the capital. So the working site was opened

in the 80s following the launching of the urbanisation programme in that area. After the1977 earthquake, Ceausescu wished to rebuild the city from ashes. The palace was meant

to be grand, to show the power and wealth of a Communist country and together with theConstitution Square and the boulevard, surpass the Champs Elyses in Paris. It was the

ideal location for the President, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and

several ministries. A place fit rather for a king.

It was and still is a most controversial architectural project. Seven square kilometreswere demolished, old family houses brought to the ground and people dislocated. What

for the President was excitement for the people involved, it meant only tragedy and loss

of roots, of a tradition lasting for centuries maybe.The palace first of all constitutes a marker for the Communist periodand for some,

the Golden Era of Ceausescu. Some people today still yearn for that period when we hadno heat but we could afford eating in a restaurant. It is a symbol of greatness. Thebuilding has a height of 84 m (12 storeys) and 92 m underground, a surface of 330.000

square metres. It is quite imposing and nowadays we can see the building from space. It

is the 2nd biggest after the Pentagon and inscribed in the Book of Records. At least wehave broken a record in something!

It is shaped as a no cone pyramid. It has vast hall-ways, long corridors and

innumerable huge rooms. It is a marker ofluxury but also excess. It has marble staircases,

a number of crystal chandeliers, of which the heaviest weighs 5 tons and disposes of 7000light-bulbs. There are ceilings with lace ornaments, mosaic, carved wooden doors, crystal

lamps, commissioned carpets, outstanding furniture. Although Ceausescu imported the

model, the materials were entirely Romanian. Thus the palace is a marker ofRomainianness, so to speak. When we look around, we see proofs of our Romanian

artistry. We become proud of what we can create even if it required destruction of lives.

But then again, many things were built on destruction; violence is in the nature ofhumans.

Then, the palace and the boulevard also represent the erasure of the culturalmarkers of the past that stood there. Today we can no longer admire the Vacaresti

Monastery, the Brancoveanu Hospital, the National Archives or the Republica Stadium.

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All these monuments are gone and we can only know how they were from pictures. It is a

shame that Ceausescu and Communism wanted to do away with historical signs of the

aristocracy. The President aimed at destroying what was not Communist. Level the nationdown.

It is a marker of kitsch for many professionals because it does not instantiate a

unitary style. It combines Corinthian columns with Italian renaissance, Cubist, Art-Decoand floral elements. The sight of the palace is too much for artists and many deny the

qualifications and taste of the chief-architect who won the bid back then, Anca Petrescu.

Today, it is an economic markerfor tourism. Foreigners come to visit the place andthe country wins a lot of money from this. Against the voices that ask for its being blown

to pieces, others sustain it helps the economy. Why ruin a building which cost us so much

and was designed to last centuries? We have to live with our past not bury it.Mystery is another side of the palace. It has to do with architecture and power. We

are allowed today to visit only 1% of the site. The folklore of the building adds to its

appeal. There are multifarious suppositions about the unseen.

Nowadays the square in front of the palace is used for all sorts of celebrations and

fairs, festivals, concerts. It is thus a marker of cultural events and entertainment. Thewater in the huge, ornate fountains ripples away, enchanting with its music the passers-

by.Obviously, this monument is a combination of cultural markers, both positive and

negative. Many challenge its existence and want it gone but it is a part of our past and we

should hold on to it. We should not make the same mistake as our precursors and try to

wipe out what others before us built. The palace and the boulevard are still imposing andforeigners like what they see. We must admit that Ceausescu left a lot of things behind

for us which helped us. The underground and many flats are just an example. Until

recently, we have fed on what the pre-revolution generation gave us. The palace is abuilding like all others which has served many of our modern purposes. Stop calling it

kitsch and a Communist site. Art cannot be Communist!!!

VARZAN SIMONA

BCS, 2ND YEAR.