The Civic Centre was meant to be a fully functional area where the “working people” would find everything they needed and where the Socialist victory was at its best; in fact, this area was meant for the important official figures; we are talking about an area of the city located between Alba Iulia Square and the Palace of the Parliament. The avenue in the center of this stretch, Unirii Avenue (originally called “The Socialism Victory”) was intended as the main axis for former President Ceaușescu’s utopian dreams; this avenue was built to exceed the length of the Champs Elysees by 6 meters.
The main piece of the area is the Palace of the Parliament, the second biggest building in the world. It was built in shape of a pyramid, it has 12 floors above the ground (84 m. tall) and a total surface of 330,000 sq. m. The grand staircases, huge doorways and the huge number of rooms, many of which are still unused make it for this crazy “Achievement of the Socialist Era”. The widest hall, the Unification Hall (2,200 sq. m. wide and 16 m. tall), has a sliding ceiling large enough for a helicopter to land and a 14 tons carpet woven on premises. The heaviest chandelier in the building (the one in the small Parliament Hall) weights 3 tons and has 7,000 bulbs. The whole building is not yet fully accomplished. On the site where it exists today, there used to be a hill: Spirii Hill, hosting “Curtea Nouă” fortress. In order to have the Palace built, the Court, as well as the whole old neighborhood around it, were razed off, while the hill actually perished, with the diggings meant to create the huge hall for the underground levels of the future Palace.
Note: If you want to visit the palace, follow these steps:
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1.Call at 021-4141426 or 3113611 between 09:00 AM and 02:00 PM, be persistent, let the phone ring for a long time; if you go there without a booking and hope to go in, that is just taking chances that they have available tours at that time
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2.Ask for a booking according to the tour you are interested in (find them all here) for one of the following days
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3.You will be confirmed a day and time when this is possible; be punctual, but do not expect them to be so, delays do occur
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4.When getting there on the scheduled day and time, refer first to the Info Point, you will be given a paper with your booking, then refer to the desk inside the souvenir shop and pay, then wait for them to call you
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5.Prepare yourself for a thorough security checking, similar to the one at the airport. Also, do not expect formalities to be fast or staff to be polite, for they are generally not, rather being perfect clerks of Kadare's pyramid they work in. And do not get angry, crap is never worth that. Tourists’ entrance lies at GPS - N44 25.718 E26 05.252 (2-4 Izvor Str.). Visitors must have an ID with them (driving license, passport or an E.U. country ID); it will remain at reception for the duration of your visit.
Planning on visiting the place? If you enter one of the sides and put on that ‘I’m here on business’ look, you might get in and wander at will. Otherwise put on a shirt, get an empty laptop bag along, your best shoes and that serious, goddamn concerned look, print a mambo jambo ID and head straight for the main entrance. If they ask anything, answer in Finnish. Or whatever looks like Finnish to you. Crap deserves ignorance or, at worst, crap treatment.
GPS - N44 28.735 E26 04.336 (1 Presei Libere Sq.)
