Parliament palace

The grand hall, the large space in the wall was intended to contain a large painting of Ceauşescu, which was never carried out because of the Revolution
During the construction in 1986

Built on the site of a hill variously known as Spirii Hill, Uranus Hill, or Arsenal Hill, which was largely razed for this megaproject, the building anchors the west end of Unirii Boulevard and Centrul Civic. Constructing the Palace and Centrul Civic required demolishing much of Bucharest's historic district, including 19 Orthodox Christian churches, six Jewish synagogues, three Protestant churches (plus eight relocated churches), and 30,000 residences.

Construction began in 1983; the cornerstone was laid on 25 June 1984. While the building was intended to house all four major state institutions (similar to what the Houses of Parliament operated like), Ceausescu intended the palace to be his personal residence and the government was to operate in it (as if a combining the Kremlin into one building). It was intended to house these institutions:

* The Presidency of the Republic (Preşedinţia Republicii) - today's Presidency (Preşedinţia);
* The Great National Assembly (Marea Adunare Naţionalǎ) - today's Parliament (Parlamentul);
* Consiliul de Miniştri - today's The Government (Guvernul);
* Supreme Court (Tribunalul Suprem) - today's The High Court of Cassation and Justice (Înalta Curte de Casaţie şi Justiţie).

This explains the building's rectangular shape.

At the time of Nicolae Ceauşescu's 1989 overthrow and execution, the building structure and design were complete. Subsequently, many of the furnishings were never installed (most evident by the frequent large spaces throughout the palace), and the last three basement levels and a large clock tower (that would have displayed the official Romanian time) were never finished. During the regime change, the new leaders of Romania referred to the building as the House of Ceauşescu, to highlight the excessive luxury in which Ceauşescu would have lived, in stark contrast to the squalor and poverty endured by many people living in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Parts of the building (some of the west wing, some of the east wing, parts of the second floor, basement 3 and everything below) have yet to be completed. Currently, a new underground car-park is being built inside a former stadium, currently used as a warehouse, which was covered during the construction of the palace. Tunnels linking 13 Septembrie Avenue with the basement of the building will be built.