The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the second largest building in the world. Standing out as a new brand of the Capital City of Romania, the images of the gigantic building and of some of its rooms are subject of the postage stamp issue introduced into circulation by Romfilatelia for the first time, under the name Palace of the Parliament.
The Parliament building, lying on a surface of 270 m by 245 m, is 86 m high and consists of 92 m of foundations and arranged underground areas, being considered as the most expensive administrative building and also, the heaviest in the world.
The construction of one the most imposing buildings in the world began in 1983, but the foundation stone laying ceremony took place in June 1984. 20,000 workers and specialists have contributed to the works. The venue chosen for the gigantic building was Dealul Arsenalului, a natural configuration with an initial height of 18 m. The Libertatii Boulevard side was built by the workers.
The works, which were temporarily discontinued after December 1989, have been resumed, the edifice being initially designated as the House of the Republic, and subsequently becoming a symbol of democracy under the name of the Palace of the Parliament, the headquarters of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania.
Europe’s largest building, the Palace of the Parliament is 365,000 sq m wide and has about 1,000 rooms, out of which, 440 offices, 30 salons and halls, four restaurants, three libraries, a concert hall and two underground parking areas. It should be noted that every single material used to build the Palace, including the wood, chandeliers, carpets and the leather, is of Romanian origin.
The most important rooms in the Palace of the Parliament are the Human Rights Room, Nicolae Balcescu Room, Nicolae Iorga Room, A. I. Cuza Room, Ion C. Bratianu Room, Tache Ionescu Room, Unirii Room, C. A. Rosetti Room and Nicolae Titulescu Room. Today, more than 25 years after its construction began, the Palace of the Parliament has become not only a symbol of Bucharest, but also a landmark of the world capital cities symbol map.
Philatelic document – made into a limited run printing of 250 copies, equipped with the postage stamps of the issue, numbered and cancelled with the “first day” postmark.
