The Most Evil Building in Europe

Please check out the free in depth career guide at 80000hours.org/hoog
Credit to Google Earth for providing me the map and satellite data required for the models.
This is a video about Nikolai Ceaucescu's Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, Romania.
Images via Getty
Map source by MapTiler / OpenStreetMap Contributors via Geolayers 3
Urban planning, architecture, masterplans.
Sources:
(Images to scale): portmanteau.ro/
1: rolandia.eu/en/blog/places/pa...
2: www.klm.es/en/travel-guide/in... ; www.sacyr.com/en/-/los-mister...
3: Edward Behr (Ceausescu)
4: www.researchgate.net/publicat...
5: www.sciencedirect.com/science...
6: Gociman, C. O., Florescu, T., Moscu, C. I., & Girneata, M. (2018). Urban Aggression by Ideological, Political and Economic Strain-Anthropic Hazards. Procedia Engineering, 212, 1155-1162. doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2018...
7: Ceaușescu, Power and Architecture (Moghioros)
8: www.sciencedirect.com/science...
9: Gociman, C. O., Florescu, T., Moscu, C. I., & Girneata, M. (2018). Urban Aggression by Ideological, Political and Economic Strain-Anthropic Hazards. Procedia Engineering, 212, 1155-1162. doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2018.0
10: Urban reconstruction and autocratic regimes: Ceausescu's Bucharest in its historic context Maria De Betania Uchoa Cavalcanti
11: Systematization (Dana Vais) ; www.researchgate.net/publicat...
12: www.romania-insider.com/bucha... ; The political agency of cityscapes: Spatializing governance in Ceausescu's Bucharest (Burce O'Neill) ; www.latimes.com/archives/la-x...
13: spynews.ro/actualitate/imagin... ; Edward Behr (Ceausescu) ; • Memorialul durerii: Me...
14: www.latimes.com/archives/la-x... ; Edward Behr (Ceausescu); • Palace of the Parliame... ; www.thedailybeast.com/the-wee...
15: oddiblogg.no/nicolae-ceausesc... ; www.jstor.org/stable/40209336
16: www.thetimes.co.uk/article/an... ; www.archdaily.com/945948/east... architectuul.com/architecture...
17: www.klm.es/en/travel-guide/in... ; www.romania-insider.com/roman... ; cic.cdep.ro/en/general-present...
18: • Palace of the Parliame...
19: rolandia.eu/en/blog/history-o... ; www.washingtonpost.com/archiv... ; www.blog.urbact.eu/2011/01/th...
20: www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destin... ; www.klm.es/en/travel-guide/in... ; www.washingtonpost.com/archiv...
21: Edward Behr (Ceausescu)
22: www.rferl.org/a/romania-iorda... ; apnews.com/article/travel-nic...
23: Urban Reconstruction and Autorcratic Regimes (Calvalcanti) ;
24: www.theguardian.com/world/201... ; www.researchgate.net/figure/L...

[@typicallatenightgamer7122]

My grandfather was "called" away 300km to Bucharest to "work" at building this monstrosity, the conditions were deadly, pay was nonexistent, he escaped eartly after breaking his leg, but his leg never recoverd, he went the rest of his life without ever getting compensated, with a limping leg, and unable to work, my grandmother also quit her job due to the harassment she recieved without the protection of her husband, this caused my mother, aunt and uncle to have to stop their education to sustain the family, but my father didn't allow my mother to stop, instead he quit school, worked so hard to pay for her university expenses, he crossed the border illegally in 1995 to go work in Greece, only came back when I was born, only to leave country again, I have never had much of a father becouse of this, yet I still respect him. My mother finished medical school thanks to him, but my grantparents barely had enough money to help all 3 of their kids start families, so my aunt moved out to her husbands's parents house, my uncle never moved out, and my family moved out in one of the worst neighborhoods of Bucharest (Ferentari). Crazy how one building job can fuck over an entire family.

[@atigamerofficial]

sounds painful

[@robertotenreiro]

from the looks of it, it was hundreds of families...

[@derrickmcadoo3804]

Young, anti-gov US citizens: Communism is the way. Young, anti-gov US citizens: HOLY FUCK! MAN DOWN! CALL THE POLICE!

[@Helperbot-2000]

@@derrickmcadoo3804 why the fuck would you use the us of all places as an example, the us has horrible working conditions, at least use a country that provides some basic human needs as an example

[@obamagaming3802]

​@@derrickmcadoo3804communism is when absolute monarchy

[@PavelIsrail]

Romanian here: We still haven't recovered from Ceausescu's damage, especially psychological

[@bbcversus]

Yep, the wounds are deep and are around us every day even though we are trying to heal with each passing day.

[@allium2718]

At least you guys turned Ceausescu into a good communist in 1989.

[@paolagrando5079]

It will take time and effort, but don't give up. Much love from an Italian

[@ghiorghetatarescu3649]

I kid you not, ceausescu is hated by the romanian alt right, but they want to bring back his abortion ban and austerity policies.

[@yamataichul]

*psychologically My biggest issue with this monumental horror was when I was 14 and tried to go at the contemporary museum and back then I wasn't allowed to go in any other entrance but one and I accidentally made the whole walking around the wall. My legs recovered after 48 h😢😂

[@Mogswamp]

Couldn't even remember what happened in the video because the graphic of all the weeks in your life filled me with such existential dread

[@sovietpowersupereme6231]

Ikr

[@noobys1king]

fr

[@Electronicmadness123]

What’s up

[@JJONNYREPP]

The Most Evil Building in Europe. 24.1.24. the building looks oriental. I was searching for occult architecture in Europe.... are there any.? how much influence did north Korea have in Romania?

[@MihaiRoman.]

What are you doing here ?

[@Milestonemonger]

Been there. You have to book ahead to enter, and have to leave your passport at the security checkpoint. The tour guide showed us around the "People's Palace". It was ridiculously HUGE. Several empty, carpeted ballrooms with huge chrystal chandeliers that were half lit. We stood on the balcony and took some great photos. It was eerie to be there because the palace was built and paid for by the people who suffered under the worst communist regime.

[@MaxRavenclaw]

A misnomer. Prior to the revolution it was called Casa Poporului (The People's HOUSE) or Casa Republicii (The Republic's HOUSE). After it's been renamed to what the video calls it, Palatul Parlamentului (The Parliament's Palace).

[@StumpfForFreedom]

"Worst communist regime" is a fiercely contested title, but Romania has a strong case for it.

[@MaxRavenclaw]

@@StumpfForFreedom As a Romanian that very strongly agrees with the lyrics "Mai bine mort decat comunist" I can still tell you that's not the case. NK is definitely the worst, and in terms of oppression I'd say Stalinism and Maoism caused more suffering than Ceausescu at his worst. Maybe the early repressions days, post-WW2 compared, but otherwise I'd say we didn't suffer as much as the above.

[@Itashino2]

Cambodia during the Pol Pot era was the worst of the commie countries, the country lost around 20-25% of its population in only a few years, if Pol Pot had ruled for as long as the other communist dictators had, Cambodia would probably have disappeared completely.

[@emilywallis8750]

That’s a lie You don’t need to leave any documents at the entrance!

[@roalex6535]

As a Romanian I can say that. This building is the perfect symbol of the human ego. The neighborhood that stood once there, was full of valuable architecture buildings. Almost all the “Uranus” neighborhood was destroyed. A big part of the history of the city, was completely destroyed because of a stupid idea.

[@antaresvega2037]

Asa si? Restul Bucurestiului cum ramane? Ai o gramada de strazi, bulevarde de pe vremea interbelica si totusi arata ca un cacat tot orasul. Crezi ca demolarea unui cartier a facut din Bucuresti un rahat? Cum arata Calea Victoriei? bulevardul Magheru, Regina Elisabeta etc? Cu sau fara cartierul Uranus, Bucurestiul putea sa supravietuiasca si sa arate bine daca noi am fi un popor educat si cu bun simt. Asa ca mai terminati cu scuzele astea penibile

[@Veldtian1]

I bet it was to get rid of a lot of Tarartian architecture.

[@Randomromaniandude]

im also romanian and honestly i dont care much for historic background of the neighborhood, getting rid of a neighborhood and relocating its people to another place while building the worlds biggest parliament building and the second biggest administrative building which will make your country unique in the world is worth it. even if he wanted the palace just for him self, its still a large and wonderful building which makes us unique

[@Randomromaniandude]

and i see his reign as one of rapid industrialization and a stalinistic rule but without that much brutality.

[@alexc7367]

@@Randomromaniandude I don't quite agree, the buildings and architecture of a nation are part of their identity and represent their history. The more of it and the older it is, the stronger that identity is, giving the population a stronger bond, national pride and a sense of national duty towards their fellow citizens, which improves quality of life. Demolishing architecture from hundreds of years ago, erases the everyday reminder of your history and ties with your community, only to replace it with the reminder of a recent time of oppression, selfishness and suffering. Large monuments are good sometimes but you need to consider they will be a big part of national identity. When i see the people's palace, all I can remember is a dictator, hungry poor people and the ones that died to build it. He wasn't as bad as others but he was bad, if you grow up with stories of your mother waiting without shoes in line for bread,, money in hand but there's no bread to buy, then you understand.

[@e1123581321345589144]

fun fact: the building has so many lightbulbs that it's modern-day administrators can't afford to turn all of the on at once. Besides the parliament, it also houses a museum to its own construction. Worth visiting if you ever find yourself in Bucharest. Parts of it can also be rented for events; they do this to help with the upkeep of the building.

[@Darkest_matter]

Not even if they replace em all with LED lightbulbs? It's Romania, not Uganda

[@e1123581321345589144]

@@Darkest_matter those lights consume as much power as a small city, when I visited there the guide said the electricity bill can go up to several million euros per years

[@Anonymous-df8it]

@@e1123581321345589144 How much would it cost if they were all turned on simultaneously?

[@agalie7139]

@@Darkest_matter Some of them were replaced with LED but not the majority, the old light-bulbs were made specifically to last decades of utilization because the biggest chandelier has 7000 light-bulbs and so complex and heavy ( almost 5 tones) that will require scaffolding and special teams of technicians. There are 2800 chandeliers in total but all the lights of the building are requiring a total of 120000 light-bulbs.

[@agalie7139]

@@Anonymous-df8it there are 120000 light-bulbs with a consumption between 100-2000 W/h. Evidently that most of the lights are never used and the others are only used 2-3 hours a day. If all is on and 24/24 the consumption can reach 70 000 kWh in one hour , 50 million kWh in a month . And only half of the building is finished and used.

[@nanorider426]

I toured Romania over 20 years ago. When I came to Bucharest I stood before the building and looked upon it in awe. It's massive!

[@BillAnt]

You are staring at that monstrosity built by an evil dictator and ego-maniac Ceausescu (pronounced easier as Chau-chess-cue). By the mid 80's life has become unbearable due to his economic conditions, it was a sad part of a beautiful country's history. It's much better nowadays as a member of the EU with economic freedoms.

[@patrickadi6155]

the real question is Fact or Cap?

[@ericluriergo8251]

@nanorider 436 I have fantasized about walking through this HUGE HOUSE ALL NIGHT-I don’t believe in ghosts or their existence but this “place is

[@Galilupottepeak]

​@@patrickadi6155yes, it's gigantic

[@MaramuresMapping]

@@patrickadi6155I am from Romania,it really is massive

[@bztube888]

"Sentence to death in a brief military show trial" - It was not brief compared to other trials, it was literally brief - something. Basically, they shot him like a dog but nobody blamed them. Demolishing that neighbourhood was probably the least evil thing he did, he really was a piece of work, his family too.

[@dakshsingh810]

He was sentenced to death by his own comrades so that they could escape and lay all the blame on him which they did infact

[@CaptainBardiel]

"The Court finds you both guilty, and sentence you two to be shot."

[@sygmarvexarion7891]

His henchmen had to be delivered a message. Had he not been executed, there was the possibility that his henchmen would continue fighting, possibly try to spring him out of jail, not to mention form a subversive underground group. Romania knew that they had to cut off the head of the snake as quickly as possible. Of course the trial was a sham, but also of course Ceaushescu was guilty, he DID give the order shoot the protesters, there is no doubt about that, so the trial would have been a formality anyway.

[@KingJohnMichael]

​@@dakshsingh810and your point is?

[@dakshsingh810]

@@KingJohnMichael He shouldn't have been the only one to have been punished

[@fabian7977]

I am romanian. The video, information and the graphics are excellent. But how you pronounce the name of the building and other names was funny for me.

[@hoogyoutube]

I know, I know, don't tell anyone ;)

[@QuantumAImagination]

​@@hoogyoutube romanian here as well big fun of your videos

[@Kamome163]

Beautiful ❤️

[@johnmanole4779]

@@hoogyoutube what is you next video going to be about? A hint if you can't share that info?

[@christopher9727]

Jesus Christ is the only hope in this world no other gods will lead you to heaven There is no security or hope with out Jesus Christ in this world come and repent of all sins today Today is the day of salvation come to the loving savior Today repent and do not go to hell Come to Jesus Christ today Jesus Christ is only way to heaven Repent and follow him today seek his heart Jesus Christ can fill the emptiness he can fill the void Heaven and hell is real cone to the loving savior today Today is the day of salvation tomorrow might be to late come to the loving savior today Holy Spirit Can give you peace guidance and purpose and the Lord will John 3:16-21 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Mark 1.15 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Hebrews 11:6 6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Jesus

[@GojiMet86]

Ceaușescu: "Let's densify all the little villages and make them little cities!" Also Ceaușescu: Tears down half of Bucharest for inefficient, empty, and non-livable Government buildings.

[@Novusod]

Urbanist channels on KZbin: "Let's densify all the little villages and make them little cities!"

[@OPOS-el7tj]

​@@deez69nutshuge? Why do you believe he's wrong?

[@Noam-Bahar]

@@Novusod The auto makers' lobby: "Let's destroy black neighborhoods and replace them with highways to white neighborhoods!"

[@deez69nutshuge]

@@OPOS-el7tj wdym

[@deez69nutshuge]

@@OPOS-el7tj oh i answered the wrong comment lmfao

[@alexernst9448]

Churches on rails. It always amazes me the kinds of engineering solutions people can come up with to save historical sites, even if the solution usually comes down to, "Why don't we take just Bikini Bottom, and push it somewhere else?", with extra steps.

[@TaLeng2023]

As impressive as when Chicago had to basically lift up the entire city to elevate it high enough to put a sewer system underneath.

[@donsolos]

​@@TaLeng2023170 years ago as well. Crazy!!

[@TaLeng2023]

@@donsolos I saw photos in one vid and I was like "Wait wut?! 🤯" There are even photos of people inside the building's being lifted.

[@TaLeng2023]

@@donsolos I saw photos in one vid and I was like "Wait wut?! 🤯" There are even photos of people inside the building's being lifted.

[@donsolos]

@@TaLeng2023 business continued as normal even if they were in the process of moving a building somewhere else

[@myrmeko]

Another one of these destructive projects was "Lacul Morii" (translated as "The Windmill's Lake"). A whole neighbourhood was deleted to create a lake. One of my friends actually lived there. He likes to joke almost each time he passes by the lake, pointing to the little island at the center of the lake and saying that's where his first home was. Today the lake and the park associated with it has a polarizing look. On one side, the park itself surrounding the lake is very modern, sporting that simplistic modern architecture, but at the same time, the further you go along the edge of the lake, you start seeing run down buildings, extremely impoverished areas, and after walking the whole 2km of the running track that goes along the edge of the lake, it suddenly stops. The park turns into a broken asphalt road along the edge of the lake, remainings of the old park that was there. Or you could take a left right at the end and take a walk on the central island. It's just an abbandoned open-air theater. People usually play with their dogs there. It nothing special, really. Very quiet though. Unusually quiet. Your ears pop when you get on the island. It's just surrounded by literally nothing. Could be an interesting topic for a video. Unfortunately, there aren't that many photos of the old Crângași neighbourhood.

[@ishaandas8676]

This reminded me of the Tintin comic/movie called Tintin and the Lake of Sharks. In the comic, the Syladvians (fictional country) submerged an entire village to create an artificial lake. Likewise, nothing really came of it, and the entire lake and the area surrounding it is claimed to be cursed.

[@the_patriot7]

in what country is this lake ???

[@myrmeko]

@@the_patriot7 Same as in the video, Romania

[@the_patriot7]

@@myrmeko so you need to write astronaut !!!

[@shaggyrogers9028]

I'm currently a student and I live in the Belvedere Complex, it's very close to me, I might visit it today to see what you mean!

[@andreispurim]

The animation is getting more amazing by the day. Congrats

[@Kotius_]

apart from that there's also the texturing/modeling that got nailed at

[@cgt3704]

I visited this palace multiple times as part of a college activity. I met with a female deputee whose uncle was a builder of the palace and she even gave us a tour. Every room we visited it had an atmosphere of extravagence that would make Bezos shed a tear upon entering (and also it was easy for you to get lost in the maze of rooms and staircases) But a thing to note is that as of now, it is estimated only 30% of the building is in use. The rest are empty and unlikely to be used anytime soon. Edit: Guys chill out i was just trying to say an interesting historical fact not get into political stuff.

[@yamataichul]

As someone from Bucharest, I hate this building. Is pretty ugly if you take a moment to consider the mix of elements that makes this building "enormous". Like, there's no architectural and decorative narrative, is all "add things to make it better", like springles on a cupcake. All it tastes is the sugar, no flavorings and nutritional value. This building is also believed to sink in another earthquake on how heavy it is. The hill might be good but not that good

[@SebastianStephanStan]

​@@yamataichuli personally like the way it looks, and what are your sources for the "sinking" claim?

[@yamataichul]

@@SebastianStephanStan look it up for yourself. I've been aware from physical material thought the years. There was on multiple newspaper and magazines, Historia, adevărul, jurnalul național. Is odd you don't know because is common knowledge

[@ghiorghetatarescu3649]

well, at least the church tries to do the same shit now, learned from ceau

[@gordogunso]

Yeah an egotistical turd like Elon would be jealous enough for wanting human suffering to build his own needs.

[@GianlucaTruda]

Man, your videos are simply beautiful! I’ve visited Bucharest and stumbled across the palace unintentionally - it’s overwhelmingly large and unlike anything I’ve seen before. Had no idea the depth of history and human suffering behind it at the time, but your video has really added so much colour to that memory. Keep crushing it!

[@oganvildevil]

Video essays are getting kinda sketchy here lately, so clicking on this and immediately seeing the top dozen comments saying "as a Romanian" and then y'all's thoughts, made me pay a lot more attention. So as a now slightly less ignorant redneck, thank you for making this and thank y'all for sharing your perspectives. Genuinely.

[@cgivelechian]

This is insane timing, I am visiting my family in Romania right now and they live close to the Parliament House. My cousin is an architect student who gave me the rundown of how the lead architect never had formal training. We walked all around the house and Boulevard and she showed me a few churches that were moved on rails. Really cool seeing this in person.

[@josephleonard6695]

no formal training? no wonder the building is such an ugly monstrosity

[@StefanConstantinDumitrache]

Apartment blocks were also moved like that, while people were still inside, watching from balconies.

[@denysvlasenko1865]

@@josephleonard6695 Does not look ugly to me. Any brutalist ... "building" ... is worse.

[@thetwotimesone]

​@@josephleonard6695FYI romanians dont consider it a monstrosity

[@anlasma7942]

It's very interesting how we see vanity projects overtime. Pyramids, the epitomes of vanity, is still regarded as one of the greatest man made wonders while its unknown how much pain it caused to its people

[@sirius851]

weren't they built by paid workers?

[@PALACIO254]

​@@sirius851yes at the same time the amount of work in the scorching desert probably wasn't good also the great wall of China has dudes buried in it from overwork

[@devdr8983]

yeah I read pyramids were build by slaves. Narrator of this video hates communism so much that I bet he regurarly goes to church or synagogue🤣

[@szinpad_kezedet]

@@devdr8983 The pyramids were built by well-paid, well-trained workers. They even had a village near the pyramids built just so that the workers could live there, this village had better conditions than most of Cairo.

[@devdr8983]

@@szinpad_kezedet source

[@concept5631]

The more I learn about Ceausescu, the more I think being shot on TV was being too lite on the guy.

[@GJaideep]

Your animation style is spectacular. I had limited interest in this topic but watched it all because of the animation style! Love it.

[@bbcversus]

As a Romanian, thank you for this, a really well done and informative video! Love it!

[@mesterul0manole]

Chiar esti fericit ca altii isi bat joc de noi?

[@bbcversus]

@@mesterul0manole eu zic sa incerci sa nu mai iei asa totul prea serios :) toata lumea isi bate joc de toata lumea, e ok. Noi sa fim sanatosi.

[@rhythmic2560]

@@mesterul0manole tu măcar ai urmărit materialul sau doar te faci? Critica constructvă față de arhitecturistica unui regim eșuat și un dictator supraidealist = bătaie de joc asupra românilor mai nou .

[@balazsbuki2345]

I heard from relatives that the relocation program was part of a "peaceful ethnic cleansing", introducing ethnic Romanians to Hungarian-majority regions to erode ethnic identity, how accurate is this assessment in your opinion? I'm genuinely curious, because I rarely heard a Romanian's perspective on this.

[@bbcversus]

@@balazsbuki2345 That is bullshit mate, is the first time I hear about that. Not true at all.

[@BitMilkshake]

All the cruelty aside, at least it’s not as brutalist and ugly as it could easily have been… being a fan of arcitecture, Ceausescu didn’t built what could have been a giant eyesore but a rather pleasant although gigantimaniac palace

[@offensivearch]

Yes it has a certain narcissistic superficial magnificence. The amount of suffering, theivery, and waste involved in building the thing makes it ugly in my eyes. At least the feudal lords that built beautiful things weren't hypocrites. For a "communist" to build such a hideous symbol of narcissism is especially disgusting, but I guess that is how communist dictators are.

[@daolamue1462]

be a fan all u want but dont act like you know estetic theory

[@collar1967]

​@@daolamue1462pretentious nonsense there I summarized it.

[@ghiorghetatarescu3649]

well, all in vain, the church build a giant shit ass overpriced cathedral next to it

[@DeadEndFrog]

Atleast brutalism would reflect the brutality, but he went for the european route of hiding behind asthetics

[@heavywater6350]

Goddamn. The production quality, music choice, simplicity, even the sponsors you get and how you present them. Also how you cover things I've never even heard of. I love this channel.

[@DAKESIS17]

glouriously done! great job on the video! a considerable size of the working force in the whole country contributed to this building. My mom's factory worked on the windows. I did a photo project on it.

[@yamataichul]

My preteen self made a whole walk around the wall of the parlament palace simply because at the time the public wasn't allowed to get in any other entrance but one. All I needed was to visit the contemporary art museum...

[@baronvonjerch]

I recently visted Romania and I gotta say that the Palace is one of if not the most impressive, imposing and awe-inspiring structures I have ever witnessed. Ceausescu was a terrible man, no argument about it, and I fully understand those who see the Palace as a symbol of communist oppression. But I see it as a symbol of the greatness the Romanian people are capable of.

[@nerfstorm2863]

Not greatness, mostly just trying to prove that we are better than the french (in the worst way possible) ~romanian

[@baronvonjerch]

@@nerfstorm2863 As a German (with Romanian heritage 😁), I have nothing but respect for that 👊

[@rca4788]

Too bad you haven't visited the interior, its absolutely breathtaking. By far the most beautiful building I ve ever seen

[@MelkisgoedvoorJan]

⁠​⁠@@nerfstorm2863Wait Romanians also hate the French?

[@kingace6186]

When I see buildings like this across the world, I don't praise the one who ordered the structure to be built. I praise those (often slaves/forced laborers) that built them. And depending on the intent with which the architect made their designs, the architect, too.

[@Palamiro]

A beautifully and informative video. I'm happy to have found the channel. Keep it up!

[@noodengr3three825]

Thank you for the background info. I toured the building in September 2019. An amazing place. I will be back in Bucharest this September and will check out the street plans with new enlightenment. Thanks again

[@solarianick1495]

I'm of Romanian ethnicity, and I have been to Bucharest, Romania, countless times, indeed even after over thirty years since the fall of 1989, It still carries a psychological scar on many that have lived through communism, especially the younger generations like myself influenced by their parents that lived through Ceausescu's regime regardless of where they reside. It makes you wonder how Europe and Western first-world nations will turn out in the next decade or two politically and economically. We'll only know once we get there.

[@_o..o_1871]

We won’t get to live that day if climate change ruins our societies because of some greedy corporations who own the world.

[@ghiorghetatarescu3649]

ceausescu was shit bc of his policies of austerity and abortion ban and over authoritarian use of police and then conservatives will adopt every policy while claiming to be 'anti communist'

[@juusto7171]

@@ghiorghetatarescu3649 are these "conservatives" in the room with us right now?

[@ghiorghetatarescu3649]

@@juusto7171 no, they are in parlament and are called AUR

[@juusto7171]

@@ghiorghetatarescu3649 then why did you bring them up when his comment isn't related to them at all?

[@predunatudorgabriel6541]

I see Romania, I like and comment. Also, the fact that a Dutch person is interested in Romania gives me hope🤧. Thanks man, can't wait to butcher Dutch names when I visit my friends in the Netherlands❤❤

[@j.harbers]

🇷🇴❤️🇳🇱

[@RaduRadonys]

He's interested in whatever makes a good video in order to grow his channel and make money.

[@Orozco_PNW]

The 3D animation style is exquisite! Great content as well. Subscribed.

[@jodofe4879]

Came here to look at the crazy palace. Left with a severe case of existential dread because of that week graph in your sponsorship ad. Thanks for that.

[@lazarm.6868]

This guy makes such quality videos that I even watch the sponsorship and am amazed.

[@marcpatzelt2430]

I've discovered your channel when you posted the video about the pluskrul and since, I've watched all your videos. I'm so happy this video dropped today, right when I finished watching all of your videos.

[@shoaibhussain]

This is the only time I've watch a sponsorship video because it was done is such an epic way!

[@valentindegen]

Many thanks for shedding light on this. Did not know about it! & impressive edit

[@yhubtfufvcfyfc]

I was there as a tourist in 2019! It was such a strange place and (at least at the time) scarily empty. My romanian friend described it as a scar on the entire country and said she and most of her friends avoided the place. While Romania is a great country that has come a long way since Ceausescu his impact is still very visible. The most surreal thing I saw there was a concrete plant that was constructed under his leadership that apparently required more concrete to build than it ever produced.

[@PitestiNation]

The square is scarily empty pretty much every time. The only time we, romanians, go to that building is when we want to have car meets in Constituiei Square.

[@AndreiFierbinteanu]

@@PitestiNation The building is pretty empty too, because not all of the rooms were finished, and the Parliament uses a lot less than the number that was actually built. The sqare is also used for shows or Christmas markets and the like, but yeah, usually it's a mostly empty parking lot

[@RM-ih6fk]

Your friend is weak if a building impacts them?? I’m Romanian, what impacts me and makes me depressive is seeing Romanian resources being abused by corporations from other countries, which STEAL our resources, and use corruption in the government to make it legal. Drugs are now prevalent, violence is increasing, brain drains will destroy Romania, yet Romanians seem to be obsessed with the idea that this is still because of communism? Idk what mental gymnastics they make to get to this, absolute ridiculous claims. As a Romanian, what harms me is seeing our thermal power stations, our mines, our resources closed down or stolen, while Germany builds however many they want, we are now Europe’s whipping boy, and Romania will be ravaged from now on, exactly what the west wanted.

[@satyamstark1124]

Being a master's student who had to make a paper I appreciate the value of putting refrences.

[@balauceaalex8991]

Amazing and accurate video, the fact that you even mentioned engineer Iordachescu and his work convinced me to subscribe instantly!

[@oceanexplorers1441]

Very good graphics and storytelling, I encourage you to make more videos about the history of Romania. You will discover interesting things. Good luck!

[@kiwiguy4706]

The carpets were so huge in some of the rooms that they had to move the carpet factory into the room

[@nightshark1156]

I love seeing people from countries that are the topic of a video chime in and give their "seal of approval", shows that the video does indeed do its subject matter justice. Keep up the great work!

[@stuarthamilton5112]

So happy to hear you pronouncing his name properly. I visited Romania in around 2017, and fell in love with the people.

[@liuchialung4769]

dude I just wanna say.... such a good job on your design and render. looks awesome

[@alexpaul7365]

Your video is amazing, and the graphics are on another level. Thank you, subscribed!

[@Cherb123456]

I cannot get over the visual high-fidelity production value and gorgeous graphical design, amazing to watch! Thank you very much!

[@b0b0saurus69]

as a romanian, im astonished by the level of production of this video and information 🙏🏻

[@nmbr73]

Wow! Visually, this video is just an absolutely stunning piece of work!

[@IanDresarie]

As a city-building gamer, I actually really like the design! Shame it couldn't have been done in a more reasonable way with less waster and pain. :/

[@Shatterfury1871]

At most 30% of the building is in use, talk about efficiency.

[@Randomromaniandude]

@@Shatterfury1871 its not even finished + 30% is used today and i dont really understand why but yeah

[@pi0neer758]

ou really had to mention "as a city-building gamer" lol

[@melhupby]

@@pi0neer758 Guarantee he tipped his fedora before typing.

[@IanDresarie]

@@melhupby M'Dude

[@Diptera_Larvae]

This channel is still criminally underrated for its quality of work!

[@eferixdrawings]

I went there, and it was really impressive. We may have walked in the palace for 2 hours, and done 10 kilometres, we had just done 7% of the building.

[@kili_ghillie]

This video looks so beautiful. I love the use of textures and light.

[@flagflow1232]

It's interesting how the long, tall buildings that are built around the boulevard are purposefully designed to cover and hide the old ruined houses and slums behind them.

[@teddy98100]

Those are not slums, just not with the same architecture.

[@iSeeSoundsShow]

​@@teddy98100you didn't walk through those streets enough. Lot of crackheads all around there 😂😂😂

[@cristinabutasimon9159]

@@iSeeSoundsShow by this logic down town San Francisco is the biggest slum

[@mojewjewjew4420]

@@cristinabutasimon9159 San Francisco IS one giant slum.

[@Lvl22Cowboy]

​@@cristinabutasimon9159it is!!!

[@catalindeluxus8545]

I learned quite a bunch today, as a Romanian living abroad. Thank you!

[@alberttrita5858]

I occasionally end up in the Press' Palace, it's surprising how eerie and empty it is. Several decrepit rooms filled with birdshit, dust and miscellaneous junk, then you have a photo studio or something, and more empty space right after... The lights aren't always on, the building is cold, and it echoes like hell. It's strange to see such a big building become so empty.

[@HauntedXXXPancake]

I bet having space according to actual needs was at no point part of the plan, but in an absolute autocracy, it does take a lot of people to manage everything.

[@inko_lor]

wow the animation with the cropped flag is very spot on, impressive research work

[@IMPERIALYT]

Yet another banger

[@MundoSportiva]

Impressive video.. the research, the animations, the narration and attention to detail. Important information conveyed in a very simple manner. Hoog you are fantastic.. keep up the good work

[@michaljanovsky8966]

this is an amazingly animated and informative vid but I was completely unprepared for the existential crisis in the end XD

[@petrholusa5855]

As a 3d motion designer I very appreciate the whole 3d animation. Nicely executed.

[@brojogan]

Amazing editing yet again Hoog, your never stop to amaze me with the quality of your content. I've visited Bucharest recently and can confirm the magnitude of the parliament is truly insane, learned a lot today about it's history!

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

I vaguely remember that earthquake that was in 1977, and no matter that my country has no border with Romania it was felt in my country... Now I have only a fragment of memory, I was 5 years old, and me, my sister, and my parents were at a celebration on the fifth floor of a building in an apartment. When we felt shaking my mother grabbed me and my smaller sister and with fast running went down, my father, no matter that he was not carrying under his armpits two children wasn't able to reach her speed, I have just that fragment of memory how she is carrying me down to the exit.

[@sakura613]

Do you mind sharing what country you could feel the earthquake from?

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

@@sakura613 In those days it was part of Yugoslavia, Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

@@sakura613 And when I said that my country has no border with Romania, I meant Macedonia has no border with Romania, the distance between Bucharest and Skope is 632 kilometers, and yet the shaking felt strong even in Skopje.

[@joachimmikalsen1676]

Nice seamless transition from the content to the advertisement in the end.

[@samyfay7786]

Not many documentaries can boats the gift of sight to be such an eye candy. The animations, yet simple, are drop dead gorgeous. Beautiful work.

[@MarkRobbo96]

Great animations, you will quickly get a ton of growth on KZbin with this level of production quality

[@kuel1905]

you never miss and that's why you're underrated

[@Knifesake]

Fascinating video. Very well presented.

[@dopo8333]

Romanian here, from Bucharest: Ceausescu did a lot of bad things, but cleaning up Bucharest was not one of them. The closest comparison is that with what happened in Paris under Baron Haussmann (creating large streets, public transportation, public heating infrastructure, public water infrastructure, a.s.o.). And the style is not that bad. BTW, my assumption would be that as much teardown happened in NY city during the same period, with beautiful buildings (like the Penn station) tore down. The fact that it was done for money (and with better propaganda) instead of central planning does not reduce the upheaval.

[@KasumiRINA]

Two wrongs don't make a right and historical city centers being butchered to make something silly is still bad. in NY, London, Paris or Bucharest.

[@jjlkjl1]

Very well researched video, others tend to gloss over some facts or present actual misinformation, but it is clear that you know what you are talking about. What Ceausescu did in Romania, and especially in Bucharest, with his systematization plan, is a tragedy. Countless architectural and historical objects are lost forever. To those interested, I recommend Andrei Pandele's photo album, "Bucurestiul mutilat", which documents what was lost in Bucharest due to Romania's authoritarian regime.

[@neptun6761]

You meant the headquarters of the European Central Bank

[@TheRollerstoner]

love ur videos man!!

[@Gabriel2.0]

you should make a vid about the monster cathedral that's being built next to it

[@euklid2229]

The animation is of amazing quality. Did you do it yourself? Also I'm very thankful for the sponsorship you chose, because I'm in a bit of a crossroads in my life.

[@estefaniall]

This was so informative, and the 3D models and animation are gorgeous! May I ask what softwares/programs did you use?

[@Crazymanbos]

Oh damn, this video has much more feelings then I was expecting. Very nice video to watch.

[@BlueyChandler]

Great video, lovely graphics and use of cartology. Excellent historical references.

[@krock0178]

How do you make your relief maps? They are beautiful!

[@Thijs.]

I did not knew there where so much earthquakes in Romania

[@redhidinghood9337]

Same. But I guess that's the reason behind the carpathian mountain range. Usually where there's mountains there's earthquakes too

[@justanape9149]

There aren’t many big ones. Unlike other seismically active areas we have alot of barely noticeable earthquakes all the time but rarely serious ones. That’s why the 1977 earthquake was such a big thing.

[@sygmarvexarion7891]

The 1977 earthquake was the strongest in recorded history. Although we get earthquakes now and then, they're never a cause for concern, as they're of low to medium intensity, most of them are barely felt.

[@darius_alex2043]

That was one of the only big ones that hit the country. The previous one was in 1940 if I recall correctly.

[@milan99cz]

Damn, this video editing is amazing

[@TeamSkeptic]

I've been to this place. It is so much larger than you can imagine. I was walking thru this park off to the right side(if you are looking at the front) and I saw the Palace about 1.5 km away. It was massive. On another note, Romania, especially Bucharest, is beautiful and so are the people!

[@catalinpetrescu8488]

Ceaușescu literally destroyed the entire organically developed area in downtown Bucharest in order to raise this monstrosity. Three entire neighborhoods were destroyed. THREE! That means thousands and thousands of buildings, home to lots of families and communities. Many lives got destroyed, and some people even got heart attacks seeing their houses demolished, often with little to no previous notice. People say that sometimes Ceaușescu would simply go around in his car and point his hand in various directions. Then the architects would have to guess where to go. Beyond people's houses, there were churches that got destroyed (not all could be relocated), state institutions such as the forensic medicine institute Mina Minovici had to be relocated to other buildings, an old hospital was demolished, an entire stadium was simply buried under the big building. Even the landscape was modified, in some places, to be more flat. If you wanted to rebuild some of the houses in their former location nowadays, you would have to build them way above ground. Naturally, people were angry about this, but the repressive apparatus of the state was just too strong for them to do anything meaningful to oppose the plans. Back then, all cameras were on film, not digital like today. Once you would finish the film, you would either go to a "development center" to have your pictures, or develop them (i.e. print them on dedicated paper) in your home. As such, any person that would get their films to a development center would have their films destroyed and him/her possibly arrested. Only people that would both manage to take pictures undercover and develop the films by themselves (a riskier and more painstakingly process, as you would have to use various chemical substances and handle everything with care in order not to destroy the pics) were able to document the actual destruction. The entire thing was just an urban murder for the wet dream of a dictator.

[@devdr8983]

yeah like there are not destroyed precious bulidings because of wealthy ignorants. This year in Prague some goodlooking novogotic building was destroyed because some developer company wanted there another gray concrete skyscraper. Whats the difference if Ceausescu dictates to destroy buildings to build new ones and some weathy ignorant bribe officials and demolish bulidings to bulid new ones? That you dont like communism or Ceausescu? At least Palace of parliament is unique building

[@devdr8983]

@@ino2690 average 2 floors yellow good looking neo-gothic historic building

[@eddy4505]

Loved the video and thank you very much, for covering our country! 🤗 The building is straight up majestic and i personally, as a romanian, dont see it as a symbol of communism and as a engineering marvel. Its interior its breath taking, sadly now it is full of our politicians. During its construction there were protests, about demolishing historical buildings so they were moved on Rails, what was also a big thing for our country at that time. Ceaușescu was a bad guy and a megalomaniac, but the ones after were not better also, almost all ex-communist political party members, so you will find people in our country, who will actually defend Ceaușescu regime because of our slow after communism economical developments. Behind the Palace of Parliament you can see another future huge building, the People Salvation Cathedral. That one will also be a world record braker with it being the lărgeșt eastern orthodox church, second tallest closed dome, largest mosaic collection, tallest and longest orthodox nave, lărgeșt Bell, largeșt iconostasis and like the Palace of Parliament is also build în the time we needed other things. If the Palace of Parliament was a race to show we have bigger buildings then our brothers the french, now we have a race with the russians for the biggest church. At least it shows that the romanians are great engineers, we just need to work on the timing. 😁

[@RobinTheBot]

Perhaps chasing those titles while problems persist, and revering the works of these people is part of the problem. Patriotism is about not feeling the need to prove you're great. I hope love day it is torn down for the simple reason that it's not a marvel - any nation could have made this and indeed many palaces of similar size exist already... But it steals from your people land, efficiency, potential, and all the true engineering you can do with all that empty dead space.

[@KasumiRINA]

@@RobinTheBot oh, this... most of these mega-building projects are done in poor countries at expense of people, see the absolutely insane things Arab Sheikhs are doing with basically slave labor of undocumented migrant workers, I can never look at Burj Khalifa and think "oh this is impressive" when I know how it's a vanity bull project. I mean, if Germany, or Sweden, or Japan wanted, they could have easily did something bigger they just have other more important expenses. And those countries are rich and relatively nice to live in.

[@catmatism]

I am a Singaporean and went to Romania once. Very educational video

[@Ibiso]

Very good description and video.

[@LuDux]

Q: What's the tallest building in Soviet Union? A: Lubyanka, you can see Siberia from its basement

[@jonathanbowers8964]

It doesn't look much worse than many US state capitals that have a government center surrounded by a sea of parking lots. Specifically look at Springfield Illinois or OKC's government center.

[@KasumiRINA]

Yeah that's a problem with USA cosplaying as communist dictatorship sometimes... Horseshoes!

[@earthman6700]

It would have been wonderful to have seen Bucharest before the demolition. However the boulevard, with its beautiful fountains and the Parliament building are very nice to see.

[@coffic]

As a French person used to excesses of bureaucracy what shocks me most isn't the project, it's everything in its realization. Starting with locating it in the middle of the city, where people already lived.

[@HauntedXXXPancake]

I guess communist "Leaders" had to at least pretend to be close to the People, so they couldn't build their absolutely obscene Palaces outside the Capitol.

[@Killinemkid]

It's beautiful and the resources can be resold later. Much respect to Romania for designing it, building it and throwing out the dictator that ordered it.

[@andr386]

I think you'll regain Romanians trust an respect after this video. Well done.

[@desktorp]

what did he do to lose their trust??

[@OPOS-el7tj]

​@@desktorp😁

[@desktorp]

@@OPOS-el7tj it was an honest question.. I've only seen 2 of this guys videos so I am legitimately curious if he pissed off Romanians with a previous vid.

[@OPOS-el7tj]

​@@desktorpI know, and I don't understand what he means either. But it's funny nevertheless.

[@andr386]

@@desktorp Apparently Romanians didn't like his previous video on Romania. I liked it but after reading some comments and checking upon it, it was not his best video.

[@bordel6121]

Blown away by the quality of your work

[@johanvandermerwe7687]

I was not ready for the last segment, damn

[@Oliver_Saer]

Such a well-done video, brilliant job. I've always wondered how you and creators with a similar style make these videos. Do you just create the 3D assets in a software suite like Blender and then import them into Adobe AfterEffects or Davinci Resolve?

[@wickeddolphin1]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6OmZnybo8h8gaM

[@Huskie]

i think at least Auschwitz might have been slightly more evil

[@asscheeks3212]

Don't worry, after the next global war global Autocracies may have something to beat it.

[@markpearson8721]

I went on a guided tour of this building last summer. After about an hour and a half at the end of the tour the guide said we'd seen approximately 5% of it.

[@Miamcoline]

Amazing video and amazing amazing plug.

[@shiftx6520]

What software was used for 3D modeling? I saw Google Earth 3D objects in there (Warehouse) but there's also regular 3D models. Also, what's the render engine? I'm very curious because I'm an architecture student and it would help me a lot to know :)

[@Llorx]

In Google Earth, notable buildings have their own high detailed 3D models. IDK if they are community published or made by the Google team btw.

[@DragosDreamer1989]

My respects. As a romanian, I can confirm that you did your homework. Kudos.

[@yiman7370]

Apart from learning to pronounce the names properley 🤦🏻‍♂️he could have used google translate but hey, laziness I guess

[@altaccount648]

Normal people: "Cool looking building" KZbin documentary channels: "This building killed MILLIONS!"

[@jimihendrix991]

...putting politics aside for one minute, when you physically stand in front of this building it literally knocks the wind out of your lungs..... It is awe inspiring, leaving you totally speechless...