The Last Days of Camarad Ceausescu and Vlad the Impaler's Royal Court

The Palace of the Parliament is the seat of the Parliament of Romania. Located on Spirii Hill in central Bucharest, the Palace is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. It is also the most expensive administrative building and heaviest building. It measures 270 m by 240 m, 86 m high, and 92 m under the ground. It has 1,100 rooms and is 12 stories tall, with additional 8 underground levels including an enormous nuclear bunker. A colossal parliament building known for its ornate interior, it houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, three museums and an international conference center.

Our tour continues with Mogosoaia Palace located just a short ride from Bucharest. It was built between 1698-1702 by Constantin Brâncoveanu in what is called the Romanian Renaissance style or Brâncovenesc style. The palace bears the name of the widow of the Romanian boyar Mogoș, who owned the land it was built on. The princely residence was first mentioned at the end of the 16th century, its construction being finished at the beginning of the 18th century.

After 1714, when Constantin Brancoveanu was executed with his entire family in Constantinopole, all the family's wealth was confiscated by the Ottomans and the palace was converted into an inn. Rebought by Prince Stefan Cantacuzino, he returned it to Brâncoveanu's grandson Constantin, and remained with the family until the early nineteenth century.

This in the military unit where the last Communist President Nicolae Ceausescu along with his wife Elena Ceausescu were kept as prisoners, judged by a military court and finally executed. We will discuss about these final days and communism in Romania.

Finally you will go to Targoviste where you will visit the former royal residence where Vlad Tepes ruled. This is also the place where the battle from June 1462 took place between Vlad Tepes (Dracula) and Mehmed II the Sultan of the Otoman Empire. The battle ended with the defeat of the Ottoman army and in honor of his victory, Vlad Tepes built Chindia Tower which can be visited today.

Primaverii Palace is also known as the “Ceausescu Mansion” and it was the private residence of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu and of their children, Nicu, Zoia, and Valentin. It was built in the mid-1960s and enlarged between 1970 and 1972.