Primaverii Palace (House of Ceauşescu)

The Ceausescu Palace, also known as the Spring Palace, is a luxurious building where Romania’s former Communist leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, and his family, lived between 1965 and 1989. The Palace was built between 1964 and 1965, and it is surrounded by 14,830 square meters of land. The architecture designer of the palace was Aron Grimberg-Solari. He was the chief architect of Nicolae Ceausescu’s Palace, and the landscaping was done by Robert Wolf, who also designed the furniture of the Ceausescu Palace. Additional work was done to the Spring Palace between 1970 and 1971.

The high value of materials and techniques used and the depth of the ornamental materials created in a Neo-Classical/Neo-Late Renaissance style are meant to create a luxurious visual interior. The Ceausescu Palace is located on Primaverii Street (Spring Street), where most of the houses in this area were built at the beginning of the 1930s. Initially, Primaverii was a neighborhood inhabited only by officials, because the gas and electricity factory was very close. Following the Russian model as a close example, the Communists searched for a single neighborhood to build houses for the state officials, and they choose this place. Thus, in 1950, the construction of the villas located in the neighborhood began.

Shortly after the fall of the Communist Regime in Romania, the Spring Palace was invaded by various homeless people and thieves, but they didn’t steal much. Instead, they mostly damaged the place. They staying was cut short though, as several days after that, armed forces intervened and evacuated the premises. After the Romanian Revolution in 1989, the palace was renovated, photos from inside the Palace were shown on TV, and almost everything was made of gold, even the bathroom water taps. Thanks to the materials used, we can call the Spring Palace one of the most luxurious museums in Bucharest.

Thus, in popular culture, it got the name of The Golden Palace. Afterward, the Ceausescu Palace was mainly used as a VIP residence for official delegations and foreign presidents and prime ministers who visited Romania. Initially, the Government wanted to sell the palace because the maintenance was very expensive, but in 2016 it was decided that it would be more profitable to open it as a museum. Various conferences and symposia are also organized there.

https://rolandia.eu/en/blog/places/ceausescu-palace-the-home-of-the-former-romanian-dictator

Photo: Idobi