Myths and Urban Legends about the Palace of Parliament
Myths and urban legends
A popular story says that in 1984 Nicolae Ceaușescu buried a steel cylinder under the main staircase at the "13 September" entrance, containing technical data about the project and a message for future generations.
Another legend claims that the building was designed with an advanced anti-nuclear bunker and a network of escape tunnels, meant to protect the communist leadership in extreme situations.
Night staff have long told stories about ghosts wandering the corridors, breaking seals, whistling, or triggering security systems in the largest building in Europe.
Some stories say the carpet in the Union Hall was woven as a single piece and brought in through the ceiling, while others claim that an exterior wall had to be removed to install it.
There is also a legend that the ceiling of the Union Hall was meant to open so that a presidential helicopter could land inside.
Other rumors suggested that Ceaușescu wanted a metro line between the House of the People and the airport for emergency evacuation.
The Palace of Parliament remains, as Catherine Lalumière, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, once described it, "a palace of the megalomaniac, but also a masterpiece of the Romanian people."