romanian parliament building: bucharest

the romanian parliament building in bucharest is the largest non-military building in the world. it was built in the 1980s by then-dictator nicolae ceausescu, after he had hundreds of local homes razed to make room for it in central bucharest. he was deposed just prior to its completion, so the first individual to address the crowds from its balcony was actually michael jackson in 1992, who reportedly began his address here on the wrong foot by stating “hello budapest…”

the building is also the most expensive building ever constructed, costing an estimated us$4 billion. it has over 1100 rooms, and during the 2 hour tour (which is excellent by the way), you only see <1% of them.