What or where is Centru Civic

Asks mollyprixe

A. Centru Civic may be unknown to most travellers but it is in fact a district that houses the second largest building in the world - the Casa Poporului - or the Palace of Parliament (the Pentagon in the US is the largest). It can be found in Bucharest, Romania - and was built by its former demonic leader Nicolae Ceausescu.

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Centru Civic (or Civic Centre) was so expensive to build (and Casa Poporului in particular) that it nearly bankrupted Romania during its construction - the interior of the Casu Poporului is allegedly decorated with gold leaf throughout.

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Today Casa Poporului houses the national government, but Ceausescu originally built it as a monument to Communism based on models in North Korea and meant it as his administrative centre and seat of government. Work began on the site in the late 1970s after an earthquake in 1977 damaged a lot of the city; it was only completed shortly before his execution in 1989. The structure took 100,000 workers five years to complete and has over 1100 rooms, a nuclear fallout shelter and a private metro station.

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For the rest of the Civic Centre, 7000 homes and 26 churches were bulldozed to create space for it - as Ceausescu deemed the southern half of the city a slum and decided to pull it all down and rebuild it from scratch. Today it is a mish-mash of high-rise buildings, graffitied tower blocks, but mainly unfinished buildings.

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Q. Is it possible to visit Casa Poporului

A. Yes, guided tours in English are provided every day and cost approximately �4.

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Q. What about the rest of Centru Civic, can I visit it

A. Yes you can visit the area and see high rise building squashed in beside the few remaining churches and some unfinished buildings - but the area is currently being "done up". Under a project named Bucharest 2000 the Romanian government has undertaken to regenerate the entire area -including Casa Poporului and introduce parkland, rivers and lakes. It is estimated that this urban renewal project - the largest in Europe - will take at least 15 years to realise.

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Q. What about the rest of Bucharest, is it a good place to visit

A. Once known as the Paris of the Balkans or the Paris of the East in the 1930s, Romania's capital Bucharest has lost a lot of its pre-war beauty and grandeur. It is a good place to visit from an historical point of view - but it is not a sight-seers dream as many areas resemble building sites. If you can help it don't visit in the winter as temperatures often fall below -25�C, power cuts are frequent and you will be continually hassled on the streets for money and food making for a miserable experience. But it is not all bad, there are some excellent parts of the city and it is recovering from its past so any money generated from tourism will give its economy a much needed boost.

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Q. Can you recommend some good places to visit

A. Senate: formerly home of the Communist Party, the building is now most famous for its balcony upon which Ceausescu made his last speech in 1989 before fleeing the country.

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Romanian Peasant Museum: provides an insight into Romania's traditions and culture, includes some fantastic religious icons.

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Arcul de Triumf: commemorates the soldiers that fought on the side of the Allies in WWI.

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Herastrau Park & Village Museum: is the largest park in the city, with a picturesque lake where you can hire boats and dodge the swans (there are hundreds here). It is also home to the Village Museum, an amazing place full of buildings from all over Romania including churches (over 200) and windmills.

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Calea Victoriei (Street of Victory): is the main thoroughfare in the city and offers a glimpse of its old grandeur at the northern end with some magnificent houses.

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National Art Museum: is located inside the Royal Palace and is home to some major European art, particularly by Monet and Rembrandt.

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Romanian Athenaeum: is the city's main concert hall.

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Cismigiu Gardens: is the city's oldest park

Stavropoleos Church: dates back to 1718 and is one of the oldest remaining churches in the city, it is remarkable for its Arabesque-patterned fa�ade.

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Hanul lui Manuc: dates back to 1807 when it was originally built as an Armenian merchant's inn�- and today is a hotel and restaurant and the best place to stay in the city.

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Q. Do I need a visa to visit Romania

A. No, you can visit without a visa for a month if you have a European passport.

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Q. What is the currency

A. The Leu

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By Karen Anderson