Romania, September 1995

There was a steam locomotive graveyard just outside Oradea in western Romania. Some of them still run.

Central Committee of the Communist Party building. Çeausescu made his last speech from the balcony here.

House of the Republic. 20,000 workers toiled for six years to build this Stalinist structure at enormous cost to the Romanian people. It's one of the biggest buildings in the world.

House of the Republic.

Abandoned construction site. Dozens of these hulks surround the House. They were intended to house various government offices. Çeausescu bulldozed huge sections of the city to make way for these monstrosities.

Interior of an abandoned building.

Çeausescu's grave. It's in a civilian cemetary.

Çeausescu's house. I had to climb part way up the wall and hold the camera over my head to get this photo. I never actually saw the house until I got my photos back.

Nominally a museum, Çeausescu intended this to be his mausoleum. It was never finished.

Melon market at Cringasi, near Dimbovitsa Lake.

Back to Travel.