The Spring Palace was the former private residence of Nicolae Ceausescu. For those of you who don’t know, Nicolae Ceausescu was Romania’s communist head of state between 1965 and 1989.
The palace was built in the ’60s at the command of Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who wanted to move there when it would be finished. Unfortunately, he died in 1965 and Nicolae Ceausescu took over as the communist leader. Ceausescu lived there along with his wife, Elena and their three kids, Nicu, Zoe and Valentin until he was executed in 1989.
At that time, the palace was known as “obiectivul P50” and it didn’t allow access for anyone other than the Ceausescu family.
Let’s discover more spicy details about the Spring Palace and why it’s worth visiting.
What You Can See if You Visit the Spring Palace
First of all, the palace has 80 rooms. Yes, that’s right. It may not look massive on the outside, but it’s spacious on the inside.
You will also find an indoor pool, a SPA, a hair salon, and even a bunker – but we’ll get to this later. The rooms have chandeliers, which are made out of Murano crystal. The carpets are made out of Indian silk. There’s also a press house, a movie theater, and a greenhouse.
The greenhouse was inspired by the British orangeries and it still has the original plants. Ceausescu used to come here from time to time and drink tea.
One of the most impressive rooms in the palace is the Golden Bathroom, which is next to the matrimonial bedroom. The bathroom was built in the 70’s, in the process of extending the building.
Disappointing or not, the faucets, sink, the pipes or the mosaic are not made out of gold. In fact, the plumber used to go every year to the treasury to plate them in gold in order to keep the appearances.
The most sought after room in the palace is definitely the couple’s bedroom. The room has remained untouched and it looks exactly as it did the day Ceausescu ran away.
By the way, did you know Ceausescu received an official visit from Nixon at the Spring Palace? We thought this was quite an interesting fact.
Now let’s talk about the bunker.
This room is approximately 10 feet underground and the entry is disguised by an upholstered door. In the case of bombing or a nuclear attack, the Ceausescu family would refuge here. The bunker has a special ventilating system because he was paranoid about being poisoned through these systems.
The room has two doors and both of them are made out of thick metal. Former employees claim this bunker led to a second one, which was connected to a secret tunnel.
Visiting Info
The Spring Palace is open Wednesday to Sunday, between 10:00 and 17:00. If you plan to visit the palace, then you have to make a reservation on their website. All the tours are guided, so you’ll get to learn a lot of things about the Ceausescu family and about the palace itself.
The price for a guided tour in English is 45 lei, which is approximately 10 euros. They also have a private tour, which costs roughly 45 euros, meaning 200 lei. In the private tour, you will be able to see the following which are not included in the regular one:
- The private room of Nicolae Ceausescu
- The bunker (a must in our opinion)
- View upon the Underground Tunnel
- The trophy room
- The portrait gallery.
Are you curious to experience the communist legacy in Bucharest with all of its dark secrets and tragic outcomes? Join our 4 hours shared tour The Last Days of Communism or check our Bucharest Tours!
For any questions or if you want to learn more, go ahead and get in touch with us.