The House of the Free Press

"Whether you are a tourist, a Bucharest resident or a provincial, in addition to the People's House, you must also catch your eye on the Press House. You know that you are in the north of the Capital, you know that you will immediately see the imposing construction from the time of communism. And if you don't know how to get there, from the Arc de Triomphe go on Kiseleff and the former Spark House appears on the horizon. Herăstrau Park is right next to it. Because that was its name during the communist period, changed even in 1990 to the House of the Free Press. The building, clearly a Stalinist model inspired by a Moscow university (n.r. – Lomonosov University), was even taken over at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. In addition, Casa Scânteii was, until 2007, the tallest building in Bucharest. Even without the top, that is, that television antenna, it is no less than 96 meters, more than the Intercontinental Hotel - 84 meters. And if you're wondering how long it took to build the "mastodon", the answer is simple: 5 years under the leadership of Horia Maicu, between 1952 and 1957. At that time, the Casa Scânteii Printing Complex was called "I.V.Stalin". "Scânteia" was the newspaper of the PCR (the famous Romanian Communist Party), which is still available today in electronic format. Another asset of the Press House is the fact that it was the first building in Romania for which a possible earthquake was taken into account, having resistance to such disasters according to some Italian standards. Several publications had or have their offices in the Press House, even Romanian Television broadcasting from there before they moved their headquarters in the 50s. It should also not be forgotten that in front of the Press House, for 30 years, between 1960 and 1990, there was also a statue of Lenin, the former leader of the USSR from the early 1900s. Immediately after communism, it was taken down, currently being placed a modern architectural piece."

"Just to admire if you pass by it, it isn't worth to go there if not."