Palace of Culture

he Palace of Culture, acknowledged as effigy of the city of Iasi, was built in the neogothic style and as such was one of the last expressions of Romanticism in the official architecture.

Although it was not raised on top of ancient foundations, as people thought at the beginning of the 20th century, the Palace was partly built on top of the ruins of the mediaeval princely courts, mentioned in a document of 1434, and partly on top of the foundations of the former (neoclassical) palace, dated to the time of Prince Alexandru Moruzi (1806-1812), rebuilt by Prince Mihail Sturza (1841-1843) and finally demolished in 1904. It was from this latter building that the Palace inherited the legend of the 365 rooms, as many as the days within one year.

The edifice was built between 1906 and 1925, and is the most outstanding work of Romanian architect I.D. Berindei, who was trained at the Parisian School. Decoratively, the central hall shows a figurative mosaic including various representations of a gothic bestiarum, concentrically arranged: two-headed eagles, dragons, griffons, lions. The hall is superposed by a glass ceiling room, where initially a greenhouse was arranged.