Focus on Steel 2017 | Page 25

25 Iasi’s Palace of Culture, a century of history The Palace of Culture in Iasi was inaugurated in 1925 as the headquarters of the Palace of Justice and Administration, raised above the remains of the royal court of Voivode Vasile Lupu, the current name being attributed in 1955. The Voivodes’ Hall The Palace of Culture in Iasi, an architectural masterpiece of the 20th century, combines several architectural styles, neogothic, romantic and neobaroque. Builded in almost two decades after the plans of the Romanian architect I.D. Berindei, the iconic building of Iasi is waiting for its visitors after a renovation project that lasted 7 years, being reopened to the public in the spring of 2016. The mosaic in the central lobby Under the prestigious name of "Moldova" National Complex Museum , the Palace of Culture hosts four national museums - the History Museum of Moldova, the “Stefan Procopiu” Museum of Science and Technology, the Ethnographic Museum of Moldova, the Art Museum and the Cultural Heritage Conservation and Restoration Center . The impressive details of the palace can be seen from the console balcony, conceived with a fretted parapet with brace balusters and ornated with a frieze with zoomorphic elements, the mosaic in the central lobby that reproduces the one in the church of the "Saint Pierre sur Dives" abbey in France, the interior staircase made with Carrara marble and up to the neogothic style arches. The most spectacular room is the Voivodes’ Hall, where can be admired the portraits gallery of the rulers from the Romanian space, from King Decebal's to the one of Carol II. The secrets of the Palace of Culture are still awaiting to be discovered. The central tower Neogothic ogive arches The clock in the central tower