"Hunger circus" () was a colloquial name for any in a series of identical buildings which were to be completed as part of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

's program of systematization during his period as ruler of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. Officially designated by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

as "complex agroalimentar" ( Agroalimentary Complex), these large domed buildings were intended as produce markets and public

refectories A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the Lat ...

. It appears to have been Ceauşescu's vision that they would serve as food distribution centres, eliminating the need for selling or distributing food anywhere else. The name "hunger circuses", now so universally used as to have almost suppressed the memory of the official communist-era term, derived from the circus-like domed architecture and the irony of constructing these massive food-related buildings during a period when food was scarce throughout Romania, due to Ceaușescu's policy of exporting most of Romania's agricultural produce in order to pay off the foreign debt. The irony was reinforced by the connotation of "circus" as ridiculous farce. At the time of Ceaușescu's downfall and execution, only two hunger circuses had been completed: One of these, Pantelimon, now forms part of a public market in the Delfinului area of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

; the other, also in Bucharest, is placed close to the Unirea shopping mall, nestled between Piața Unirii and Sfânta Vineri Street. Several others stood half-finished in scattered locations around Bucharest, surrounded by rusting construction cranes and vacant lots. The hunger circuses left unfinished after the 1989 Revolution were later completed, as malls such as the Bucharest Mall in Vitan, City Mall and

Plaza Romania Plaza Romania is a shopping mall in Bucharest, Romania. The construction, based on an uncompleted hunger circus abandoned after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu, has three distinguishable parts — a central structure with a dome in diamete ...

in Militari. The ''hunger circus'' in Rahova was partially demolished in November 2006 to make room for a new mall – Liberty Center Mall. Another hunger circus was transformed into a private university.

References

"Circurile foamei"

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...

, 23 January 2005
"Circul foamei din Rahova se transformă în mall"

Cotidianul The logo used between 2003 and 2007 ''Cotidianul'' (meaning ''The Daily'' in English) is a Romanian-language newspaper published in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern E ...

, 14 February 2006 {{coord missing, Bucharest Buildings and structures in Bucharest Socialist Republic of Romania History of Bucharest Unfinished buildings and structures in Romania