It still stands, somewhat reconstructed, and it is filled with photographs of the Ceausescu family, which had run the town in a feudal manner.

Large secret bank accounts were said to have been controlled by the Ceausescu family.

Last week the new Romanian authorities asked the Bank of England and other major central banks to freeze assets said to belong to the Ceausescu family.

Formerly the Ceausescu family had kept a stable at the city wall.

Among the Ceausescu family members in detention were the three children of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu.

There was the Ceausescu family and nothing else, and with them gone there is going to be a real power vacuum.

And the Ceausescu family was in the middle of it.

Few foreign diplomats say they believe she will make it to the top, but the Ceausescu family is enjoying things while it can.

The hated Ceausescu family was deposed last December in a violent coup that shook but did not dislodge the old ruling elite.

There was no word about the fate of the 35 or so other members of the extended Ceausescu family, many of whom held high Government positions.