Dracula's Guide to Romania

You might have walked around town and saw I.A.L written on a building. What does it mean?

Before Romania’s December 1989 Revolution, ICRAL (Întreprinderea de Construcții, Reparații și Administrare Locativă), previously known as IAL (Întreprinderea de Administrare Locativă), managed and maintained nationalized properties as part of its duties overseeing the state’s housing stock. Nationalized buildings were marked with small square metal plaques labeled “I.A.L.” and a unique numeric code. These plaques were typically placed near the entrance for street-facing buildings or near the gate for houses with gardens and windows facing the street.

If you were wondering what nationalized means, properties confiscated by the political regime from owners before communism, generally more wealthy individuals. In certain situations, that meant living with random individuals in your home, or in other situations, someone from the communist elite taking over your house.