Abandoned Buzludzha Monument at Bulgaria

Mar 18, 2013 14 comments

Located at the historical peak of Buzludzha in the Central Stara Planina, Bulgaria, stands a magnificent piece of architecture. The Buzludzha Monument was built by the Bulgarian communist regime to commemorate the events in 1891 when the socialists led by Dimitar Blagoev assembled secretly in the area to form an organized socialist movement. The peak itself was the place of the final battle between Bulgarian rebels led by Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha and the Turks, in 1868. At one time, the Buzludzha Monument was the most celebrated monument dedicated to the sociopolitical movement of communism. Now, in the mountains of Buzludzha National Park it stands abandoned, vandalized, and devastated.

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The saucer-shaped monument rises to a height of 107m, and was designed by the architect Georgi Stoilov. More than 60 Bulgarian artists collaborated on the design of murals for the site, and thousands of ‘volunteers’ were involved in the construction process, which took almost seven years to complete. In the 15 meter-high main hall of the memorial a 500 sq.m. fresco present portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin and the Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov. The dome of the structure was covered with thirty tones of cooper. Two 12m stars of ruby glass was built-in on the top of the 70m high pylon of the monument that symbolizes a waving communist flag. The Soviet star which adorns the tower of Buzludzha was three times larger than that at the Kremlin.

Scrawled above the main entrance in red paint, Latin characters spell out the phrase ‘FORGET YOUR PAST’, flanked on either side by powerful socialist stanzas emblazoned in Bulgarian Cyrillic.

Bulgarian Communism came to an end in 1989, and immediately afterwards, the headquarter came into disuse. In 1991 the monument, which still belonged to the ex-communist party, was ceded to the state and was abandoned, looted and left to self-destruction.

For a more detailed story of Buzludzha and communism in Bulgaria, read The Bohemian Blog.

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Sources: Wikipedia, Openbuildings

Comments

  1. Great piece - you've collected together some really good photos of the site here! I enjoyed this a lot, and thanks for providing the credit and link back to my site.

    Darmon Richter

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I think I've found new blog again, it's yours because you have so many amazing images. Glad to know you :)

      Delete
    2. awesome, its look lie a spaceship aircraft or UFO

      Delete
  2. It's a shame nobody has invested to clean it up, restore it,remove the asbestos. The Bulgarian socialists even ran the Government a few years ago and they didn't do a thing. It all comes down to of coarse money which nobody ever seems to have, my pockets are empty...
    Forget your past is not good. We must remember our past so we can make a better future.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very beautiful building. It is like Alien Building. isn't it ? Remind me of Ultraman movie.

    ReplyDelete
  4. very beautiful Great piece - you've collected together some really good photos of the site here! I enjoyed this a lot, and thanks for providing the credit and link back to my site.

    ReplyDelete
  5. amazing, great monument, its look like an UFO aircraft, nice picture and angel of view

    ReplyDelete
  6. wowww, it is like UFO, really cool this building

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's a shame nobody has invested to clean it up, restore it,remove the asbestos. The Bulgarian socialists even ran the Government a few years ago and they didn't do a thing. It all comes down to of coarse money which nobody ever seems to have, my pockets are empty...
    Forget your past is not good. We must remember our past so we can make a better future.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing images, the Soviet star which adorns the tower of Buzludzha was three times larger than that at the Kremlin.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Bulgarian socialists even ran the Government a few years ago and they didn't do a thing. It all comes down to of coarse money which nobody ever seems to have, my pockets are empty...
    Forget your past is not good. We must remember our past so we can make a better future.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now that really is a pity. Strip away the Communist paraphernalia and it's still a remarkable piece of architecture. In fact, it's fairly radical for the time and place. But I suppose if you no longer consider the events it was built to commemorate worth celebrating, then there's not a lot you can do with a giant monument in the middle of a national park.

    ReplyDelete
  11. few years ago and they didn't do a thing. It all comes down to of coarse money which nobody ever seems to have, my pockets are empty...
    Forget your past is not good. We must remember our past so we can make a better future.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Now the monument lies abandoned and ruined, its doors closed to the public. Legend has it that buried somewhere within the Buzludzha ..

    ReplyDelete

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