The Buzludzha Monument – or the ‘House-Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party’ - is situated on a peak in Bulgaria’s Balkan Mountains, and this bizarre structure resembles a giant concrete saucer. At over 100m tall it can be seen for miles in all directions, and was built as the symbolic headquarters for the BCP in 1981.
It was built as a celebration not just of Bulgarian communism, but also of their appreciation of Russian aid – both in the nineteenth century, and more recently, under the Soviet Union. It cost the equivalent of £7,000,000 to build.
The saucer features a number of slogans written in Cyrillic – powerful messages of revolution and solidarity, written in an old form of the Bulgarian language. Above the main door, modern graffiti reads: “FORGET YOUR PAST”.
When I visited this site the building was filled with snow and ice, and the insides echoed with the sound of running water. Climbing the stairs from the entrance hall, the concrete steps had become sheer walls of ice and gushing water.
The main attraction of Buzludzha however, is the central amphitheatre. Right in the heart of the monument is a round arena with colourful murals across the walls, along with portraits of famous Communist thinkers. Engels, Marx and Lenin are here, along with a number of members from the Bulgarian Communist Party. In the centre of the ceiling is a massive hammer and sickle, surrounded by Bulgarian text that translates as: “THE PROLETARIATS OF EVERY COUNTRY JOIN TOGETHER!”
In the central chamber the floor had hardened with thick layers of ice, giving it the appearance of a bizarre Soviet ice rink.
After the main chamber, I took the time to explore around the circular wings of the structure, which again were plastered with murals – mostly depicting scenes of labour, the construction of the monument itself, bountiful harvests and victorious battles.
All in all, this was one of my favourite explores to date. I’ve written a longer report too, which goes into more depth on the history of the site, as well as offering translations of all the Socialist slogans, and talking about the possible future of the monument. If you’re interested, you’ll find it over on The Bohemian Blog: Buzludzha: Bulgaria’s Communist Party Headquarters
Thanks guys, hope you enjoy it.
DR.
It was built as a celebration not just of Bulgarian communism, but also of their appreciation of Russian aid – both in the nineteenth century, and more recently, under the Soviet Union. It cost the equivalent of £7,000,000 to build.
The saucer features a number of slogans written in Cyrillic – powerful messages of revolution and solidarity, written in an old form of the Bulgarian language. Above the main door, modern graffiti reads: “FORGET YOUR PAST”.
When I visited this site the building was filled with snow and ice, and the insides echoed with the sound of running water. Climbing the stairs from the entrance hall, the concrete steps had become sheer walls of ice and gushing water.
The main attraction of Buzludzha however, is the central amphitheatre. Right in the heart of the monument is a round arena with colourful murals across the walls, along with portraits of famous Communist thinkers. Engels, Marx and Lenin are here, along with a number of members from the Bulgarian Communist Party. In the centre of the ceiling is a massive hammer and sickle, surrounded by Bulgarian text that translates as: “THE PROLETARIATS OF EVERY COUNTRY JOIN TOGETHER!”
In the central chamber the floor had hardened with thick layers of ice, giving it the appearance of a bizarre Soviet ice rink.
After the main chamber, I took the time to explore around the circular wings of the structure, which again were plastered with murals – mostly depicting scenes of labour, the construction of the monument itself, bountiful harvests and victorious battles.
All in all, this was one of my favourite explores to date. I’ve written a longer report too, which goes into more depth on the history of the site, as well as offering translations of all the Socialist slogans, and talking about the possible future of the monument. If you’re interested, you’ll find it over on The Bohemian Blog: Buzludzha: Bulgaria’s Communist Party Headquarters
Thanks guys, hope you enjoy it.
DR.
