Travel | Bulgaria | Photography
On a Mountain Peak It Stands
Visiting the most fascinating abandoned place in Bulgaria
I ran up the path, leaving my friends behind, itching to stretch my legs after hours in the car, weaving through mountain roads in the rain and fog.
As I was about to reach the top of the hill, I lifted my head just in time to see the shadowy outline of the spaceship-like building floating in the fog.
Not going to lie: my heart skipped a beat or two.
Neither my friends nor I had been at the site since we were kids — and back then the building hadn’t deteriorated as much — but I blame the rolling fog for making the Buzludzha Monument seem larger and much spookier than we remembered it.
In fact, it’s because of the fog that we didn’t even know if we were hiking in the right direction. On the rainy, gloomy day in June we visited, we initially couldn't see anything but whatever was a few meters ahead of us.
On a sunny day, however, you can see the monument from quite some distance. Just a couple of weeks after this trip, my friends and I found ourselves hiking up another mountain peak, to get to yet another historical monument, and from the top, we could see Buzludzha in the distance.
[And if right about now you’re wondering if Bulgarians really love building monuments up in the mountains and making you hike up — or climb hundreds of steps — to see them, let me give you the truth: Yes, yes, we absolutely do love doing that. A lot. But that’s for another article :).]
Though it certainly looks like something that could have only come from out of space, Buzludzha has nothing to do with aliens.
As far as we know, that is…
Its official name was the Monument House of the Bulgarian Communist Party, but in my lifetime, I’ve only ever known it as Buzludzha, as it was built on Buzludzha peak in the Balkan Mountains in 1981.
Personally, I don’t remember being inside it because, after the fall of communism in 1989, the place was abandoned and left unattended. Vandalized multiple times over the years, it’s pretty much falling apart now. For safety reasons, you’re warned not to try to find ways to go in, as many thrill-seekers have done in the past.
I know many Bulgarians want to disassociate themselves from our history, and for legitimate reasons, but I don’t see how letting this building turn to rubble helps us move forward.
It took millions of leva, the labor of thousands, and 7 years to build the monument, and I think it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.
I mean, they even blasted the top of the peak with TNT to make space for the building!!!
In my travels, few encounters bring me more joy than coming across a previously abandoned place that’s now repurposed for creative or educational endeavors. I wish Bulgarians would do the same here.
Restoring and repurposing Buzludzha doesn’t mean we condone — or erase — what happened in the past; it’s a chance to move forward without forgetting our history and by focusing on the possibilities ahead.
I couldn’t stop thinking about this on the drive back, and needless to say, I spent hours that evening researching anything I could find about the place.
That’s how I came to learn about recent efforts to restore the building and transform it into an interpretation center for Bulgarian history. I’d love it if that were to happen, despite the many obstacles in the way.
Knowing that the monument’s primary function was to serve as an assembly space, I think it’d be fantastic if when restored, it also becomes a place that hosts events: educational, cultural, musical.
What better place than a peak in the Balkan Mountains to enjoy a bit of Bulgarian history, culture, or music?
Not to mention, how about them views?
Fun final notes: in my research, I came across several videos of the place and thought I could include a couple here.
One is a BBC Travel Show video that helps you learn more about Buzludzha and the efforts to restore it, and it also gives you a glimpse into what it looks like on the inside.
The other is a Rita Ora music video, filmed in Bulgaria, which features Buzludzha covered in snow in the last minute or so of the video (if you want to just skip to that part, go to minute 3:50).
As a fan of abandoned places, I still remember reading Troy Larson’s piece about his visits to many such locations across North America. I hope he gets to share more of his encounters with us!
I also found Roberta Patellaro’s recent article quite fascinating because it touches on a related theme: places that are disappearing and that we may not be able to visit for much longer.
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Thank you for stopping by :)