Bulgarian Communist monument that attracts 50,000 urban explorers a year eyed as tourism attraction

22.09.2024 - 22:48 / euronews.com / Rebecca Ann Hughes

The colossal Buzludzha monument crowns the top of a mountain peak outside the Bulgarian town of Kazanlak.

The UFO-shaped structure which stands alongside a monumental tower was built between 1971 and 1984 to celebrate the founding of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party.

After the fall of the Communist regime, the building was abandoned and left to crumble. 

In recent decades, its eerie, deteriorating interiors have attracted thousands of curious visitors and garnered social media fame.

Now, Kazanlak local council is proposing purchasing the spectacular structure to increase its popularity as a tourism destination. 

Authorities in Kazanlak say they will ask residents to vote on whether the council should purchase the Communist memorial structure. 

The Buzludzha monument is in an unstable condition and entry is prohibited.

But that doesn’t stop it from attracting roughly 50,000 visitors a year including urban explorers and photographers. 

The decaying structure has garnered internet fame and often features on social media accounts dedicated to abandoned places.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed by heritage organisations, either. In 2020, an international team of restorers began work to repair and preserve the interior mosaics. 

The wall designs exalting Communist values and leaders are made up of more than two million tiles and cover an area of around 1,000 square metres.

Over the years, the dome has partially collapsed leaving these mosaics at the mercy of the elements. 

The mosaic restoration has been privately funded, so the proposal from Kazanlak council marks the first time that a public body has expressed interest in the monument.  

Mayor of Kazanlak Galina Stoyanova says she wants to invest €3.5 million from the EU Recovery Plan in the restoration of the building and its transformation into a tourist attraction. 

The saucer-shaped structure is currently owned by the Bulgarian state. 

It was previously in the hands of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, which did not have the funding to protect the memorial which celebrates the 1,300th anniversary of the creation of the first Bulgarian state and the 90th anniversary of the founding of the first Socialist Party.

Despite increasingly becoming valued as an architectural and cultural asset, the monument remains controversial.

It is still a potent political and ideological symbol and nearby mountain slopes continue to be used for annual gatherings of Bulgarian Socialists. 

Should the mayor’s proposal be approved, a referendum will be held on 17 November for residents to vote on whether the council should purchase the monument.