Today it is a ruin. The Communist Party of Bulgaria Memorial House is a monumental structure that was built in 1981 on top of the Buzludzha Mountain. The building is abandoned and is a peculiar tourist attraction. Its construction was preceded by an explosion thatreduced the summit of Mount Buzludzhaby several metres.
Its construction took seven years. The Communist Party of Bulgaria Memorial House was built on the initiative of Bulgarian Communist Party First Secretary Todor Zhivkov. The building was built to commemorate the anniversary of the Buzludzha Congress of 1891, during which the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party was established.
The memorial building had been under construction since 1974.The work was preceded by an explosion, which was triggered at the top of the mountain in order to get a flat area. As a result of the detonation, the top of the mountain decreased by 9 m and today it is 1441 m above sea level. Construction work lasted seven years and the building was officially opened on 23 August 1981. Even after the overthrow of Todor Zhivkov’s government in 1989, the existence of the building was no longer so important to the community of the time. The edifice was associated with the communist period, which Bulgarians wanted to move away from. Access to the building is free, it is not fenced, so decorative elements soon began to disappear from the building and the walls were covered with graffiti. The condition of the building is also evidenced by the roof, which is now mostly hole-punched.
The monument was designed by architect Georgi Stoilov. He chronicled the Brutalist style popular at the time. In part, the aesthetics of the building refer to futurism – the building is shaped like a saucer. This form of the building is intended to offset the damaging effects of strong winds on the top of the mountain.
In total, the building is 14.5 metres high and the characteristic saucer is 42 cm in diameter. Above the dome dominates the 70 m high tower. Interestingly, 70,000 tonnes of concrete, 3,000 tonnes of steel and 40 tonnes of glass were used to construct the edifice. The most important room is the amphitheatre hall with seating. Its walls are decorated with mosaics with images of Marx, Lenin and Engels and stories related to the activities of the Bulgarian Socialist Party.
Years ago, the top of the tower was decorated with two 12-metre-high stars, which were illuminated at night.
Also read: concrete | History |Brutalism | Interesting facts | Featured | whiteMAD on Instagram
