The Buzludzha Monument (official house monument of the BKP) is a 70 m high monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party and the greatest of its art in Bulgarian.
Mount Hadji Dimitar is colloquially called Buzludzha, as it was officially called until 1942. The name is written and therefore the monument is no longer there, although it is officially called the House Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP). In 1868, Bulgarian insurgents under the leadership of Hadji Dimitar fought against the Turkish-Ottoman foreign rulers at the summit of the mountain. In 1891, during the subsequent workers' commemoration of the anniversary of the death of the fallen freedom fighters, the Buzludza Congress, the constituent meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Bulgaria, a forerunner of the Bulgarian Communist Party, took place here. That is why the location for this monument was chosen.
The first plans to build the monument were made as early as 1961. The construction was financed by the population (through donations and through the sale of stamps), began on January 23, 1974 and lasted until 1981.
First of all, due to the construction, the Hadji Dimitar was reduced in size by 9 meters, from 1441 to 1432 m. Roads were also built on which steel, concrete, glass and a large construction crane could be transported up.
During construction, around 6,000 people were employed on the mountain, including artists, engineers, craftsmen and 500 men from the Bulgarian Army Construction Workers Corps. A large proportion lived in a temporary workers' settlement near the summit.
It was built mainly between May and September to take advantage of the milder weather, as winters above are very cold and snowy.
Todor Zhivkov (here you can find his residence) opened the monument on August 23, 1981 with a solemn ceremony and a speech. It was inaugurated to mark the country's 1300th anniversary. According to today's value, the total construction costs (including building roads, laying electricity, etc.) amounted to 62.5 million dollars.
The monument was a cultural center, conference venue and museum. According to its architect, it could accommodate up to 500 people per hour. During its eight years of operation, more than two million people visited it. Guided tours and school trips were held, and entry was always free. This was because the population itself was involved in the construction in different ways.
The glass stars flanking the north and south sides of the tower, meanwhile, were believed to be the largest in the world - measuring 12m in diameter. They were made from synthetic ruby glass and weighed 3.5 tonnes each. They were illuminated from within by a series of 32 spotlights. Apparently they could be seen as far as the Romanian and Greek borders.
The monument remained open until Zhivkovs' resignation on November 10, 1989, but shortly afterwards it lost its importance and was therefore closed. Todor Zhivkov's mosaic was subsequently one of the first destroyed mosaics in the building.
After that, the monument slowly fell into disrepair, which was due to the Bulgarian governments at the time, which had little interest in maintaining a socialist monument. Valuable items were quickly stolen and steel and iron were mined. Later, rain and snow entered the building through holes and large parts rusted, causing the ceiling to become unstable.
The monument was then declared an endangered cultural heritage site by the monument protection organization Europa Nostra and from then on it was guarded by security (which is still on site today in a container). From 2021, security work was carried out to preserve the building structure and restore the mosaics. The Getty Foundation, among others, supported this project. However, this work has now been stopped due to disagreements.
The highlight were the over 500 square meters of mosaics showing Marx, Engels and Lenin on one side and on the other side, among others. Zhivkov showed.
At the bottom there is 1 picture from the opening ceremony as well as some pictures that were taken immediately after completion. Unfortunately the photographer is not known.
Mount Hadji Dimitar is colloquially called Buzludzha, as it was officially called until 1942. The name is written and therefore the monument is no longer there, although it is officially called the House Monument of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP). In 1868, Bulgarian insurgents under the leadership of Hadji Dimitar fought against the Turkish-Ottoman foreign rulers at the summit of the mountain. In 1891, during the subsequent workers' commemoration of the anniversary of the death of the fallen freedom fighters, the Buzludza Congress, the constituent meeting of the Social Democratic Party of Bulgaria, a forerunner of the Bulgarian Communist Party, took place here. That is why the location for this monument was chosen.
The first plans to build the monument were made as early as 1961. The construction was financed by the population (through donations and through the sale of stamps), began on January 23, 1974 and lasted until 1981.
First of all, due to the construction, the Hadji Dimitar was reduced in size by 9 meters, from 1441 to 1432 m. Roads were also built on which steel, concrete, glass and a large construction crane could be transported up.
During construction, around 6,000 people were employed on the mountain, including artists, engineers, craftsmen and 500 men from the Bulgarian Army Construction Workers Corps. A large proportion lived in a temporary workers' settlement near the summit.
It was built mainly between May and September to take advantage of the milder weather, as winters above are very cold and snowy.
Todor Zhivkov (here you can find his residence) opened the monument on August 23, 1981 with a solemn ceremony and a speech. It was inaugurated to mark the country's 1300th anniversary. According to today's value, the total construction costs (including building roads, laying electricity, etc.) amounted to 62.5 million dollars.
The monument was a cultural center, conference venue and museum. According to its architect, it could accommodate up to 500 people per hour. During its eight years of operation, more than two million people visited it. Guided tours and school trips were held, and entry was always free. This was because the population itself was involved in the construction in different ways.
The glass stars flanking the north and south sides of the tower, meanwhile, were believed to be the largest in the world - measuring 12m in diameter. They were made from synthetic ruby glass and weighed 3.5 tonnes each. They were illuminated from within by a series of 32 spotlights. Apparently they could be seen as far as the Romanian and Greek borders.
The monument remained open until Zhivkovs' resignation on November 10, 1989, but shortly afterwards it lost its importance and was therefore closed. Todor Zhivkov's mosaic was subsequently one of the first destroyed mosaics in the building.
After that, the monument slowly fell into disrepair, which was due to the Bulgarian governments at the time, which had little interest in maintaining a socialist monument. Valuable items were quickly stolen and steel and iron were mined. Later, rain and snow entered the building through holes and large parts rusted, causing the ceiling to become unstable.
The monument was then declared an endangered cultural heritage site by the monument protection organization Europa Nostra and from then on it was guarded by security (which is still on site today in a container). From 2021, security work was carried out to preserve the building structure and restore the mosaics. The Getty Foundation, among others, supported this project. However, this work has now been stopped due to disagreements.
The highlight were the over 500 square meters of mosaics showing Marx, Engels and Lenin on one side and on the other side, among others. Zhivkov showed.
At the bottom there is 1 picture from the opening ceremony as well as some pictures that were taken immediately after completion. Unfortunately the photographer is not known.
