It's not easy to understand Buzludzha. It's at the very top of one of the highest peaks of the central Balkan mountains. You get there after a long drive up winding roads, in the ever-cold Balkan wind. And the closer you get to it, the more unbelievable it becomes. It's all very surrealistic, and very much incomprehensible.
Until you walk in. Because once you walk in, you realise that what was practical didn't matter. Just like the pyramids or giant statues on hilltops, what mattered was the symbol. The greatness of the structure, the beauty of the mosaics and the madness of the endeavour all serve one purpose: bowing to the System. Revering the abstract God-like leader, the Ideology.
"Great buildings from this will arise, The famed grandeur of Bulzludzha, Will immortalise, The greatest system here by far..."
This Monument to Bulgarian socialism was completed in 1981, hosting party ceremonies, meetings and even concerts. Although how they actually got everything and everyone up there is beyond my understanding.
It is build on the spot of an important victory against the Ottoman rulers in 1868, and commemorates (if I am not mistaken) the first secret Bulgarian socialist meeting in 1891.
Buzludzah, despite the freezing cold, the ice, everywhere, is still pretty much standing. Bits and pieces are falling off, but the "Party" sure made solid constructions.
