Buzludzha, a cold wind from the east

Posted by Andrew on Jun 13, 2011 in Blog | 2 comments

I sometimes wonder if there is a better way of things, a fairer way. A direction away from the consumption driven, egotistical and totally unsustainable path of capitalism. A place where the values of family, community and the environment take priority. The well being of the whole and not just the gifted few. Is this a Utopian Marxists dream? Only time holds the answers. Although i do believe it is within our grasp, if we let it slip we let the inherit problems of capitalism (poverty, greed, environmental and social destruction) take hold and capitalize. Some ideas just do not avail us.

Although I do not write today to talk politics, I want to relate to you an experience that I had in Bulgaria late 2009. I spent roughly one month traveling around the country and another month in a small hostel with some good friends that i met there. During my stay and our many visits to a nearby local tavern my friend and I heard a story about an old soviet ruin in the mountains nearby called Buzludzha. The story had me intrigued as to why i could find no further information in any guide books or for that matter on the Internet. I began to ask around the towns folk and was often given short abrupt answers at even the mention of the name. One old timer informed me that the soviet era was still the not so distant past for allot of Bulgarians and a past many would rather forget.

Despite this eventually we had loose directions marked on a map of the nearby mountains that would require what seemed like a couple hours bus ride,  some hitch hiking then a small hike to the location of the old soviet ruins of Buzludzha. So my friend and i set off with small packs filled with water, a map and not much else. By the time we made the easy hitch to the starting point of the trek it was late in the afternoon, even so we continued up the mountain.

The first sign of the ruins that we came across were two giant fists holding torches raised up in the air. They had the very distinct and somewhat crude artistic value that pertains to most soviet era monuments. A thick grey mist surrounded us deadening all sounds adding to the ominous and sad air of this forgotten place. We spent some time walking and climbing over and around the structure, in awe. Yet it was a mere shadow of what was to come…

Shivering, we made our way through the heavy grey mist without speaking a word to each other. Later I was to find out this very mountain was the scene of the culminating battle between Bulgarian rebels led by the infamous Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha against the Turks in 1981. Many years after this the socialist movement in Bulgaria was also born in this location when party members gathered here in secret.

Continuing still up the mountain, the short alpine grass was laden with dew. My eyes had been almost wholly following my feet, my mind being pre occupied with other thoughts until i heard a sharp gasp from my friend. Looking up i saw something emerging out of the think fog off in the distance. The shadow of a large shape that can only be described as a UFO with a large tower disappearing into the whiteness above it.

She turned around, looking at me with a huge grin, whispering as not to disturb the silence “Its fucking huge!”

I crouched down framing this…. Thing… and took a shot.

Filled with excitement and surprise we raced up the rest of the short slope we were ascending to the summit. We were greeted with the incredible and somewhat ominous scene that was layed out before us. We found ourselves almost underneath the huge structure as it rose above us, we were in some sort of parade ground or ceremonial area in front of the building. This place sent goosebumps running over my entire body…

Plastered on the outside of the building was patches of Nazi and Communistic graffiti. Along with some embossed Cyrillic lettering near the massive and heavily barred entrance doors that we were obviously unable to read. Following the perimeter of the building we eventually found a small hole on one side that someone had created to gain entrance. Lowering ourselves into the hole we found ourself in one of the underground levels of the building.

I switched my headlight on and was greeted with a vision of rubble  and decay. Everything from old shoes to crumbling pieces of the building itself lay scattered on the floor. Finding some stairs we crept up to the ground level that was above us. The past opulence of this place was very apparent.  Every surface  floor, walls and ceiling were covered in marble that glittered in the light from my headlamp, there were also tatters of red felt carpet that were visible here and there. The sheer size of this place was mesmerizing. We then entered what was obviously the main hall and interior of the circular structure. Before us stretched an enormous room filled with incredibly intricate and beautifully made tile mosaics that were in extreme sates of disrepair, many of the tiles scattered in heaps on the floor. The mosaics depicted soviet era political effigy such as portraits of Lenin and Starlin alongside murals of nuclear rocket and the like. Looking up one sees the immense vaulted circular dome ceiling with the soviet hammer and sickle set as the centre piece.

As it was far too late to be hitching back to town, and any buses had long since finished service for the day we decided to spend the fast approaching night here. It was not an easy decision to say the least, the idea of spending the night in this place sent shivers up my spine and terrified both my companion and myself… So we both spent a sleepless night huddled together and freezing in the lower levels of the building. Listening to the strange noises that surrounded us fully expecting some aliens to jump around the corner and take us away. haha. A night i will never forget…

When what seemed like an endless night eventually broke, we were rewarded for our vigil by the most impressive of sunrises looking out through the widows of the “UFO” across the surrounding mountain peaks popping up like islands in a sea of clouds. Not as ill prepared as me my friend had brought some tea with her, although cold, sitting there in those windows sipping tea and watching the sun rise made it all worth it.

If anyone has any further information on this place it would be great if you could leave a comment below. The Wikipedia article has very little information on the building and surrounding area.

View more images from Bulgaria.