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Buzludzha Monument, Buzludzha Peak, Central Bulgaria
Designed by architect Georgi Stoilov, the Buzludzha Monument was conceptualized to honor the formation of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers Party in 1891 at Buzludzha Peak in the Central Balkan Mountains. Construction was completed in 1981 after decades of negotiation and years of work.
The monument is composed of a disc-like shape on top of two rectangular columns and a long trapezoid adorned by a star. Construction included “70,000 tons of concrete, 3,000 tons of steel, and 40 tons of glass" (Spassov & Morten). The design of the building is geometric and in its design, seems to alludes to spacecraft as well as general science-fictional themes. Its materials and blocky shapes envoke brutalism. What makes it truly unique is its interior design.
This monument symbolizes, essentially, communism and its influence in Bulgaria. Though Bulgaria was not part of the Sovier Union, it was an ally and considered part of the Eastern Bloc. As such, communists in Bulgaria sought to display their political history and distinguish it from the USSR's as late as 1981. Mosaics dedicated to Bulgarian communist leaders, such as "Dimitâr Blagoev (founder of Bulgarian socialism)[,] Georgi Dimitrov (first communist leader of Bulgaria)[, ... and] Todor Zhivkov, communist leader of Bulgaria from 1954-1989," are included in the interior of the monument and thus make it nationally/culturally important, though they are honored alongside international communist icons like Marx and Lenin (Spassov & Morten). Also included in the monument is a mosaic "created using natural stones, collected from rivers around Bulgaria" (Spassov & Morten).
As such, the Buzludzha Monument is a piece of Soviet-inspired brutalist architecture dedicated to Bulgaria's political history, shared in part with the USSR, but also to Bulgaria's cultural integrity, as the icons included and the materials used relate to the country's identity.
Resources / Further Reading Images
Buzludzha Monument, Buzludzha Peak, Central Bulgaria
Designed by architect Georgi Stoilov, the Buzludzha Monument was conceptualized to honor the formation of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers Party in 1891 at Buzludzha Peak in the Central Balkan Mountains. Construction was completed in 1981 after decades of negotiation and years of work.
The monument is composed of a disc-like shape on top of two rectangular columns and a long trapezoid adorned by a star. Construction included “70,000 tons of concrete, 3,000 tons of steel, and 40 tons of glass" (Spassov & Morten). The design of the building is geometric and in its design, seems to alludes to spacecraft as well as general science-fictional themes. Its materials and blocky shapes envoke brutalism. What makes it truly unique is its interior design.
This monument symbolizes, essentially, communism and its influence in Bulgaria. Though Bulgaria was not part of the Sovier Union, it was an ally and considered part of the Eastern Bloc. As such, communists in Bulgaria sought to display their political history and distinguish it from the USSR's as late as 1981. Mosaics dedicated to Bulgarian communist leaders, such as "Dimitâr Blagoev (founder of Bulgarian socialism)[,] Georgi Dimitrov (first communist leader of Bulgaria)[, ... and] Todor Zhivkov, communist leader of Bulgaria from 1954-1989," are included in the interior of the monument and thus make it nationally/culturally important, though they are honored alongside international communist icons like Marx and Lenin (Spassov & Morten). Also included in the monument is a mosaic "created using natural stones, collected from rivers around Bulgaria" (Spassov & Morten).
As such, the Buzludzha Monument is a piece of Soviet-inspired brutalist architecture dedicated to Bulgaria's political history, shared in part with the USSR, but also to Bulgaria's cultural integrity, as the icons included and the materials used relate to the country's identity.
Resources / Further Reading Images