History of BulgariaHistory of Bulgaria
An isolated hilt and guard of a museum sabre attributed to Hadzhi Dimitar; a fragment, not the whole weapon.
Sabre hilt

Buzludzha · 20th century

Why build a “flying saucer”?

Why did they build it?

9 scenes · 3 min · Sources · 24

StartListen

Hadzhi Dimitar’s band fought here in 1868. Socialists founded a party in 1891. The ruling Communist Party opened a Memorial House in 1981. How did one place acquire these different meanings?

Modern relief map of Bulgaria, 2010, with present-day boundaries; geographic context, not historical borders or a view of the building.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders1
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 1 · 20th century

The round building with a star

A round building stands on Buzludzha. Beside it rises a tower with a star. It resembles a flying saucer. This is a Memorial House: a building for remembrance and ceremonies. A party is an organisation that seeks a role in governing. It was built for the Bulgarian Communist Party, which ruled the country until 1989. Its architect was Georgi Stoilov. The building opened in 1981. Why did the party choose this peak? The answer begins in 1868.

Listen to scene · 1

Synthetic voice · 0:29
Sources · 5
  1. Getty Conservation Institute Concrete Conservation
  2. Jörg Haspel Welcome and Goodwill Message: ICOMOS Germany PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 10
  3. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  4. BeIT File:Buzludzha & Torch Monument.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2015
  5. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
Photographic portrait of Hadzhi Dimitar by an unknown 19th-century photographer; not a photograph of the 1868 battle.
A museum sabre with a revolver, attributed to Hadzhi Dimitar. A modern photograph in Varna, not evidence of the battle site.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders12
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 2 · 20th century

1868: a small band in the mountains

In 1868, the Bulgarian lands were under Ottoman rule. Hadzhi Dimitar led a cheta: a small armed band. The fighters reached Buzludzha in the Balkan Mountains. Ottoman forces defeated the band there. Documents from the time support Hadzhi Dimitar’s death at Buzludzha.

Listen to scene · 2

Synthetic voice · 0:17
Sources · 6
  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  2. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Национален парк Бузлуджа
  3. Вера Бонева Гробът на Хаджи Димитър е под връх Хаджи Димитър в Стара планина История / History · 2022 · 30 · 8–44
  4. Български туристически съюз Връх Кадрафил – Гробът на Хаджи Димитър
  5. Spiritia Hadzhi Dimitar sabre.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2021
  6. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 133.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
Portrait of Dimitar Blagoev published in Molodoy Shakhter on 9 May 1924; not an image of the 1891 congress.

Part 3 · 20th century

1891: a meeting instead of a battle

In 1891, socialists gathered near the same peak. Socialism includes the idea of workers deciding together how factories are run. The groups wanted to unite. Dimitar Blagoev was among the organisers. A party is an organisation that seeks a role in governing. The meeting became a founding congress: an assembly that creates a party. Its name was the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party. Later, the Bulgarian Communist Party presented this congress as its beginning.

Listen to scene · 3

Synthetic voice · 0:30
Sources · 6
  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Национален парк Бузлуджа
  2. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  3. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
  4. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 133.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  5. Pablo Gilabert; Martin O’Neill Socialism The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, Metaphysics Research Lab · 2024
  6. Dimitar Blagoev (1856–1924) Балканска федерация и Македония — вестникарска страница Македонски глас · 1885
A newspaper page with an article by Dimitar Blagoev from 1885; not a document from the 1891 congress.

Part 4 · 20th century

1981: history on the walls

The walls show mosaics: pictures made from small coloured pieces. The hall opened in 1981 as a political museum and ceremonial venue. The conservation plan describes the building as propaganda: persuading people that the authorities were right. Yet the mosaics leave out parts of life under communist rule. Bulgarian law recognises that people were confined in camps for their political beliefs. These camps were places of forced detention. This is repression: persecution and punishment by those in power.

Listen to scene · 4

Synthetic voice · 0:32
Sources · 9
  1. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  2. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
  3. Anna Nevrokopska; Dobrin Tsvetkov Conservation and Management Plan: Significance Assessment and Conservation Strategies for the Buzludzha Monument PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 33–39
  4. Mariela Malamatenova The Synthesis of Mosaics, Decorative Arts and Architecture in Buzludzha Monument – Aspects of Significance PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 51–55
  5. Народно събрание на Република България; Министерство на правосъдието (official consolidated text) Закон за политическа и гражданска реабилитация на репресирани лица Държавен вестник, бр. 50 от 25 юни 1991 г. (с последващи изменения)
  6. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 115.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  7. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 100.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  8. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 102.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  9. Andrija Simović File:Buzludzha Monument The Internationale Text.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2017

Part 5 · 20th century

Activity: why was the building constructed?

What was the Memorial House used for when it opened?

  1. A political museum and ceremonies.
  2. Preparing space flights.
  3. Sheltering the band in 1868.
  4. The party’s first meeting in 1891.
Why is that?

The building of 1981 commemorated an earlier congress and presented history according to the ruling party.

Correct · A political museum and ceremonies.

  1. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  2. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80

Listen to scene · 5

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 2
  1. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  2. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
Grassy slopes and woodland in the Buzludzha area. A modern photograph, not a reconstruction of the landscape in 1868.

Part 6 · 20th century

The hall goes without maintenance

After the political changes of 1989, the hall lost its former role. According to the foundation preserving Buzludzha, it became state property in early 1992. Maintenance ceased. The foundation reports thefts, including the copper roof covering. Water enters through the damaged roof and harms the mosaics. Researchers link the decay to political changes, lack of care and weather damage.

Listen to scene · 6

Synthetic voice · 0:26
Sources · 4
  1. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  2. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
  3. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 115.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  4. Anna Nevrokopska; Dobrin Tsvetkov Conservation and Management Plan: Significance Assessment and Conservation Strategies for the Buzludzha Monument PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 33–39

Part 7 · 20th century

Activity: three moments

Put the events in order, earliest first.

  1. The band’s final battle
  2. The founding congress
  3. The Memorial House opens
Why is that?

The battle came before the congress. Ninety years separate the congress from the building’s opening.

Correct order

  1. The band’s final battle
  2. The founding congress
  3. The Memorial House opens
  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  2. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Национален парк Бузлуджа
  3. Jörg Haspel Welcome and Goodwill Message: ICOMOS Germany PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 10

Listen to scene · 7

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 3
  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  2. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Национален парк Бузлуджа
  3. Jörg Haspel Welcome and Goodwill Message: ICOMOS Germany PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 10
Modern relief map of Bulgaria, 2010, with present-day boundaries; geographic context, not historical borders or a view of the building.
Geographic context, without historical bordersGeographic context, without historical borders1
Geographic context, without historical borders

Part 8 · 20th century

Stabilising the mosaics

The building’s mosaics have lost whole areas. Conservation means preventing further losses. The Technical University of Munich participated in a conservation project in 2019–2022. The foundation reports emergency stabilisation of mosaics in 2020–2022. Stabilising the mosaics is not full restoration of the building. The plan’s authors suggest that preserving it can help people discuss the past. It does not require accepting the former authorities’ message.

Listen to scene · 8

Synthetic voice · 0:31
Sources · 5
  1. Technical University of Munich, Chair of Conservation-Restoration, Art Technology and Conservation Science The Buzludzha-Monument TUM School of Engineering and Design
  2. Buzludzha Project Foundation Our Work
  3. Buzludzha Project Foundation Welcome
  4. Anna Nevrokopska; Dobrin Tsvetkov Conservation and Management Plan: Significance Assessment and Conservation Strategies for the Buzludzha Monument PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 33–39
  5. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 094.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014

Part 9 · 20th century

Activity: who did what?

Match each person or team to their work in the story.

  1. Hadzhi Dimitar · Led the band.
  2. Dimitar Blagoev · United socialist groups.
  3. Georgi Stoilov · Designed the Memorial House.
  4. The conservators · Stabilised the surviving mosaics.
Why is that?

The story follows different roles at one place: a fighter, a party organiser, an architect and people preserving material evidence.

  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  2. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  3. Getty Conservation Institute Concrete Conservation
  4. Buzludzha Project Foundation Our Work

Listen to scene · 9

Synthetic voice · 0:03
Sources · 4
  1. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  2. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  3. Getty Conservation Institute Concrete Conservation
  4. Buzludzha Project Foundation Our Work

A new find for your collection

Researchers suggest that preserving the building can help people discuss the past. It does not require accepting the former authorities’ message.

10 November 1989 · Sofia10 November: who changes the rules?Follow another change in power.Boyana Church · BoyanaThe faces of BoyanaGeorgi Ivanov · BaikonurInto orbit, without docking

People in this story

Hadzhi DimitarDimitar BlagoevGeorgi Stoilov

Sources

  1. Buzludzha Project Foundation Welcome
  2. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Сражението на четата на Хаджи Димитър
  3. Вера Бонева Гробът на Хаджи Димитър е под връх Хаджи Димитър в Стара планина История / History · 2022 · 30 · 8–44
  4. Anna Nevrokopska; Dobrin Tsvetkov Conservation and Management Plan: Significance Assessment and Conservation Strategies for the Buzludzha Monument PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 33–39
  5. Getty Conservation Institute Concrete Conservation
  6. Jörg Haspel Welcome and Goodwill Message: ICOMOS Germany PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 10
  7. Buzludzha Project Foundation History
  8. Български туристически съюз Връх Кадрафил – Гробът на Хаджи Димитър
  9. Mariela Malamatenova The Synthesis of Mosaics, Decorative Arts and Architecture in Buzludzha Monument – Aspects of Significance PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 51–55
  10. Национален парк-музей „Шипка–Бузлуджа“ Национален парк Бузлуджа
  11. Dimitar Blagoev (1856–1924) Балканска федерация и Македония — вестникарска страница Македонски глас · 1885
  12. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 102.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  13. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 115.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  14. BeIT File:Buzludzha & Torch Monument.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2015
  15. Andrija Simović File:Buzludzha Monument The Internationale Text.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2017
  16. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 100.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  17. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 133.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  18. Mark Ahsmann File:20140622 Buzludzha 094.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2014
  19. Spiritia Hadzhi Dimitar sabre.jpg Wikimedia Commons · 2021
  20. Народно събрание на Република България; Министерство на правосъдието (official consolidated text) Закон за политическа и гражданска реабилитация на репресирани лица Държавен вестник, бр. 50 от 25 юни 1991 г. (с последващи изменения)
  21. Pablo Gilabert; Martin O’Neill Socialism The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, Metaphysics Research Lab · 2024
  22. Technical University of Munich, Chair of Conservation-Restoration, Art Technology and Conservation Science The Buzludzha-Monument TUM School of Engineering and Design
  23. Aneta Vasileva Contextualising Buzludzha: Dissonance, Rejection and Cultural Appropriation of Bulgarian Postwar Heritage PDF In Restauro: Post-war Heritage of Art and Architecture in Central and Eastern Europe. Integrated Approaches to Dissonant Monuments and Sites. ICOMOS Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkomitees LXXVIII. Berlin: hendrik Bäßler verlag. ISBN 978-3-910447-09-7 · 2023 · 78 · 74–80
  24. Buzludzha Project Foundation Our Work

Images

Spiritia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A museum sabre with a revolver, attributed to Hadzhi Dimitar. A modern photograph in Varna, not evidence of the battle site.

Open source

Full attribution

Spiritia / Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0. Museum exhibit in Varna. Cut-out detail; background removed.

NordNordWest · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Modern relief map of Bulgaria, 2010, with present-day boundaries; geographic context, not historical borders or a view of the building.

Open source

Full attribution

NordNordWest; Виктор В / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0. Modern relief map of Bulgaria, 2010, with present-day boundaries; geographic context, not historical borders or a view of the building. Processed image.

Unknown 19th-century photographer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Photographic portrait of Hadzhi Dimitar by an Unknown 19th-century photographer; not a photograph of the 1868 battle.

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown 19th-century photographer / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Photographic portrait of Hadzhi Dimitar by an Unknown 19th-century photographer; not a photograph of the 1868 battle. Processed image.

Spiritia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

A museum sabre with a revolver, attributed to Hadzhi Dimitar. A modern photograph in Varna, not evidence of the battle site.

Open source

Full attribution

Spiritia / Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0. Museum exhibit in Varna. Processed image.

Unknown artist · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Portrait of Dimitar Blagoev published in Molodoy Shakhter on 9 May 1924; not an image of the 1891 congress.

Open source

Full attribution

Unknown artist / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Portrait of Dimitar Blagoev published in Molodoy Shakhter on 9 May 1924; not an image of the 1891 congress. Processed image.

Dimitar Blagoev · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

A newspaper page with an article by Dimitar Blagoev from 1885; not a document from the 1891 congress.

Open source

Full attribution

Dimitar Blagoev (1856–1924) / Wikimedia Commons; Public domain. Makedonski glas newspaper, 8 June 1885. Processed image.

Photo

Mark Ahsmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Landscape at Buzludzha. The building and interior described here are not shown.

Open source

Full attribution

Photo: Mark Ahsmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Mountain locality in 2014. Processed image. Site photograph, 2014.

Geographic context, without historical borders

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso · Public domain · Natural Earth

Open source

Full attribution

Tom Patterson · Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso