Abandoned Communist Monument in Bulgaria

Buzludzha National Park in the wonderful Central Stara Planina, is found right in the heart of Bulgaria. However as soon as one gets to the Shipka Pass there awaits a thing quite surprising. It is almost like a massive flying saucer has preferred this particular location in the Balkan Mountains for a leisurely pit stop and ended up being signposted, yet abandoned by its owners. Opened in 1981 for the 1300th anniversary of the founding of the state of Bulgaria this construction was suddenly deserted only 20 years later following a fall of communism in Eastern Europe.

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Flickr Adammlewis

Flickr  ERA SURA

Flickr  ERA SURA

Flickr  Adammlewis

Flickr  ERA SURA

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Flickr  ERA SURA

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Flickr  Nedko

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Flickr Nedko

Flickr  Adammlewis

Flickr  Nedko

Flickr Nedko

Forgotten Monuments

These imposing constructions are monuments of former Yugoslavia’s Socialist Republic. For his project “Spomenik: The End of History, ” Belgian professional photographer Jan Kempenaers invested several years traveling across the Balkans in order to catch the forgotten monuments. In the 60s and 70s, the local authorities commissioned many monuments, constructed at sites of WWII combats. These were meant to memorialize shared experiences of nation's loss and suffering, as well as to symbolize the strength of the new republic and unify the people of Republic around a common history. The monuments drew a lot of visitors during the 1980s, however after Republic’s chaotic dissolution, these were deserted and forgotten.