slavaroid

Among the most iconic flying saucers in the world, this béton brut monster overtops the landscape of Stara Planina, halfway between Plovdiv and Veliko Tărnovo.

Its story dates back to the early Seventies, when a fundraising among Bulgarian people was promoted by the government: a party house had to be built on Buzludzha peak.

Architect Georgi Stoilov (later also designer of the Arch of Liberty in the Beklemeto Pass) came up with the idea of a gigantic brutalist ufo landed on the top of the mountain – plus an adjoining majestic tower proudly sporting two embellished glass red stars, alleged to be among the biggest in the whole Eastern Bloc.

The raw concrete spaceship was inaugurated on 23th of August 1981. The monument was public and available for free.

Massive crowds went to admire the grandeur of the brand new building: the magnificent view from the ribbon windows on the deck, the extra-large hammer and sickle on the dome, the mosaics on the round huge hall – on one side Marx, Engels and Lenin, opposite Blagoev, Dimitrov and the General Secretary Zhivkov, even though at that times still alive and ruling.

Unfortunately, the luck of Buzludzha memorial was very short.

In use only for 8 years, in 1989 it was abandoned to its destiny following the collapse of People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
The Monument House of Bulgarian Communist Party was left to rot, becoming one of the most beloved urban exploration destinations of the Balkans.

Its fate is still unclear.

Karosta means in Latvian “war port” – and it couldn’t be more evident.

Between the 19th and the 20th century, the Russian Empire began to fortify Liepāja. Massive coastline batteries were raised along its northern shore in order to prevent potential attacks from the Germans. The base hosted several submarines and many warships of the Imperial Navy.

Nevertheless, on November 1908 the fort was declared a tactical failure. It was completely demobilised and partially blown up – its solid concrete walls, yet almost intact, crumbling in one piece into the sea.

As a highly strategical point – the port doesn’t ice even during harsh winters – after World War II the fort was permanently occupied by the Soviet Armed Forces. Liepāja became a closed military city, the naval base secreted and excluded from the maps.
The Red-Banner Baltic Fleet and its nuclear weaponry stationed in Karosta until the early Nineties, when Latvia obtained its independence.

At the end of the 19th century, during the construction of the Kerch railway line, a village named Семь Колодезей – Seven Wells – began to form. Despite its name, the lack of fresh drinkable water made its development very hard. 
Wells, ponds and pipelines became to appear after World War II.

In 1954 Sem’ Kolodezey was transferred, as well as the whole Crimea, to Ukrainian SSR.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, the town was transformed into an urban-type settlement and renamed Lenino.