Running from the Aliens
This was one of the most incredibly unique places I’ve ever been! This abandoned communist headquarters on a Bulgarian hilltop is often referred to as a UFO because of its shape and also probably because it’s real name, Buzludzha is quite a mouthful.
Sunny pristine pictures will predominantly pop up from a simple Google search but when I arrived it was quite foggy, which in my opinion made it eerily beautiful.
And now an unfortunate note: If you are jealous and hoping to make a visit someday, then get more jealous because it is no longer allowed. Not that it ever was technically but in recent years security has increased. All the holes that adventurers used to crawl through have been blocked. And I read that guards monitor the place full time now. People are still allowed to look at it from the outside, at least.
Unfortunately this is a view they missed out on:
The building is far in the countryside. No shops or other people were around. The location was purposely chosen for construction since that was where an important battle was fought against the Ottoman Empire in 1868.
And this same peak was where the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party first formed in 1891.
Buzludzha was built by 1981 and abandoned about a decade later when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Back in a nearby Bulgarian city, I was staying at a hostel. One of the best hostels I`ve ever been to, I might add since they had a uniquely generous deal that you can`t find anywhere else. Every night you stay also includes one free dinner and one free beer. The price was a typical price for a hostel, same as hostels which don`t include such perks! Surprisingly there was no catch, the place was clean and good quality.
That hostel also advertised a tour to the UFO.. I later found out that what they meant by tour is sharing a taxi with however many people booked the "tour" to the building then exploring it by ourselves.
Despite lots of travelers regularly coming and going to the hostel, only 3 people, me included, went on the day I went.
After learning that we couldn`t enter the front we scouted around and saw some nice graffiti
We only found one way inside; this small hole.
Enter the Dome
Visiting Buzludzha was my top priority in Bulgaria, and I was not dissapointed.
After crawling through we stepped into a whole new dilapidated world. The entrance floor was covered in debris typically of what you’d find in regular abandoned buildings. The view worthy of panoramic mode still hidden until we walked a few steps up a weary staircase and were awe-struck at the awesome auditorium.
The rays of light beaming through broken segments of the large roof nostalgically brings to my mind the abandoned barns I frequented in Texas.
I imagined myself sitting somewhere amongst the circular seating attending a large meeting with my comrades. Wrapped around the entire wall were glorious mosaics in surprisingly good shape.
I will show the power of Instagram by showing the original photo too;
This place was simultaneously intimidating and impressive.
The art on the other side of the same circular wall suffered way worse deterioration, obviously because of it`s exposure to the elements from the shattered windows
Upon hearing the news that this magnificent monument can no longer be explored, my initial knee-jerk reaction is anger towards authority (yet I suppose it`s an IRONic reaction since, what pays more respect to this particular structure and it`s designers than censorship and authority?)
It is good that we went while we could as the place has gotten gradually more dangerous as its concrete gets chipped, metals rusted, glass is shattered and wooden structures fallen apart. People have even died there since the last time I was inside.
On the other hand, don`t individuals have a right to take risks? In response to the governments efforts to deter urban explorers, vandals have smashed more holes to get inside. Wanderlust is understandably unsatiating. You can`t change fundamental human nature to act in self interest, after all, that is why communism has never worked. If this place was restored, using as much original material as possible and converted into a museum then everybody wins. Otherwise it will progressively decay.
Exploring several somewhat dangerous paths and stumbling around in a few scary dark rooms, we eventually found a ladderwell leading up the tall tower. We were no longer in the iconic dome section.
We climbed out of the fog! It was higher than expected since I couldn`t see how high it was earlier due to the fog.
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| Having summited the glorious tower, I was Feeling like a Balkan Badass |
It was an awesome place to relax. A warm bright contrast from the dark foggy depths from where we came. On the way down I was delighted to have found a vodka bottle! Who knows how long it was sitting there? Maybe the commies were drinking it back in the structures` hayday.
Truly a memorable adventure. After crawling back out of the forsaken former communist headquarters, I turned back and saw that the fog encasing it was finally starting to clear up a bit.
I`ve felt for a long time that ideology, while perhaps beneficial in certain contexts, is overall harmful and divisive. Yet I can`t deny that many of the worlds most beautiful architectural creations throughout human history were ideologically motivated. The artistic style of this structure, inside and out, clearly is designed to invoke fear and respect, like an alien overlord. The majestic UFO had mesmerizing ambience that makes one feel out of this world.
When I returned to the hostel, I was surprised to read a message a stranger had sent me online informing me that there are psilocybin mushrooms growing nearby the UFO. Somehow he knew I had planned to go to Buzludzha soon, but apparently did not know exactly when since I received the message while exploring.
I bet those would`ve felt out of this world too ;)
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