Impressive mosaics of huge dimension in a building
almost everybody forgot about. Almost....
almost everybody forgot about. Almost....
Yes, this is how bad it is.
It's beginning to get a bit scary. The perfect setting for a sci-fi movie or The Predator...
Now, this looks better. I fear not.
You are looking at mosaics from an era that's not so far away. For this, and apparently other reasons, it still sort of hangs out there till it hopefully is allocated to where it deserves to be.
(I suppose you know which era this is or do you need a hint?.. Hm, thought not).
These mosaics deserve a warmer and friendlier environment because of the work that has been put into them, for their dimensions, for their association with a past that meant something for some people and their ideology, because of the building which they adorn and the location of that building, for respect, for the future.
For being an impressive a MOSAIC MONUMENT in a beautiful setting in the countryside.
Okay.
I think it's time I told you what on EARTH I am talking about.
This is Buzludha. The former headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist party. An abandoned building that few people visit because it's in a really bad state. Looking at it from the pictures, it truly gives you the impression of ANOTHER ERA.
As the building is currently plunged into oblivion, the mosaics are slowly decaying and in no time they could indeed be lost unless someone either restores the building and turn it into a museum or at least remove the mosaics and place them into an existing museum.
I'd love to quote for you the words of Timothy Allen of Human Planet.com who wrote about the place in his post Forget the past:
Buzludha is Bulgaria’s largest ideological monument to Communism. Designed by architect Guéorguy Stoilov, more than 6000 workers were involved in its 7 year construction including 20 leading Bulgarian artists who worked for 18 months on the interior decoration. A small, universally expected donation from every citizen in the country formed a large portion of the funds required to build this impressive structure that was finally unveiled in 1981 on what was the 1300th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state.
Buried in the monument’s concrete structure, is a time capsule containing a message for future generations explaining the significance of the building.
The decor was a sumptuous mixture of marble and glass including a magnificent main hall containing 500sq metres of mosaic fresco depicting Bulgarian and Soviet communist themes.
Timothy Allen also includes pictures of how the building USED TO BE LIKE before being abandoned. This way you can see the mosaics intact.
Sci-fi. Indeed. Star Wars... I'm expecting a Jedi entering the scene.
And this is where Darth Vader is walking fast and furiously.
In his post, Timothy Allen shares an EXTRAORDINARY picture of a REMOVED MOSAIC from the building. The author visited the building on a snowy day.
A sinopia in the snow...
Suggestive, not that scary but who would want to spend Christmas there?
(unless if they turn it into a museum)
(unless if they turn it into a museum)
The way the building looks on a snowy day
In Allen's post, there's a reader's comment that I wanted to include here because it's relevant to both the building and the MOSAICS. He wrote this in May 2013.
The place has deteriorated a lot since you were there, Tim. Most of the mosaics have gone around the balcony and the roof seems almost see through now. But the view is spectacular as ever. There are a few other monuments to check out in the area too and a beautiful russian church. I’m planning a trip back there with some friends to spend a few days waiting for some descent weather, it looks like people will keep braking into the building if anyone seals it up. All the holes seem to have been made in fairly fresh concrete.
In total there are 220 comments on Allen's post Forget your Past!
And here's why I called this post BAD CASE LOVING YOU:
While going through the interesting comments on humanplanet.com I discovered that a band named CRCV went there to film a video for their song BAD CASE. Besides the video you can see pictures from the video clip on their Facebook page. This video is amazing! The MOSAICS THAT GLITTER make it pretty mystic and unforgettable.
So, what do you think?
Is it a bad case loving something that nobody wants to know about?
A presto!
Magda
Thanks:
Thank you Plamena Nikolova and Sofia Polykreti for letting me know about the article on Matador Network! This post wouldn't have existed if it wasn't for that tweet!
Image Credits / Copyright:
Matador Network for the information and for the 1st to 4th photo used in this post
Timothy Allen for the information and for the 5th to 9th photo in this post
PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR PUBLISH THIS POST OR A PLAGIARISED VERSION OF IT WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF ITS AUTHOR. THE SAME GOES FOR THE PHOTOS. PLEASE CONTACT THE PEOPLE MENTIONED HERE ABOVE AND NO MATTER WHAT BE AWARE THAT THESE PHOTOS ARE COPYRIGHTED.
Mosaicology Blog
Very interesting article and thanks fo sharing. It is a shame that this beautiful mosaic art is being abondoned. Same old story I guess: people don't always value of the craftmanship of art and when some people do, funds are not available for preservation. At least you made the effort to recognize it with your blog post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Constantina! Your comment was such a pleasure! I have no idea what the situation is right now there in Bulgaria. You never know. We might have good news for this building one day. Lots of the mosaics are in a good shape so it would be a pity not to save them. Ευχαριστώ.
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