37 years ago, the "flying saucer", which is now in ruins, attracted countless people to explore.

If I have to say what I expect most in Bulgaria, that is the monument to the magic realism.

Among the wilderness of Serbia and Bulgaria, there are several monuments built in the middle of last century, mostly for commemorating the struggle of guerrilla forces fighting fascist during World War II, and remembering the innocent people who died in the war. Unfortunately, with the drastic changes in Eastern Europe, most of the monument has been abandoned, and other modern fantasy of decadent and formed a strong contrast, but attracted countless fans to go exploring the ruins.

I probably saw this picture on the Internet five years ago, and to my surprise it was a real scene! I knew it was a monument in Bulgaria through the narration of the filmmaker, and it is now abandoned. But it opened a gateway to the new world for me. This rather challenging "flying saucer" is naturally included in the series of "this life must go".

It should be said that it is not a scenic spots, stands alone in the mountains in Shipka (Shipka) and Booz Zha Shan (Turkey meaning "ice") 1441 meter elevation, here was the main battlefield of the 1868 Nianxipuka campaign, with the help of Russia, Bulgaria Turkey forces out of Pleven. In 1891, the secret activities of the Social Democratic Party led by Berbatov, the predecessor of the Bulgarian Communist Party, were also carried out here. In order to commemorate, also to remind people of the former Soviet Union is Bulgaria's good friend, at the top of the hill built the monument
（Buzludzha Monument/Бузлуджа паметник）。

The monument, once the headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party, is the most representative building and Heritage in Bulgarian socialist era. It is full of magical futurism style and looks like UFO in science fiction blockbuster. It was once the landmark of Bulgaria, the most important part of which was the lecture platform. The leaders spoke in the "flying saucer", and the outside square reached the hillside and gathered thousands of people to listen.

The monument is made up of a dome hall and a high tower about 70 meters. The top of the tower is decorated with two 6.5x12 meters of red pentagros. The monument in the largest hall 42 meters in diameter, 14.5 meters high, a total area of 550 square meters, surrounded by walls with mosaic decoration, depicting the Bulgarian Communist Party in order to achieve socialist fight history, on the walls of the most significant is the portrait of Lenin and Marx.


This magnificent stage opened on January 1981, but the funny thing is, this building is a "beandregs", a few years later it became dangerous, crumbling, with Eastern Europe changed the world, then abandoned the monument, was ridiculed. The exterior walls of the building were covered with various styles of graffiti, and the roof was severely damaged and had been banned. Bulgaria now doesn't seem to want to repair it again. A few years later, the most brilliant works of art in the Bulgarian socialist period will no longer exist.

However, the building resembling UFO is one of the most famous modern ruins in the world, attracting numerous explorers and photographers to explore it, and of course, I am so full of curiosity. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a distance of only 3 kilometers of the monument to the only hotel, night shooting monument plan can only give up, I can only take it as a way to Veliko Tarnovo from Plovdiv.

There is no public transportation, and self driving is the only choice. Starting from Plovdiv, it's about two hours' drive.

On the road, the mountain scenery beautiful, the road is also very good. In front of the mountain is what I want to drive up to the mountains of Shipka.

The nameless Monument (or no name, mainly because I can't read Bulgarian text) on the side of the road, makes me more interested in this "flying saucer".


Through the countryside, suddenly looked up, it stands in front of the top of the hill, my heart almost from the throat out saccade. Look at the navigation display, 30 kilometers from the top of the mountain!


On the way to the "UFO" monument, at the foot of the hill is the town of Shipka (4 /Shipka, alpha kappa me are exceptionally bright golden dome of the church). There are other monuments in the nearby mountains and the remains of some battlefields.


The Bulgarians also can use it as a natural attractions to make, do not need any tickets, but there is a clear indication of the road, to highway 5005 to the top, even in such a desolate road, also stands a statue, a look that is linked to the Soviet era.


The mountain road is the local farmers put cattle striking one snag after another, even blocked the only road, so they can only come swaggeringly underground mountain.

The road to the top of the mountain is more rugged, and 180 degrees of hairpins are 10! A few days ago, a rainfall increased with altitude, and it turned to snow at the top of the mountain. If winter comes, is unable to reach the top of the mountain, because of heavy snow, there is no one to snow. It should be said, I have been staring at the monument, the mood, like a pilgrimage.



On the way to the top of the mountain, I thought: Bulgarian people are also a little bit nervous. Driving up is such a difficult road. How did they first transport these building materials?

Because of the snow, the car couldn't get to the front of the monument. It had to walk up the thick snow to reach it.


But because of the snow, they decided not to go up, just put the UAVs on the aerial. My picture is the panorama of the top of their UAVs.

This monument is almost forgotten by the local people, foreigners come to the majority, graffiti are also foreigners masterpiece, abandoned the memorial hall from the inside to the outside is like the scene in the sci-fi blockbuster, only the top of the red star indicates it was thousands of people gathered here: the magnificent stage.


"Flying saucer" outside the square and in front of the sculpture is in shreds and patches on both sides of the Cyril text, Front Gate cannot read, I guess it should be some unity in the slogan. The colorful graffiti was found on the exterior wall, standing in the doorway of the monument, looking away, and Yamashita Yoshihito sent the pastoral scenery.



I turned around it, but I couldn't find the entrance. It had been said that the original entrance had been sealed, one can climb into windows in a side wall. But because of my broken tail, I was afraid to climb in and get hurt, and I could only give up. I put the lens into the door gap, there is a desolate, the floor is broken gravel and glass, particularly shabby. The fallen ceiling, a rusty steel structure, can also be imagined to be a brilliant one here in the 80s of last century.




The top of the mountain climate and I only just change unpredictably, ten minutes, suddenly the wind blew, and the sun is shining, but due to the high altitude, even the summer will feel chilly.




I can't stand it. I'm going to drive down the hill and look back at the last eye of the monument. And under the monument's hillside, two flare and monuments together formed a group of buildings.



The monument that photo shoot "goddess" once said: the building was built after the human, is away from the original meaning, as an independent existence, continue to stand in field.


Human beings have created these monuments, remembering the dead, and remembering the past of the battle. However, when the landscape is no longer in this land, the monument is gradually forgotten. Today's time of peace, looking at these desolate existence, do people still remember those brilliant years?