The mountain-top Buzludzha Monument was created as a symbolic home for Bulgarian Socialists in the late 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, it served as a secret meeting place for Communists, its futuristic architecture reaching towards a bright future that never came. In 1981, the monument was finally opened to the public, a ruin of what it once was. It’s rumored that there is a time capsule explaining the significance of the building hidden somewhere inside placed there as a note to future generations.
Photographer Romain Veillon travelled to Buzludzha to photograph this strange relic. Documenting the past is a big part of his practice: “Places full of history where time is frozen let us imagine what must have been the life of a time not so long ago. And more importantly, it lets us create our own stories.” Veillon told DAZED:
I wanted to feel what it was like to stand in the middle of a gigantic room with the hammer and sickle on top of me. There is almost a religious atmosphere, as we were in a temple (also because of the fact that I were alone there and didn’t see anybody). But in the end it’s more an impression of peace that comes out of it, when you try to envision what it was like before it was abandoned, even if we can still feel the ghosts of some Soviet soldiers in the corridors!
You can view Veillon’s photos in our gallery above, and visit his website to check out more of his work or follow him on Facebook. (Images courtesy Romain Veillon)
