A flying-saucer-shaped concrete monument perched on top of Buzludzha peak at 1,432 metres in the central Balkan range. Construction took seven years, used six thousand tonnes of concrete, and required volunteer labour from across socialist Bulgaria. After the regime fell it was abandoned, the copper stripped, the doors broken open, and the interior left to the weather.
The monument is officially closed and physically sealed — you can no longer enter the disc — but the exterior is open to anyone who makes the drive. From Kazanlak it is about 35 kilometres of climbing road, with the final stretch passing the Shipka Pass and its monument to the 1877 Russo-Turkish war. On a clear day the views down both sides of the Balkans are extraordinary. There is talk of restoration funded by international foundations; for now it remains one of the most surreal sights in the country.