All private tours to Buzludzha from Veliko Tarnovo begin early in the morning when some our tour guides pick you up from your hotel in Veliko Tarnovo or the area. Veliko Tarnovo is one of the closes big cities and reaching Buzluzdha monument is very easy. On the way you will pass through some of the most lovely sights in Bulgaria as the Etar ethnographic complex, the town of Gabrovo, Kazanlak city and the valley of the roses and the Thracian kings, the Shipka monument and the memorial church of Shipka and many local small villages.
We want to build this trip from Veliko Tarnovo to Buzludha around you and your preferences. So, if you want to combine your visit to Buzludzha with visit to some other landmark in the area we can arrange it. All you have to do is to send us a requirement with the places you want to visit and we will put everything together for you and your group. Even if you don’t want to go back to Veliko Tarnovo, but to drop you off to some other location.
Tour availability:
The tour to Buzludzha is available during the whole year, but sometimes during the cold months there is a lot of snow in the mountain and the road to Buzludzha is blocked, because nobody clean it, of course. In this case you will probably need to hike for about 20 minutes – 1 hour (depending on the conditions). This is a part of the Buzluzdha adventure, so don’t worry! Our guides know where they are going.
Included: Transportation(fuel, VAT and taxes); Local tour guide/driver; Drop on/off from/to your accommodation
Excluded: Food and personal expenses
Total distance: 160 km.
Total driving time: 3 hours
More about the Buzludzha Monument
Many people, Bulgarians and foreign tourists alike, are tempted to climb the peak of Hadzhi Dimitar to see the majestic monument standing there, a structure already over 30 years old, but lacking a large part of its initial decorations and reduced to a site with broken windows and scattered debris. Yet, the monument still impresses. The Buzludzha monument history is connected with a lot of events, one of which took place in 1891, when the first Socialist party in Bulgaria was founded.
The monument was inaugurated in 1981, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of that event. It took the joint efforts of many citizens of the country who contributed money and labor to make the Buzludzha project become reality. It was a real feat, the Buzludzha monument architecture, and the monument rose solemn and imposing on the outside and exquisite on the inside. The authorship was the achievement of a very large team which was headed by architect Georgi Stoilov and Professor engineer Dobromir Kolarov. The team which was responsible for the building included over 70 designers, 13 merited artists and a plethora of other artists in the field of mosaics, glass plastics, sculpture, etc. Soldiers and volunteers also contributed voluntary labor. After the starting of the construction in 1974, the work was finished in 1981. The building did not stop for even a single day, even when the weather conditions were harsh.
The monument is similar to a sacrificing site, circular in shape, and next to it towers a pylon with two red five pointed stars on both sides of its top. The pylon symbolizes a flowing flag, and is comprised of two interconnected parts. The ruby stars on the top have a height of 12 meters, a width of 6.5 meters, and a weight of 5 tonnes. When the monument functioned, the stars were lighted at night, and the entire composition was flooded with light, thanks to special lighting.
On both sides of the main entrance visitors could see verses of the International and from another, Socialist themed song. The staircase leading to the main entrance provided the formal access. At the foot of the stairs there was a 12 meter group comprised of flowing flags and made of marble and metal. There, the two milestones for Socialists, 1981 and 1944, were built in, and there were sculptures which symbolized heroes from uprisings and resistance.
The ritual hall, which is huge and arranged in amphitheater style, still impressed with its height and width. It has a diameter of 60 meters and a height of 14.5 meters. The original dome weighed 250 tonnes. The hall was conceived as the solemn site for nationwide events.
The hall was lined with marble, with seats for 800 persons. On the dome, the communist symbol – a sickle intertwined with a hammer, can still be seen, and around it there is the international slogan, “Proletarians from all countries unite”.
The political changes in Bulgaria which occurred after the year 1989 meant the role of the Socialist party declined. The same applied to the Buzludzha communist headquarters for solemn events, Buzludzha.