Pair of Torches

These imposing torch sculptures were built as part of grounds of the Buzludzha Monument which sits high on the hilltop above the torches. The peak itself was the site of a battle between the Bulgarians and the Turks in 1868. In 1891 a group of socialists lead by Dimitar Blagoev met on the peak to plan for Bulgaria’s socialist future. In 1981the government in power during the height of Soviet influence decided to erect a monument commemorating socialist communism. After the government’s fall from power in 1989, the site was abandoned and left half completed to slowly fall into disrepair. (Buzludzha Peak, Bulgaria)