Riin Alatalu, Associate Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) and Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage Studies, introduces a conference held in Bulgaria in April 2026, where she presented the project Monumendi Uued Raamid (How to Reframe Monuments / MUR).
Buzludzha MUR
Perched on a high mountain peak in the heart of Bulgaria, Buzludzha—resembling a UFO—is a unique symbol of a totalitarian society by virtue of its architecture, location, and history. What makes it particularly special is that the building, which opened in 1981, was constructed using public donations and voluntary labor. The Bulgarian Communist Party chose this mountain as the site for its flagship building because an important 1868 battle took place at its foot, leading to Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman rule ten years later. On the exact same spot, the Social Democratic Workers’ Party was founded in 1891, and in 1944, a battle took place there between partisans and fascists.
Politically charged and multi-layered, the building with its unique architecture and striking mosaics was not simply left empty in the 1990s; its copper roof was pried off, and its precious interior furnishings were looted.
In 2015, the Buzludzha Foundation was established, with founding members including the Bulgarian and German committees of ICOMOS. The foundation has consistently worked to gather and promote its history, while seeking and successfully finding ways to conserve and restore the building. Dora Ivanova, head of the foundation, also gave a presentation on Buzludzha at EKA in 2023 as part of the course “Rethinking Soviet Modernism.”
The foundation regularly organizes conferences focused on making sense of controversial heritage, sharing diverse experiences, and fostering collaboration. At the 2026 Buzludzha Forum, Riin Alatalu introduced the MUR (Monumendi Uued Raamid) project within an Eastern European context.
- Event intro video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfD3Ow-Lgk8
- Presentation recordings: https://buzludzha-project.com/en/forum
- Riin Alatalu’s presentation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OA8-IPF9CvtnCts_bw0SXF2xg-GWenRC/view
- Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11jDdbTDL8rPUm_bKeak0NaleWq0dXxCj/view
