Dimitar Karanikolov gives us a fascinating look at some of the most impactful Soviet-era sculptures and monuments from the past 40 years. The Brutalist-style sculptures feature vast amounts of concrete and metal.
Some of them are beautifully modern and unique, and painful to see them fully abandoned or forgotten.

See more of his beautiful photography on Instagram and Behance.

Images used with artist’s permission. 

Monument to the Fallen Soldiers – Kosmaj, Serbia.

“Flame” monument – Panicharevo, Bulgaria
 Built in 1975. Designed by Alexander Barov.

The Buzludzha monument is the crown jewel in Bulgaria‘s socialist modernism. When I first entered the monument‘s grand hall as a child in the 1980s, it was still functional and in all its glory. I had never been in a more spectacular space, and the only thing I could compare it to were the Star Wars scenes I had just seen.

Exactly 30 years later, I walked into the building again, this time everything inside was falling apart and rain was pouring through the half-destroyed roof. It was like being in a movie again. Today, with the help of the Getty Foundation and numerous donors and volunteers, a reconstruction is underway.

The Casino in Constanta, Romania was built in 1910 and over the years has been used as a hospital, community centre and restaurant. Destroyed during the wars, rebuilt several times, neglected for decades, it is now being reconstructed. It is one of the most beautiful Art Nouveau buildings in the world.

Builders of the Bulgarian State” Complex in Shumen.

Abandoned socialist monument, overhanging a mountain ‚fjord‘ full of floating houses. Vucha reservoir, Bulgaria

Pantheon, Mother Bulgaria“ – Gurgulyat.
A 20 meters high truncated square pyramid made of pink concrete. Built 1985

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Author

Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

2 Comments

  1. arcb42633

    Beautiful, I am glad someone is trying to save them .

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