The Organization of Placido Domingo with a Plan to Save the Monument of Buzludzha

Europa Nostra, the leading heritage organisation in Europe, and the European Investment Bank Institute published today a technical and financial report comprising an action plan to preserve and develop the Buzludzha Monument in Bulgaria. The building was listed among the 7 Most Endangered heritage sites in Europe in 2018, following a nomination made by the Buzludzha Project Foundation.

The report was formulated on the basis of the outcomes of the three-day expert mission in Bulgaria undertaken from 26-28 September 2018. During the mission a delegation of European specialists in cultural heritage and finance visited the Buzludzha Monument and met with representatives from the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Culture and the Regional Administration of Stara Zagora.

According to the experts, "the Buzludzha Monument is a unique engineering achievement" and "a masterpiece of architecture and crafts, with evident European interest due to its historic significance, its peculiar characteristics and its numerous potential future uses". The Monument is currently abandoned to decay. "The primary purpose of this action plan is the recovery of the Monument, firstly to return it to a safe and usable condition, and then to bring it into a new life, offering the possibility of organising cultural/touristic visits and many other types of events (e.g. seminars, concerts, exhibitions). The basic intention is not to restore it completely back to its original status but to adapt it to new attractive uses. Notwithstanding, it has to be noted that a crucial target of this action plan is to keep the Monument out of future political controversies," states the report.

Summary of the detailed action plan proposed in the report:

The Monument is state-owned and...