WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

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WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?

WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Wed, 09/02/2020 - 18:17

For many years aficionados of period military hardware and Cold War history have found Bulgaria a paradise as abandoned war machines, installations, barracks, shelters and even Air Force silos are scattered all over the country. 

where in bulgaria are you.jpg
© Anthony Georgieff

Often, they can be visited without any restrictions. But Bulgaria has another type of military installations that predate the Warsaw Pact barracks and border outposts. Remember: before becoming the most loyal satellite of the USSR this country was a Nazi ally. Along the whole of the Black Sea coast there is at least a dozen of German bunkers, facing east, and still standing where the German engineers and troops erected them at the beginning of the Second World War. Most are in various stages of dereliction – as much as a concrete bunker can decay – but some, including the one pictured here, have been "spruced up" to avoid being referred to as eyesores by local and visitors alike.

Where in Bulgaria are you? 

Where in Bulgaria are you?

Email your answers to editorial@vagabond.bg and you can win a copy of Hidden Treasures of Bulgaria 2

HTB2

Issue 167-168

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where in bulgaria are you
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Most of these water reservoirs exist to this day, though some are reportedly in a bad state as they have not been maintained for years. The majority are unremarkable, but some are in fact quite serene – and many locals frequent for angling or camping.
where in bulgaria are you
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
As a result of what some Bulgarians refer to as the "unbridled" construction of hotels, resorts and holiday homes – "entombing the Black Sea in concrete" – many of them have been destroyed.
where in bulgaria are you
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
But owing to its topography it is one of the best places in Europe to explore bridges.
where in bulgaria are you.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Still, this country does boast a number of small isles one of which is even permanently inhabited.
where in bulgaria are you
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
It was supposed to commemorate a series of 19th century battles between Russian and Ottoman forces that led to the restoration of Bulgaria's independence. As such, every Bulgarian school kid knows it as they are taken on obligatory bus tours of the area.
where in bulgaria are you.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
During the centuries the natural fortification provided by the rocks was used for a military installation by whoever happened to be in power.
where in bulgaria are you 173_0.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Through the centuries, Bulgaria has changed the location of its capital city at least a dozen times.
where in bulgaria 171-172.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
High hills were deemed a particularly appropriate location as they used both Socialist Realism and the power of nature to assert the invincible authority of the Party and the working classes.
where in bulgaria are you 170.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
A few yards from the muddy waters a small village house stands. This is where Vanga, the blind clairvoyant and one of Bulgaria's best-known 20th century phenomena, used to live.
where in bulgaria are you.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
He discovered he could find virtually no information relating to it. In fact, he could find a lot more about the Nile's journey through Africa than he could about this river's meanders through southeastern Europe.
where in bulgaria are you 166.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
But behind the trinket souvenir stands and the overpriced tavernas it holds many centuries of history, a charming old town and perhaps the biggest concentration of medieval churches in Bulgaria.
where in bulgaria are you 165.jpg
WHERE IN BULGARIA ARE YOU?
Every Bulgarian knows it used to be the capital of the medieval kingdom of the Bulgarians just before the Ottomans invaded, in the late 14th century.