Buzludzha is a historical peak in the Central Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria. The mountain is located to the east of the Shipka Pass near the town of Kazanlak and is a site of historical importance. The peak is high. It was renamed to Hadzhi Dimitar in 1942 but remains popularly known as Buzludzha. The summit is limestone and granite. Its slopes are covered with grassy vegetation; its foothills and the neighbouring peaks sustain beech forests.
History
In 1868 it was the place of the final battle between Bulgarian rebels led by Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha and forces of the Ottoman Empire. On 31 July, Hadzhi Dimitar and a band of 30 chetniks fought a losing battle against 700 Ottoman troops; only four Bulgarians survived. Their action served as an inspiration for the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottomans ten years later; the decisive battle of that conflict was fought a few miles away at the Shipka Pass. The battle of Buzludzha inspired the renown Bulgarian poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev to write the poem "Hadzhi Dimitar": In 1891 the mountain was the site chosen for the first congress of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers Party led by Dimitar Blagoev. In 1944 the peak was the scene of fighting between Communist partisans and Bulgarian fascist forces when the latter were attacked whilst operating there. Following a desire for a national monument at the peak to commemorate these events the Buzludzha Monument was built between 1971 and 1981, by public subscription. The site has several other monuments to its history: A statue of Hadzhi Dimitar, a relief of the 1891 Congress, and a monument to the partisans who fought there in 1944. In 1974, TNT blasting was employed to remove more than 15,000 cubic metres of rock and create a level foundation for building the new memorial house. As a result, the peak was lowered by – from to its current height of.
Travel
Buzludzha can be reached by two side roads from the Shipka Pass: either a road from Kazanlak in the south or a road from Gabrovo on the north side of the mountain.
In the opera by Mark Grey, the creature is discovered at a point with coordinates 42°44'09.4"N 25°23'37.6"E, which are those of the Buzludzha Monument.
