Apartment of Soviet Life

Dimitrovgrad is said to be the first socialist industrial town in Bulgaria. It started from scratch in 1947 when thousands of youth gathered at this spot and started a colossal building project to create a new city. The result was a utopian Socialist environment with straight streets, large squares, park areas, and districts that were segregated into different types of factories and workers. The new town was named Dimitrovgrad for the first communist leader of Bulgaria, Georgi Dimitrov.

Not much has changed in Dimitrovgrad since it was constructed making it one of the biggest open-air museums of socialist architecture or “Stalin Baroque.” The houses still stand with the same ideological decorations, columns, and small balconies. The most notable advancements are air-conditioners, plastic windows, and commercial billboards. Dimitrovgrad was once a booming location with large factories and open opportunities for young people to start their life. Nowadays, it’s just a sleepy little town.

For the 70th anniversary of Dimitrovgrad, the town created a time-capsule of local life as it was when the town was created in this apartment. Visitors can familiarize themselves with furniture, home decorations, technical appliances, and everything else from the 1950s and 1960s. All the items in the apartment are authentic and were mostly donated by local residents.