Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Borneo orangutan
Malaysia • 12 days, 11 nights
Wild Borneo: Secrets of an Ancient Rainforest
from
Pastel de nata
Portugal • 8 days, 7 nights
Portugal: A Culinary Adventure from Porto to Lisbon
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Ana de Mendoza y de la Cerda, Princess of Éboli, was imprisoned for six months in the tower.
Torreón de Pinto (Tower of Pinto)
Rococo staircase to the musicians’s gallery.
Biscari Palace
Statues of Qin Hui and Lady Wang.
Qin Hui Statue at Yue Fei Temple
The Salt Canyon.
Salt Canyon
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
 Fenway Park at night
How Was Your First Trip With Your Significant Other?
about 13 hours ago
Ivan the Terra Bus
The Bus, the Myth, the Legend: Ivan the Terra Bus
1 day ago
Pigeons were included in a series of 1891 illustrations entitled “Household Pets.”
What Makes a Pest a Pest?
3 days ago
Burros Alfa and Beto, seen here with Luis Soriano in 2008, have been helping the teacher deliver books for more than 20 years.
How One Man and His ‘Biblioburro’ Spreads Literacy in Rural Colombia
5 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Bulgaria Bankya Residence

Bankya Residence

Now a ruin, this grand resort was coveted by a communist autocrat and an eccentric Japanese golfer.

Bankya, Bulgaria

Added By
Get In Group
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Main entrance with the crest   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
Main entrance with the crest   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
  Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
  Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
  Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
The swimming pool   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
The building’s distinctive arches   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
The golf course   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
  Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
Brochure from the hotel times, found on site   Get In Group / Atlas Obscura User
  blekaible / Atlas Obscura User
  blekaible / Atlas Obscura User
  blekaible / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Communist leaders were known to enjoy high-end luxury, and Bulgaria's Todor Zhivkov, the prime minister from 1962 to 1971, was no exception. One such opulent display of power was the Bankya Residence, which sported a sauna, indoor swimming pool, and landscaped park, among other features.

Built in the 1970s as a sanatorial complex, the Residence took advantage of the thermal properties of Bankya, whose mineral waters and mountain air had made the town a health destination for centuries. But Zhivkov seems to have taken a liking to the facility, with its distinctive Soviet-era architecture, and used it as a personal residence until his ousting from power in 1989, just a few months before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

In its post-communist era, the complex attracted the interest of Masako Ohya, an eccentric Japanese billionaire who enjoyed golfing in her distinctive pink outfits. The “Pink Billionairess” became a bright blotch of paint in the gray landscape. She bought a controlling share in the property with plans for a hotel, golf course, and private homes. But Ohya died in 1999, and her pink-hued vision with her. Today, her only visible legacy on the abandoned site is the Golf and Country Club's crest, painted above the main entrance, and brochures scattered in the west wing.

The building was occasionally guarded and used for events, but it has been vandalized. While some of the most unique features in the main lobby and restaurant area have been lost to arson and theft, it is still worth a visit, as both the trashed interior and overgrown exterior offer unique views and a calm, relaxing atmosphere.

Related Tags

Abandoned Golf Mansions History Architectural Oddities Communist Architecture

Know Before You Go

Parking is available on nearby streets and near the “Path of Health” trail. When facing its starting arch, head right until you reach a metal gate, then up the hill: The main building will be in front, with the guard building to your right. Follow the asphalt-then-dirt road on the left around the golf course, now overgrown, and you will reach the villas, with an unmistakably pink one near the end.

The building is in an advanced state of decay, so caution is advised.

Community Contributors

Added By

Get In Group

Edited By

blekaible

  • blekaible

Published

January 5, 2024

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/04/archives/reporters-notebook-jackson-equates-ballet-and-renaissance-hypnotic.html
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tC9W0eTTiI&ab_channel=FalconVoyager
  • https://www.slavorum.org/5-hauntingly-grim-buildings-in-bulgaria-that-have-been-abandoned-for-decades/
  • https://bnr.bg/en/post/100105532/bulgaria-an-attractive-golf-tourism-destination
  • https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/the-residence-of-the-last-soviet-bulgarian-dictator.119263/
  • https://www.sosbrutalism.org/cms/19035892
  • https://nonument.org/nonuments/residence-of-todor-zhivkov/
Bankya Residence
ul. "Ivan Vazov" 1-16
Bankya, 1320
Bulgaria
42.699447, 23.143307
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Gorna Banya Abandoned Bath House

Sofia, Bulgaria

miles away

Surva Carnival at Pernik

Pernik, Bulgaria

miles away

Underground Mining Museum

Pernik, Bulgaria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Europe

Places 63
Stories 4

Nearby Places

Gorna Banya Abandoned Bath House

Sofia, Bulgaria

miles away

Surva Carnival at Pernik

Pernik, Bulgaria

miles away

Underground Mining Museum

Pernik, Bulgaria

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Europe

Places 63
Stories 4

Related Places

  • Three northern rooms on second floor

    Mohave County, Arizona

    Gold King Mansion

    A century-old miner's quarters turned mansion.

  • Póstelek Back Facade A

    Békéscsaba, Hungary

    Széchenyi-Wenckheim Castle Ruins

    The ruins of an early 1900s neo-Baroque mansion sit nestled in a local park in the Hungarian plains.

  • An exterior view.

    Georgia

    Torrey-West House

    This mansion on an island off the coast of Georgia once belonged to a 108-year-old heiress.

  • Parts of the Berlin Wall just outside of the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg, Florida.

    St. Petersburg, Florida

    Berlin Wall Section in St. Petersburg

    History is hiding at the Morean Center for Clay.

  • Khostinskiy, Russia

    Dacha Kvitko

    An abandoned mansion is now a haven for urban explorers.

  • Stomoplo, Bulgaria

    Perla 2

    Not far from a popular beach, an unfinished, abandoned mansion for Bulgaria's last communist dictator.

  • Mexico City, Mexico

    La Casa de los Azulejos

    Once home to an aristocratic family and a workers' organization, this intricately tiled building now houses a chain restaurant.

  • Sphinxes

    Spetses, Greece

    The Neith of Spetses

    Overlooking the harbor is a beautiful neglected mansion guarded by two Egyptian sphinxes.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.