{"id":16773,"date":"2026-10-06T15:15:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madamebulgaria.com\/?p=16773"},"modified":"2026-10-06T16:58:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T13:58:30","slug":"residencia-abandonada-de-bankya-en-el-retiro-olvidado-de-todor-zhivkov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madamebulgaria.com\/es\/abandoned-bankya-residence-inside-todor-zhivkovs-forgotten-retreat\/","title":{"rendered":"Residencia Bankya: \u00bfqu\u00e9 deber\u00eda hacerse con el refugio olvidado de Todor Zhivkov?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bankya<\/b><\/h3>\n

Hidden in the forest outside Sofia, the former Bankya Residence is slowly collapsing. Once associated with Bulgaria\u2019s communist leadership and later with an extraordinary Japanese golf project, its ruins raise a simple question: should such a place disappear, or can history be turned into something new?<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are abandoned buildings, and then there are buildings that make you stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

The former <\/span>Bankya Residence<\/b>, hidden among the trees on the outskirts of Sofia, belongs to the second category.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had already seen the complex from outside. Then I returned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking around it more slowly \u2014 and seeing part of the interior \u2014 completely changed my perception of the place. Yes, it is ruined. Windows have disappeared, walls are covered with graffiti, water and vegetation have entered the building, and many interior elements have been destroyed.<\/span><\/p>\n

But beneath all of that remains something surprisingly grand.<\/span><\/p>\n

The architecture is monumental without being completely oppressive. Huge volumes emerge from the forest. Curved concrete roofs alternate with sculptural facades. Large windows once opened towards the surrounding landscape. Long corridors, halls and terraces reveal just how ambitious the building must have been.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even today, after decades of neglect, you can still imagine how impressive it once looked.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that makes its present condition even harder to understand.<\/span><\/p>\n

A warning before watching the video<\/b><\/h2>\n

I filmed part of the interior during my visit and have included the video below because it gives a much better sense of the scale and present condition of the Bankya Residence than photographs alone can provide.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is <\/span>not an invitation to explore the building<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The complex is badly deteriorated. There is broken glass, damaged ceilings, exposed structures and debris throughout the interior, and there is no way for an ordinary visitor to know which elements may have become unstable after decades without proper maintenance.<\/span><\/p>\n

I therefore do <\/span>not recommend entering the buildings<\/b>. The video is published as documentation of their present condition, not as an urbex guide or an encouragement to follow the same route.<\/span><\/p>\n

[<\/b>VIDEO \u2013 Inside the abandoned Bankya Residence<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n