# Soviet Glass Factory, Bulgaria



## Darmon_Richter (Dec 17, 2012)

This site is located in the Balkan Mountains, just outside a small town in central Bulgaria. This massive glass factory was built in the 1970s by the Soviet Union – at the time it was built, train tracks ran all the way into the warehouses, allowing for fast and efficient shipments of sand from the Black Sea beaches.









To melt glass into sand you need a constant temperature in excess of 1500 degrees, and so the furnaces at this factory were kept in perpetual use. Staff would work long shifts, overlapping, so that the factory would be in constant production day and night. Four tons of fossil fuel were burnt at the glass factory every day that it was in use.








Communism came to an end in Bulgaria in 1990, one year before the final collapse of the Soviet Union. As the old regime crumbled, many state-operated services fell into ruin. The railway that fed this factory was one of them. For a while shipments of sand were brought across country by lorry, but this proved to be inefficient and unreliable, and production at this factory soon ground to a halt.








Nowadays the site is owned by a private company, and one which is rumoured to have close ties with organised crime. It's heavily guarded by armed security, to keep out looters and other intruders... luckily I have a Bulgarian friend who went to school with a few of the guards, and so he was able to talk his way past them.

Once inside, the site is absolutely massive. It covers roughly the area of an airport, divided into warehouses, cooling stations, offices, canteens and production lines. I even found an old bomb shelter on one side of the complex, reached through a heavy concrete archway set into a grassy bank. Inside there was enough space to house all of the factory's team of workers, including dormitories, washrooms, a canteen and a lecture hall.













At the back of the complex was a large reservoir, used for holding the vast quantities of water required for the cooling process. A pathway led out onto a concrete platform in the middle of this artificial lake, featuring a series of rusted cogwork machines for controlling the water level, and offering great views across the water towards the back of the warehouses.













Heading back into the main site I came across a long conveyor belt, suspended high above the ground on a metal gantry. The lower end entered one of the smaller outlying buildings, which housed a series of furnaces and rusting machines. In the other direction, the conveyor reached a point high up on the wall of the main factory building... I decided to climb it all the way up, from where I was able to squeeze in through a window, onto a ledge high above the floor of the cooling rooms.













The site was huge, and I spent many hours exploring it... even after that though, there were still countless areas that I hadn't seen! Definitely one for a return visit, before the new owners begin dismantling the buildings to sell as scrap metal.

I only picked some of my favourite shots for this post... but you can see more interior photos, as well as a full write-up of my visit to the site, on my blog here: http://bohemian-blog.blogspot.com/2012/05/urban-exploration-soviet-glass-factory.html

Cheers!
DR.


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## c_gray_photo (Dec 17, 2012)

This is wonderful. I've long been thinking about doing a series on Soviet factories in different post-communist countries. Very interesting but would I risk being shot or mugged if I went there without a guide?


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## flyboys90 (Dec 17, 2012)

I,ve read your blog its very good,thanks for sharing.


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## perjury saint (Dec 17, 2012)

*Excellent stuff!! Me like...*


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## UE-OMJ (Dec 17, 2012)

Looking good, but where's the shot from the top of the chimneys?


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## Pen15 (Dec 17, 2012)

A really interesting place.

Great report and well put together.


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## UrbanX (Dec 17, 2012)

Oh my! I think I'm gonna have to finish your blog then book my flights! Bulgaria looks amazing!
Fantastic pics and report, thanks for sharing!


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## Darmon_Richter (Dec 23, 2012)

c_gray_photo said:


> I've long been thinking about doing a series on Soviet factories in different post-communist countries. Very interesting but would I risk being shot or mugged if I went there without a guide?



No, you should be absolutely fine. Eastern Europe is a very safe place to visit. I've been to some of the former USSR states in Eurasia as well, and even countries like Kazakhstan - although quite a culture shock - feel really safe to travel around on your own. 

If you get caught trespassing then you're likely to get a good deal of questioning in most post-communist countries - particularly as many of these nations don't understand the concept of urbex one bit. It would be simpler for them to assume you were a spy.

The trick is not getting caught... and in case you do, keep some money in your socks for bribes. 




flyboys90 said:


> I,ve read your blog its very good,thanks for sharing.



Thanks a lot, I'm glad you enjoyed the blog! 




UE-OMJ said:


> Looking good, but where's the shot from the top of the chimneys?


 
Hahaha, yeah, fair point.  At least it gives me something to go back for next time.




UrbanX said:


> Oh my! I think I'm gonna have to finish your blog then book my flights! Bulgaria looks amazing!



Seriously, there is just so much to explore in this country... I've seen some amazing stuff already, but I'm only just beginning to realise how much more there is. If you do make it over here some time, lemme know!


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## King Al (Dec 24, 2012)

This place looks amazing DR, great report! like the glass mountain


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## mrtoby (Dec 25, 2012)

love it-so good to see stuff outside the UK...good job


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## MrDan (Dec 26, 2012)

4 tonnes of fossil fuel every day! 
Blimey, a great explore by the looks of it. 
Though did you mean 'to melt sand in to glass' ?  
Sounds like you were lucky to get in, interesting to think about organised crime in these countries.


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## Darmon_Richter (Dec 26, 2012)

MrDan said:


> 4 tonnes of fossil fuel every day!
> Blimey, a great explore by the looks of it.
> Though did you mean 'to melt sand in to glass' ?
> Sounds like you we're lucky to get in, interesting to think about organised crime in these countries.



What did I say, 'melt glass into sand'? Haha... glad someone's paying attention!


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## MrDan (Dec 26, 2012)

Darmon_Richter said:


> What did I say, 'melt glass into sand'? Haha... glad someone's paying attention!



That's exactly what you said


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## Darmon_Richter (Dec 27, 2012)

MrDan said:


> That's exactly what you said



Where's that facepalm smilie...


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## Sectionate (Dec 27, 2012)

Looks awesome! I love the old commie architecture, no matter what the building is


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## Ramsgatonian (Dec 28, 2012)

Looks like a set from a first-person shooter game!


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## Darmon_Richter (Dec 29, 2012)

Ramsgatonian said:


> Looks like a set from a first-person shooter game!



Haha, yeah - I can totally see that!



Incidentally, I have just uploaded a kind of 'sequel' to this report... [ame="http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?p=251851#post251851"]here[/ame].


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## peterc4 (Jan 3, 2013)

Looks like a sci-fi set intteresting stuff


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