Located in the Razmetanitsa river valley, in the Bobov Dol municipality of Bulgaria’s Kyustendil province, the monument commemorates local WWII-era antifascists. In July 1944, 16 partisans from the Dupnitsa detachment were killed here by fascist forces. The monument was raised in 1975, designed by the renowned Bulgarian architect Alexander Barov: whose other works included the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, the Boyana Residence (the official presidential residence in Sofia) and also the Bulgarian Embassy building in Moscow. The monument – simply titled “Flame,” though in some sources also referred to as the “Monument to the Antifascists” – is currently in very poor condition. The memorial plaza is overgrown with weeds, the road approaching it is severely deteriorated, while the sculptural compositions created by Stefan Stoimirov (seen in the archive photographs below) have been stripped away to leave bare concrete panels.  

Flame Monument

Panicharevo, Bulgaria
Architect: Alexander Barov
Sculptor: Stefan Stoimirov
Completed: 1975

© 2020 Darmon Richter