Memories and reflections on the “socialist” urban center

Based on empirical research in Asenovgrad, this paper discusses socially constructed spaces during socialism and how they were used to impose and legitimize power. It proposes alternate perspectives towards socialism and its material culture expressed in the creation of modern architectural ensembles in the town center. Socialist architecture was a power statement which imposed new values and ideas. These buildings were markers of state authority which sent a powerful message for the renewal of society by breaking away from older, pre-socialist traditions. Among the issues examined here is the significance of the urban square and its surrounding buildings for residents of Asenovgrad today; how is the town’s center perceived in the collective memory? The analysis concludes by exploring the relationship between architecture and ideology in the way social reality was constructed, instrumentalised and offering insight into how the socialist regime was legitimized through material culture, artifacts, and buildings.