History
The history of the Smolyan planetarium
"If the stars were only visible from one place on Earth, people would flock to it from all over the world to admire the wonderful spectacle." (Seneca)
Fortunately, the starry sky is visible from every corner of our planet, if it is night and there are no clouds. But only from certain places can the stars be observed at any time. These are the planetariums – the most perfect models of the sky.
In the center of the town of Smolyan there are two architecturally interesting buildings, each with two domes - a large and a small one. One is the church "St. Visarion Smolyanski", and the other - across from it on "Bulgaria" Blvd., is the PLANETARIUM WITH ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY, for short, it came to be known over time only as the "SMOLYAN PLANETARIUM". Its large dome, almost in the middle of the building, is on the STAR HALL, and the small one on the OBSERVATORY. The church and the Planetarium are the most visited sites in the city by tourists. One is a symbol of man's spiritual peace, the other - of his eternal quest for knowledge of the unknown. The peaceful coexistence of these institutions in the recent past would have been, if not impossible, at least strange. Today, they complement each other and the people of Smolensk are proud of both.
On September 6, 1975, the Planetarium opened its doors. The ribbon was cut by Ani Spancheva - deputy. Minister of Education. Todor Zhivkov, the general director of the Carl Zeiss Jena - GDR factories, the ambassador of the GDR in Bulgaria and hundreds of citizens of Smolyan were present.
Already on the first day, several performances (sessions) are held in the star hall. It is impossible to accommodate all the comers filling the lobby and courtyard. The first program is called "Under the planetarium sky". Years of creative search are downplayed…
If you want to know more about the history of the Planetarium, look for the book "The Planetarium - My Star Tale" by Temenuzhka Nacheva