Description of the attraction
Varna Planetarium is located in the central part of the city park.
In 1960, in the era of the beginning of space flights, the Astronomy and Astronautics Club was established in Varna. Two years later, following the results of the XIII Congress of the International Federation of Aviation and Cosmonautics in the city, an initiative was put forward to build the first astronomical observatory in Varna. In 1963, the club was given an old summer theater located in the center of Primorsky Park. Courses in astronomy and rocket modeling are held here. A year later, the city administration decides to demolish the theater building in order to build an observatory on this site. The author of the project was the architect Kamen Goranov. However, in the course of construction, plans were changed, and in 1966 a planetarium was added to the main structure. The astronomical complex, which opened in May 1968, named after the great scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, became the first in Bulgaria. It houses the observatory, planetarium and Foucault's pendulum. The staff of the complex is engaged in the observation of artificial earth satellites. The center also hosts courses in astronomy that anyone can attend.
The planetarium in Varna is the first in the whole country. At the entrance there is a monument to N. Copernicus by two Bulgarian sculptors - P. Atanasov and L. Dalchev. The diameter of the planetarium dome reaches 10, 5 meters. Inside the equipment is installed, brought from Germany. With the help of various projectors on the dome, about 5,500 stars are displayed, the planets and their movement in their orbits, the entire solar system, etc. The planetarium is popular - since its opening, at least 800,000 people have visited it.
In the tower at the planetarium, you can see the Foucault pendulum - the only such structure on the Balkan Peninsula. In a small hall under the tower, visitors can watch the swing of the pendulum. The load in the form of a disk is suspended on a long (17.6 meters) rope; the amplitude of the oscillation in the lower part is almost 2 meters. Foucault's pendulum is an invention that allows you to clearly demonstrate that the Earth revolves on its own axis.
Due to the reconstruction of the building, the complex was closed from 1998 to 2002. Thanks to the project of the architect G. Savakov, as well as the work of many specialists, the appearance of the renovated observatory acquired a modern sound.
