The Astronomical Observatory is one of the most interesting places to visit in Kardzhali. It provides a great opportunity for an exciting "star trip". The observatory is open to visitors throughout the week. It is named after the senior research associate Slavey Zlatev, born on November 4th, 1946 in Kardzhali. He graduated from the Physics Department of "St. Kliment Ohridski " Sofia University.
In 1970 he established the Astronomical Observatory in Kardzhali. He is also the founder of the local branch of the Union of Scientists in Bulgaria and a member of the European Astronomical Society. He was a mentor for an international project that aimed to design space instruments. He participated in space projects such as "Shipka", "Lima-DR" and "Phobos". He is one of the founders of archaeoastronomy in Bulgaria. He died on September 14, 1992.
The observatory has a 150 mm refractor telescope and other smaller telescopes. A visitor can enjoy a demonstration of various observations of space objects. There is a sculpture by a famous Bulgarian sculptor, Vezhdi Rashidov, in front of the observatory.
The observatory is open to visitors most of the day. If you arrive there during the day, you will be offered a telescope observation of the sun. If you arrive at night and the sky is clear, you will able to observe stars, planets and constellations.
Besides observation of celestial bodies, the observatory has a conference hall where popular science films can be seen. These films provide a wonderful opportunity to go on an amazing trip to the infinite cosmos.
There are no admission fees but booking is necessary.