The Giordano Bruno Personal Development Support Centre and National Astronomical Observatory and Planetarium (PDSC-NAOP) was officially established on May 24th, 1962. It is the first planetarium with an observatory in Bulgaria and on the Balkan Peninsula. The complex comprises two main buildings - a Planetarium and a training unit.

The star hall has 47 seats. In 2023, it was equipped with specialised theatre chairs thanks to a project by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education. The hall's diameter is eight metres. It has two devices: a classical optical Zeiss projector, which can display about 5,000 stars and a modern digital planetarium with a 360-degree projector and specialised astronomy software. Astronomy lectures and artificial starry sky projections take place in the Planetarium. Planets, their moons, and other astronomical objects within and outside the Solar System are shown. Thanks to the digital planetarium, visitors can watch astronomy films, specifically created for that kind of projector.

The second building is a training unit. It consists of specialised classrooms, equipped with various astronomy tools, models, and dioramas, such as a Baader Planetarium, a Helios Planetarium, celestial globes, lunar globes, a terrestrial globe, and a Tellurian model (Sun, Moon, and Earth system), which support the learning process in the Observatory. One of the classrooms features a unique exhibition, titled Bulgarian Astronomy Book, comprising about 200 works by Bulgarian authors. The Observatory’s first projector, which worked at its opening, is also kept in the training unit. It was designed and built in Dimitrovgrad.

Giordano Bruno PDSC-NAOP’s primary activity is organising astronomy courses for students of different ages. The classes are free of charge, and students learn about astronomy to prepare themselves for olympiads, contests, and youth conferences, where they win prizes.

The Astronomical Observatory also boasts a wide variety of telescopes for observing the Sun and the night sky. Astronomy observations take place at the Planetarium’s courtyard, at whose centre is located the statue of the great Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno, after whom the whole complex is named.

Observations take place whenever there is an important astronomical event, including lunar and solar eclipses, planet transits, comets, and meteor showers. Night observations are free of charge for visitors.