site.btaOctober 2, 1932: Bulgaria's Highest Weather Station Opens on Mt. Musala

Bulgaria’s first high-mountain weather station was opened on Mt. Musala in the Rila Mountain on October 2, 1932. The station is named after Musala, which is the highest peak in Bulgaria and the entire Balkan Peninsula, standing at 2,925 meters.

The idea for the station was prompted by Bulgaria’s participation in the Second International Polar Year (August 1932 - August 1933) and promoted by the Bulgarian Tourist Union. The station was built on funds raised by tourists from all over the country and with the assistance and a personal donation of Tsar Boris III.

Designed by architects Panayot Kalchev and Gencho Skordev, it was the fifth highest in the world at the time of its construction. It became operational on December 1, 1932.

The weather station has been incorporated into the system of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The station had been running uninterrupted for 80 years before a deadly accident involving a meteorologist in October 2016 forced its closure for several months. The weather station resumed operations in February 2017.