Ruse

Ruse is the largest Bulgarian city on the Danube and it looks unlike anywhere else in the country: it grew rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century as a trading port with strong Austrian and Hungarian connections, and the centre was built in that period in a heavy central European manner with neo-baroque and secession facades around a large square, a theatre, a courthouse and rows of merchant houses. It had the first railway in what is now Bulgaria, running to Varna from 1866. The Danube front has a park along it and the bridge to Romania is the only road crossing between the two countries for a long stretch. Elias Canetti was born here and wrote about the city.

History

A Neolithic settlement stood here, and under Vespasian the Romans built the fort of Sexaginta Prista, a base of their Danube fleet, rebuilt as a large stronghold after the Goths sacked it in 250; a fortified settlement called Rusi appears in 1380. The Ottomans laid the town waste after a failed attempt to free it in 1595, rebuilt it as Rusçuk, a large fortress by the 18th century, and made it the centre of the Tuna Vilayet, where the first newspaper in Bulgarian, Dunav, was printed; the first railway in Bulgaria ran from here to Varna from 1866 (Wikipedia, Ruse, Bulgaria).

The main sights

• A central European city centre - neo-baroque and secession facades.
• The Danube front - the park and the river with Romania opposite.
• The 1866 railway history - the first line in what is now Bulgaria.
• The Canetti connection - the writer's birthplace and his account of the city.

When to go

April to October. A day. Museums close on some Mondays. Summer on the Danube is hot and humid. The riverside park is pleasant in the evening.

Good to know

Much of the centre is in poor repair with crumbling facades. The Danube front is separated from the centre by a road and rail line. Industry dominates the outskirts. Museums are modest.

Nearby

Ivanovo and Basarbovo are south up the Lom valley; Cherven lies beyond them.

Key facts