The town of Ruse is located on the right bank of the Danube river, approx. 320 km north-east of Sofia, 200 km north-west of Varna and 100 km north-east of Veliko Turnovo. The territory over which Ruse spreads has the outline of an ellipse running parallel to the river. The surrounding hills form a terraced amphitheatrical terrain directed from north to southwest. Modern Ruse has an estimated population of 170 000 and ranks fifth by the number of inhabitants in the country. It is also one of the ten district centres in Bulgaria. Ruse is the biggest Bulgarian port town on the bank of the river Danube. With the opening of the Rhein - Main - Danube canal which covers 3,500 km and connects thirteen European countries with the Near and Far East via the Black Sea, the river became the longest inland waterway on the planet.
     Ruse is also known as 'Little Vienna', because of its ancient architecture. It is an old Bulgarian town with traditions in culture, art and education and with developed industry and trade.

     Climate

     The region of Ruse municipality belongs to the temperately continental climate area. The Danube terrace is open to the north-eastern winds, including the part that is in the region of Ruse municipality. That is what causes the hot summers and the cold winters. The autumns and springs are short. Despite the cold winter, the spring comes early due to the law above sea level. The average annual amplitude is approximately 26° C and is the highest amplitude for the country.

     History

     The famous Ruse mound - a prehistoric settlement existed more than 5000 years ago is located within the boundaries of the modern town. At the beginning of the new era on a part of the territory of the modern town of Ruse an ancient settlement of Sexaginta Prista (The sixty ships) emerged, where "prista" means a particular type of a Greek river guard vessel. Probably it was founded by the Roman Emperor Vespasian (69-79). Later on it was known under the names of Pristis and Pristapolis. It existed up to the 6th century, when the Avars brought it to ruins. In Medieval times a new settlement emerged near the ruins of the ancient settlement, and information about it was found for the first time in the Broush Guidebook of the 16th century under the name of Rossi. In the Sultan Register of 1431 and in a Peace Treaty concluded between the Ottoman Empire and the Magyar state dated 20th of August 1503 the settlement was mentioned under the name of Roussi. In Ahmed Neshri chronicles as well as in many other old maps the town was shown as a wholesome town together with the settlement of Giurgiu on the opposite side of the Danube River named Yorgogi, Yorgovo, Yuroukova, Roussi on both sides of the Danube River, Giurgiu on both sides of the Danube River.
     In 1595 the Wallachian ruler Mihai Vityazoul (the Courageous) made an attempt to liberate Bulgaria with an Wallah-Bulgarian army and the town was brought to ruins. After its reconstruction at the beginning of the 17th century it was given the name of Rouschouk (little Roussi). The town turned into an important port and a strong border fortress. In 1811 the Russian General Koutouzov carried out the famous Rouschouk battle and became known as a talented military commander. In 1864 the town became the centre of the Danube District of the Ottoman Empire. In 1866 the building of the first railway road in Bulgarian lands - Rouschouk-Varna was completed. The first modern agricultural farm was founded under the name of Noumine (Exemplary farm). The River Management was founded as well and in a short period of time 7 steam ships and 15 barges were purchased. A printing house was opened with printing machines from Vienna where newspapers, books and textbooks were printed. The bookshop of Hristo G. Danov was opened at that time. To meet the needs of the secular education in Rouschouk in 1843 Alexander Rousset published in Strasbourg the first geographical map in Bulgarain.
     European influence penetrated into the town through the active river transport along the Danube River (predominantly Austro-Hungarian ships) and this had positive impact on the development of the town. Architecture developed, too and the construction of private and public buildings resembling the style of the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire _ Vienna commenced. The European fashion in clothing also penetrated first in this Bulgarian town.
     On the 1st January 1866 the first in Bulgaria meteorological observations began here with modern Austrian equipment.
     Rouschouk was not left aside from the struggle for spiritual and national liberation either, moreover that in its capacity of being a gate to Europe it was here that the modern freedom-loving ideas of the Old Continent made their way into the country. Zora (Dawn) Chitalishte (reading room and community centre) and the home of the extraordinary Bulgarian woman patriot baba (grandmother) Tonka Obretenova became centres of the national struggle. A lot of revolutionaries were assisted to leave the Empire or to return to their Fatherland. It was here that Angel Kunchev - one of the most faithful and ardent followers of Vassil Levski died here during an exchange of fire with the Turkish police. Baba Tonka, her sons and daughters, revolutionaries who gave their lives for the freedom of Bulgaria - Stefan Karadzha, Angel Kunchev, Zahari Stoyanov, Lyuben Karavelov, Panayot Hitov, Hristo Makedonski, Dimitur Tsenovich and a lot of other great Bulgarians were buried in this town.
     A Pantheon-Charnel House of the national Revival heroes with an everlasting fire was opened in Ruse in 1979. The bones of many of the 453 dignified Bulgarians, who were born in or who linked their lives with this town and whose names are inscribed in the Pantheon were collected in it. On 20th February 1878 the Russian Army led by General Totleben entered Rouschouk and was enthusiastically welcomed by the population led by Archbishop Kliment Branitski (Vassil Droumev).
     The town was the biggest in the liberated Bulgarian lands _ over 20 000 inhabitants. On 31st July 1879 the Bulgarian flag of the ships donated by Russia was risen which marked the beginning of the organised Bulgarian river navigation. The first marine technical school, later on moved to Varna, was opened here in 1881. The same year was found the first Bulgarian bank _ Girdap. In 1889 the first Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, and two years later the first joint-stock insurance company -Bulgaria - were established in Ruse. As of the end of the 19th century a lot of celebrated architects did their creative work in the liberated of Ruse (Edward Winter, Udo Ribau, Georg Lang, Edwin Petritski, Negos Bedrossyan, Todor Tonev, Nikola Lazarov and others), painter-decorators (Karlo Francescani, Giovanni Pitor and others), landscapers (Ferdinand Halober, Rihard Noyvirt and others). It is not due to randomness that Ruse is being considered the most European Bulgarian town even nowadays. The writers Elias Kaneti, awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for 1981, Dobri Nemirov, Michael Arlan were born here, Lyuben Karavelov, Ivan Vazov, Stoyan Mihailovski, the poet Tsvetan Radoslavov, author of the text of the Bulgarian national anthem, the painter Joul Pasken (Pinkas), the pianist Otto Liebih, the opera singer Mimi Balkanska, Academician Mihail Arnaoudov lived here.
     The role of the town grew up even more with the construction of the so-called Bridge of Friendship between the Bulgarian and the Rumanian banks in 1954. It was here that at the end of the 1980-ies the civil movement for protection of the town from the pollution of the Giurgiu Chemical Works (Rumania) originated and it marked the beginning of the democratic changes in Bulgaria. Nowadays Ruse is a big economic, transport, cultural and tourist centre.

     Culture

     Ruse is the most active and authoritative cultural centre on the Bulgarian part of the Danube. It is the host-town of several significant annual cultural events - The March Music Days International Festival of symphony, cantata and oratorio music, International Jazz Festival, Golden Rebec Folk Festival and International Theatre Festival "Danube European river, Danube - Balkan river".
     In Ruse there are state cultural institutions of regional and national importance - Ruse Opera House, Ruse Philharmonic Orchestra, Dramatic Theatre and Puppet Theatre. They successfully perform on international stages.
     The Folk Dancing Theatre "N. Kirov" is a favorite beyond the country's boundaries. Very successful in their work are the children's ensembles "Zornitsa", "Rouschukliice" and "Zdravetz". The Ruse choirs "Dounavski Zvoutsi", "V.Arnaudov" and "Rodina" have an international reputation.
     The Ruse District Library was established in 1888 and up to now actively participates in the town's cultural life. It holds British, French and German informational centers. The library possesses today over 700 000 books and documents in 18 languages.
     Ruse is one of the largest educational centres in Bulgaraia. There are 49 establishments the most prominent of which are the Higher Technical School, the Teachers College, the English Language School, the School of European Languages, the Arts College and others.

     Landmarks

     The Tomb of Revivalists is a national memorial where the bones of the fathers of the liberty of Bulgaria are kept. It is in Revivalists Park, on the site where All Saints' church was, in the old city cemetery. The memorial was inaugurated on 28 Feb. 1978, to commemorate the centenary of the Liberation of Bulgaria. It keeps the bones of the prominent writer Luyben Karavelov, the writer and the first Chairman of the National Assembly Zahari Stoyanov, of the revolutionaries Stefan Karadja and Panayot Hitov, of the remarkable Bulgarian woman Baba Tonka and her son, the revolutionary Nikola Obretenov, of Panayot Volov, Angel Kanchev and many other Bulgarian heroes. On Easter, in 2001, a chapel of St. Paisiy Hilendarski was consecrated and a display of photographs and documents related with All Saints' Church and the construction of the Tomb of Revivalists was arranged.
     Urban Lifestyle Museum - the late 19th and the early 20th century - This standing exposition of the Ethnography Department demonstrates the influence of Europe on the day-to-day life of the well-off citizens of Ruse in the late 19th and the early 20th century. The house itself in which the exposition is accommodated is from an earlier period. It was built in the 60s of the 19th century. It was the seat of the Prussian Consular Office. An Austrian artist decorated in 1886 the walls and the ceiling on the upper floor with frescoes in line with the fashion of that time. The exposition displays sample arrangements of a music room, a bedroom, a living room and a reception hall.
     Obretenovs' Exposition in Zahari Stoyanov House Museum - A substantial number of documents, photographs, portraits, weapons and personal belongings of the members of the Obretenov family are displayed in the house. That family is one of the synonyms of the period in which they lived. Rakovski's sward and the sword revolver of Stefan Karadja are also exhibited in that exposition. Besides, the tailor's workshop in which Zahari Stoyanov used to work is reproduced, and personal belongings and some of the first issues of his books are displayed.
     Monument to Freedom - In 1890, the survived volunteers and heroes from the Liberation War raised the idea to have a commemorating monument built. After the memorial of the Tsar Liberator was built in Sofia in 1905, the sculptor who designed that project - the Italian Arnoldo Zocci - was invited to make a Monument to the Volunteers. Donations for it were collected everywhere in the country.
     It was consecrated on 11 August 1906. The Ministers Malinov and Krastev, General Botev, the City Manager, the consul of Romania and Romanian and Bulgarian war volunteers were present at the event. Today, this monument is the emblem of Ruse.

     Surrounding areas

     Some 23 kilometers south-west of Ruse there is an unique archeological reserve - the remarkable Ivanovo rock monasteries. Located at a height of 6 to 8 meters, the cells have been inhabited by monks until the 17th century. Chronicles and the preserved church murals show that the community of hermits also created a blossoming literary center during the 13th - 14th century. The rock monasteries have been evaluated as an important stage in the development of European culture and recorded on the UNESCO List of World Cultural Heritage. The Ivanovo churches contain some of the best frescoes of Bulgarian religious art.
     7 kilometers south-west of Ivanovo is the Fortress of Cherven, dated from the Middle Ages. It was one of the most important military, economical, cultural and religious centers of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The ruins are restored and can be visited.
     Bassarbovo monastery is the only active rock monastery in Bulgaria today. It is situated in the canyon-like valley of the river Lom, home of another three hundred rock premises, forty of which has been used as churches. Most of the monasteries were inhabited after XIIth century AD and some of them even before that. Part of them was naturally formed, while the local people cut others out. Nowadays the monastery is very beautiful and well preserved. The green yard is decorated with lots of flowers, bushes and fruit trees. The path in the yard leads to a well, dug out by St. Dimitar. The water within is healing and many of the visitors after tasting it come back to the monastery again. Bassarbovo monastery is visited by a lot of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world.
     In the eastern part of the Danube plane, just about 20 km south of Ruse, is situated a unique and picturesque site of Bulgarian nature - the Natural Park "Rusenski Lom". Its name comes from the river Rusenski Lom - the last right tributary of The Danube and spreads over 3,260 hectares of land situated along the banks of the rivers Mali, Cherni and Beli Lom with length of approximately 42 kilometers. It characterizes with rich biological diversity to a priceless cultural heritage, combined with pleasant climatological conditions. Excellent opportunities for bird watching, hiking, riding and biking tourism /marked routes for hiking, cross-country riding and biking, as well as eco-educational trails are available/.
     Prista Western Park is located at the distance of 6 km from Ruse along the road to the town of Byala. There are beautiful deciduous forests, well shaped lanes, tourist can visit the the Danubian island of Lyulyaka, Prista Chalet, Lyulyaka Camping, the Danube Motel, Ribarska Koliba (Fisherman's hut) - interesting restaurant. Another big site for recreation, sports, tourism, sunbathing and all other kinds of entertainment is situated at the distance of 12 km east of Ruse _ the Lipnik Forest Park. There are country houses, restaurants, artificial lakes, a hotel, a zoo corner, a sports base and a camping site.

     Transport

     Bus, railway and river transport services the inter-town and international connections of the town. There are regular bus lines to Sofia, Varna, Pleven, Veliko Turnovo, Shoumen, Razgrad, Turgovishte and a lot of other towns and villages of the country. Ruse is the initial (or the final) station of two railway lines _ Ruse - Gorna Oryahovitsa _ Stara Zagora _ Podkova and Ruse - Kaspichan - Varna. It is connected through them to the national railway network.
     The river station of Ruse is a big one. Since 1992 the river passenger transport along the Bulgarian Danubian riverside have been discontinued but their continuance is solely a matter of time. There are cruises only along the international route Ruse - Belgrade - Novo Sad - Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna - Linz - Pasau with Bulgarian and mainly foreign tourists. Tourist's tour cruises on little ships are organised during the summer. Since 1993 the ferryboat line Ruse - Giurgiu has been in operation, too. There is town bus and trolley bus transport in Ruse.