Ruse Travel Guide

 Nikolay_Ivanov Says:  The Liberty Square was built in the early 30s. The local mayor wanted to construct an economic, cultural and political area that would be the centre of the town. The most important places had already been there, actually: The Theatre, The Monument of Liberty, The Garden. The... 

 Nikolay_Ivanov Says:  Ruse was an important commercial centre at the turn of 20th century. The rich people built splendid houses all the way by the central street- "Alexandrovska street". It was named after Alexander I Batenberg, the first ruler of Bulgaria after the Liberation in 1878. It starts... 

 Nikolay_Ivanov Says:  The Danube takes its source from Germany, then flows through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. Ruse is one of the most important ports in its way. In 19th century Ruse was the point of connection between Bulgaria and... 

 Nikolay_Ivanov Says:  The Theater building is a unique "bijou" exactly in the centre. It was built around 1902. Interestingly enough, the local people collected the money for the construction. It was reconstructed in 90s and now it looks splendid. 

 JessieLang Says:  The Square is a good place to wander and watch people. Locals sit on benches and visit, and children play. Things are a bit run down, but it is improving: The Liberty Monument was surrounded by scaffolding because it is being repaired. 

 JessieLang Says:  The Sveta Troitsa (Holy Trinity) Church was built in 1632. To get around the Turkish height restrictions on churches, they dug down. You have to go downstairs to enter, but it has nice high ceilings once you are inside. The altar is really beautiful in this church. 

 johngayton Says:  Ruse's modern development really took off towards the end of the 19th century as it became Bulgaria's main Danube port. A Municipal ordinance actually enshrined in law that the new buildings must be constructed with ornamentation on their frontages. Some of these are... 

 johngayton Says:  This seems to be another of Bulgaria's Communist-era monuments which locals have mixed feelings about (as you might note by the grafitti). It was constructed in 1978, the 100th anniversary of Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule by the Russians, to commemorate the 453... 

 johngayton Says:  Bulgarian's certainly like their public parks and here in Ruse is no exception. The city's main park is the Mladezhki (youngster's) and even in the snow this makes for a pleasant stroll. The park is located just off the city centre, following the pedestrian blvd Aleksandrova... 

 johngayton Says:  "Happy" is Bulgaria's most successful chain of restaurants with ever-growing numbers of branches spreading all over the Country. One of the newest is here in Ruse, located in the magnificently titled "Profit Yielding Building" overlooking the Svoboda Square."Happy" is a sort... 

 johngayton Says:  By the time the morning I was due to leave Ruse for Sofia arrived it had been snowing for almost thirty hours with a good six inches covering the city. On enquiring of my hotel receptionist whether she knew whether the trains were running she made a quick call to the... 

 johngayton Says:  Ruse is a pleasantly compact city and whilst it does seem to have a reasonably good local bus service everywhere is easily walkable, facilitated by the excellent street signage and numerous street maps.The two main streets, Borisova and Aleksandrovska, which cross in the... 

 johngayton Says:  As with every other Bulgarian town or city Ruse has its population of stray dogs. Although stray they seem to be well fed and looked after and are certainly not a problem.I noticed this pack outside one of the mausoleums in the Vazrozhdenski park, where the Pantheon is. It... 

 johngayton Says:  This magnificently-titled neo-Baroque building is one of Ruse's finest examples of its turn of the century architecture. It is so-called because the rentals from the commercial lets were used to help fund the local schools.The original building was started in 1898, following...