Rousse is the fifth biggest city in the country of Bulgaria. It is also called “Russe” or “Ruse”. The city has more than 175,600 inhabitants and is located in the northeastern portion of Bulgaria. It lies on the right bank of Danube, just opposite the Giurgiu, a popular Romanian city. Rousse is about 300 kilometers from Sofia’s capital and from the Black Sea cost of Bulgaria. Rousse is considered the most important river port in Bulgaria because it serves an integral part in the country’s international trade.Keep reading
In addition, the city of Rousse is very famous for its nineteenth century and twentieth century Neo-Rococo and Neo-Baroque architecture. The traditional architecture of the city attracts numerous tourists every year. Moreover, the so-called Rousse-Giugiu Friendship Bridge is the only shared bridge within the Roman and Bulgarian section of the Danube that crosses the river.
Geography of Rousse
Rousse is situated on the right portion of the Danube bank. This is perhaps the highest bank that has three land terraces and two underwater terraces measuring 15 to 65 meters in height. The average altitude of the terraces in the city is about 45.5 meters AMSL.
The city’s urban area covers an 11-kilometer ellipse that runs along the river. Rousse extends from the connected land of Matey Island to the mouth of the Rusenski Lom on the western portion towards the hill of Srabcheto on the eastern portion. The western end of the city was modified to a great extent by moving the Rusenski Lom’s mouth to the western portion of the city. The bank and the fairway were also moved towards the northern portion during the late twentieth century. The Sarabair hill is located on the south end of the city and is about 159 meters high. Furthermore, the famous Rousse tower was built on the remains of the Leventtabia, a fortification formerly used by the Turkish people.
Today, Rousse is a big Bulgarian city with more than 170,000 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination and is among the basic economic and cultural centers in the country. The accession of Bulgaria to the European Union or EU is expected to offer local benefits via new opportunities and investments for international and e-commerce business.
Transportation
This city is a main railway and road hub in the northern portion of Bulgaria. The railway transportation scheme of Rousse dates back to the year 1867, when it became one of the stations of the first Bulgaria Rousse-Varna line. There are numerous railways to various southern Bulgaria cities, including Varna, Bucharest, and Sofia. The city has two railway stations for public transport, namely the Razpredelitelna station and the Central station. It also has two railway stations especially used for freight transport services.
Rousse also has two inter-city bus operations that liken the city to all the towns and cities in the country and in a few more popular European cities. These buses are stationed in two bus terminals located in the southern and eastern portion of Rousse.
Rousse has a very extensive public transportation system that includes more than 30 trolleybus and bus lines. In addition, the city has numerous suburban bus lines scattered in every portion of Rousse.
A small village named Shtraklevo is located 15 kilometers on the southeast portion of the city. This village is a former military airport. Current plans of development and reopening of the airport for charter, cargo, and internal flights are on their way for opening by the end of 2009. The runway of this airport is long enough to fit Jumbo Jets and Boeing 747s.
Education
Rousse has only one prestigious university, the Rousse University Angel Kanchev, which can accommodate 12,000 students. The structure of the university includes a technological college and a subsidiary. The technological college is located in Razgrad while the subsidiary is located in Silistra.
Culture
The city of Rousse is very famous for its rich and interesting culture. The city hosts the Rousse State Opera, founded in 1949 and is a certain philharmonic orchestra. The city also has numerous museums and religious buildings which are also famous for tourists and Bulgarian locals.
Landmarks
Museums
There are a number of museums within the city boundaries. Below are some of the museums in Rousse.
- Pantheon of National Revival Heroes
- National Transport Museum
- Zahari Stoyanov Museum
- Battenburg Pallace – This museum was founded in 1892. It now hosts the Regional Historical Museum of the city.
- Kaliopa House – This museum depicts the old urban lifestyle of the Bulgarians.
Religious Buildings
- Saint George Church
- Holy Theotokos Church
- Holy Archangel Michael Church
- Holy Trinity Church
- Saint Petka Church
- Holy Ascension Church
- Evangelical Baptist Church
- Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo – This place is declared as a world heritage site. It is situated about 20 kilometers to the south of the city’s center.
- Armenian Surp Astvadzadzin Church
- Seid Pasha Mosque
- Roman Catholic Saint Paul of the Cross Cathedral – This cathedral was built in 1890.
- Seid Pasha Mosque
- Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker Russian Church
The All Saints Church was replaced by the National Revival Heroes Pantheon when it was destroyed in 1978.
The Jewish community in Rousse built and consecrated a synagogue in the late eighteenth century, but it was destroyed in a fire during the early nineteenth century. Two other synagogues were built between the years 1826 and 1852.
Another landmark in Rouse is the Dohodno Zidaine, which literally means “profitable building”. The Dohodno Zidaine houses its own theater and is considered one of the prettiest buildings in the city.
The city’s TV tower is considered as the tallest TV tower in the entire country. It is also one of the highest buildings within the Balkan Peninsula.
The famous Monument of Liberty was built in the year 1908 up to 1911.