Ruse is the largest Bulgarian city on the Danube and an important river port. Founded in Roman times, the city today boasts an interesting Old Town combining influences of different eras.
Ruse is very important for transit traffic in the Balkans, due to the border crossing with Romania located here. The border runs here in the middle of the Danube, and the two countries are connected by the famous Friendship Bridge, whose other end is in the Romanian Giurgiu.
From the very beginning, the city was an important river port and a place where the Danube fleet was stationed. Launched here, among others the first Bulgarian ship made of steel. The greatest development of the city occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when the center preserved until today was created.
It is built up with neoclassical and Art Nouveau edifices, and some call it "Little Vienna" for this reason. You can see here, among others richly decorated building of the Dramatic Theater and the House of Kaliope, and such several churches from different eras and a large synagogue. The picture is complemented by the picturesque Danube Gardens, and people looking for older monuments can visit the remains of the ancient fortress of Seksaginta Prista.
