Gradored - Young Civil Society of Ruse
The Mission - To revive the history of Ruse for the young generations!
The city owes its beginnings to the river. Founded by the Romans 2 centuries BC because of its strategic location, as Sexaginta Prista - "Port of the Sixty Ships". Over the years, the river has always given life to the city. Around it is the home of many prominent Ruse residents, and today it is a favorite place for walks for locals.
Landmarks along the route:
The First Railway Station Ruschuk-Varna
The House of Kaliopa
The House of Nikola Obretenov
The Income Building of Ivan Stoyanov
The Commercial House of Polikar and Canetti
Balkan Bank
The House of Georgi Martinov
After the Sultan's decree of September 1, 1861, the Sublime Porte began the construction of the Ruschuk-Varna railway line. With the contract signed on October 1, 1863, the English company of the brothers Henry and Trevor Berkeley, with the help of William Gladstone, received a concession for 99 years. On May 21, 1864, construction began. The first railway station was built according to an English project. The first sod was laid by the Ruse governor Arif Pasha. Construction began simultaneously from both end stations. On October 26, 1866, Midhad Pasha passed without transferring between the two end stations and declared the line open.
The house in which the Museum of Urban Lifestyle is located (2 Tsar Ferdinand Blvd.) was built by master Usta Yordan around 1862-1866. It housed the Prussian Consulate in Ruschuk. The house was owned by the beautiful wife of the consul, Katerina, whom the people of Ruschuk called Kaliopa. The city legend says that the governor Midhad Pasha was in love with her, and he was looking for a way to give her the house without giving evil tongues a reason to discuss their relationship. For this purpose, the pasha organized a competition for the ladies of Ruschuk - pigeon shooting. The competitors' weapons were loaded with blank cartridges, and a hidden gun fired simultaneously with Kaliopa to ensure her victory. Thus, Midhad Pasha's beloved publicly won the house, where they secretly continued to meet.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Baba Tonka Obretenova's parents moved from the village of Cherven to Ruse and bought a house at today's 35 Chavdar Voyvoda Street. When Tonka and Tycho Obretenova got married in 1831, they sold the house and bought another plot of land on the Danube bank. In this house, Baba Tonka raised her children, the Ruse Revolutionary Committee was established here, and documents and weapons were hidden. During the summer of 1878, Zahari Stoyanov lived there and wrote "Notes on the Bulgarian Uprisings". The building that all Ruse residents know as the Baba Tonka Museum was built in 1908 by Nikola Obretenov. Gradually, Nikola Obretenov's house became a kind of museum. Students from all over the country arrive in Ruse to visit Botev's Chetnik and hear his authentic story about the national liberation struggles and his legendary mother.
The commercial building of the great Ruse merchant and benefactor Ivan Stoyanov (Solarya) is located at 10 Slavyanski Blvd. and the corner of Otets Paisii St. It was built in 1892 as a profitable building to be rented out and bring in income. During World War II, the building housed the Police Directorate, more precisely, the State Security (initially Public Safety).
One of the great prides of Ruse is that it is the birthplace of Elias Canetti, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. One of his family's houses still stands on Slavyanska Street. In 1892, his grandfather, Elias Avram Canetti, together with his partner David Polikar, created the famous trading house "Polikar and Canetti". It was not by chance that they chose the then "Targovska" Street as the home of their business, as it was a lively center connecting Bulgaria with Europe through the port. The talented architect Nigohos Bedrosyan completed the building of the same name in 1898. On the ground floor, he designed the warehouses in which the trading company "Polikar and Canetti" sold all kinds of goods: wheat, barley, coffee, and small agricultural tools. The commercial premises are located on the first floor.
The building of Balkan Bank (later Bulgarian Credit Bank) was built in 1906 by the famous architect Spyros Valsamaki. The construction was ordered by the Bebis brothers. Founded in 1906 with mainly French and Belgian capital, the bank financed the construction of the two largest factories in Ruse – the tannery and the sugar factory. In 1911, the building was added with another floor, and in 192,4 it acquired the appearance of a three-story building, which it still has today. The building was also home to the famous restaurant "Buzludzha". After 1964, it housed the Teachers' Home and Cinema Club, and an open-air cinema was opened in the former garden.
The house was built in 1900 by one of the most prominent architects in Ruse at that time - Nigohos Bedrosyan. It is located at 2 Konstantin Irechek Street, on the corner with Aleksandrovska Street. The building is a model for a representative house of the wealthy residents of Ruse from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building has two floors - the first was designated for the commercial activities of Georgi Martinov, and the second for his home. Georgi Martinov settled in Ruse in 1880. He was engaged in the import of metal and steel products from Germany, Austria, France, and England. He is better known as the mayor of Ruse during the period 1902–1903.
For more information, please visit the Gradored website - https://www.gradored.com/marshruti/po-keya
