Bulgaria

Ruse is the main city on the Danube river in Bulgaria. It has 150 000 inhabitants.

Because of the great importance of river transport during XIX c. Ruse is highly influenced by European innovative and cultural progress. This is the reason why Ruse is called ‘the city of first things in Bulgaria” with the first railway between Ruse and Varna being only one of the examples. Another name is the “small Wien”, because of the architecture of the buildings downtown. Rusenski Lom is Nature park (Category V - IUCN) in Bulgaria announced in 1970. Its values are popular as early as middle ages when monks settled there for an ascetic life. Most attractive remnant from the time is Ivanovo Rock Church, a UNESCO heritage site.