Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of Bucharest, Romania's capital, from Varna, and from the capital Sofia. Thanks to its location and its railway and road bridge over the Danube (Danube or Friendship Bridge), it is the most significant Bulgarian river port, serving an important part of the international trade of the country. It is the 12th-largest of all cities on the river Danube.

Ruse is known for its 19th- and 20th-century Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo architecture, which attracts many tourists. It is often called the Little Vienna. The Friendship Bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu was the only one to join the Bulgarian and Romanian banks of the Danube until 14 June 2013, when the New Europe Bridge was built between Vidin and Calafat.

Ruse is the birthplace of the Nobel laureate in Literature Elias Canetti and the writer Michael Arlen.

Ruse is on the right bank of the river Danube, which is the high bank, having two underwater terraces and three river terraces at , , and . The average altitude is AMSL. The urban area is an approximately 11-km ellipse running along the river. The city extends from the land-connected Matey () island and the mouth of Rusenski Lom on the west to Srabcheto () hill on the east. During the 20th century, the west end of the city was significantly modified by moving the mouth of Rusenski Lom to the west, as well as by moving the bank itself with its fairway considerably to the north. Sarabair (, from Turkish meaning "Yellow Slope") hill is to the south of the city and is high. The Rousse TV Tower is built there on the remains of Leventtabia, a former Turkish fortification.

Etymology Scholars suggest that the city on the river bank derived its present name from the root *ru- ("river", "stream") or from the Cherven fortress, meaning "red", through the root rous, which is present in many Slavic languages.

A popular legend claims that the name Ruse comes from the name of a female founder of the city, whose name was Rusa, meaning "blonde hair". In the 13th and 14th centuries, during the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire, a fortified settlement called Rusi, first mentioned in 1380, emerged near the ruins of the earlier Roman town.

Other theories include settlement by people from the Rus era; a connection to the village of Rusokastro in Burgas Province; an unattested tribe of Getae with a name such as Riusi, or; the pagan festival of Rosalia.

History

Prehistory to medieval era The city emerged from a Neolithic settlement of the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, when pottery, fishing, agriculture, and hunting developed. Excavations have revealed several layers, suggesting that the place was attacked by neighbouring tribes and suffered from natural disasters. Ancient sanctuaries were found nearby, where idols of a pregnant woman, a fertility goddess, were prevalent.

The later Thracian settlement developed into a Roman military and naval centre during the reign of Vespasian (69–70 CE), as part of Limes Moesiae, the fortification system along the northern boundary of Moesia. Its name, Sexaginta Prista, suggests a meaning of "a city of 60 ships" (from  — "60" and  — a special type of guard ship), based on the supposed 60 nearby berths. It served as a base for the Roman Danube fleet, which protected against raids from peoples living north of that river, and for Legio I Italica.

The site is mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy and Antoninus Pius. The fort was on the main road between Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and the Danube Delta Hungarian historian Felix Philipp Kanitz was the first to identify Sexaginta Prista with Ruse and to discover its fort, but the brothers Karel and Hermann Škorpil demonstrated the link later through studying inscriptions, coins, graves, and objects of daily life, becoming the first scientific excavators or the site.

An inscription from the reign of Diocletian proves that the city was rebuilt as a praesidium (a large fortification) after it was destroyed by the Goths in 250 CE. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the settlement was the seat of a bishop, before being destroyed in the 6th century by Avar and Slavic raids. The settlement was mentioned as Golyamo Yorgovo in the Middle Ages, whose present successor is Giurgiu in Romania.

Ottoman rule

During Ottoman rule, the Ottomans destroyed the town, reacting to a 1595 unsuccessful liberation attempt by a joint Vlach-Bulgarian army, led by Michael the Brave. After its rebuilding in the following years, Ruse was dubbed Rusçuk (Turkish for "little Ruse") and had again expanded into a large fortress by the 18th century. It later grew into one of the most important Ottoman towns on the Danube and an administrative centre of Tuna Vilayet, which extended from Varna and Tulcea to Sofia and Niš.

The Dunav newspaper appeared — it was the first printed in Bulgaria and in Bulgarian. Some Bulgarian schools were founded. The streets are renamed and numbered for the first time in Bulgarian lands. A post office, hospital, home for the aged were founded. Three empires met here for trading: Austro-Hungary, Russia, British Empire. France and Italy opened consulates in Ruse. The modern city arose from the shades of the settlement. In 1865 the Obraztsov Chiflik was founded on the place where the English Consul's farm was; it was the first modern farm on the territory of the whole Ottoman Empire of that time.

Ruse developed into a centre of the Bulgarian National Revival and hosted the headquarters of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee.

Early Modern Bulgaria

After it became part of modern Bulgaria on 20 February 1878, Ruse was one of the key cultural and economic centres of the country. Intensive building during the period changed the city's architectural appearance to a typical Central European one. Ruse is known for the many first innovations in Bulgaria, including: 1864 – the first printing office in Bulgaria; БНР -"Старите книги – знание и аромат от отминали времена" 1867 – the first railway line linking Ruse and Varna, was launched into operation; HISTORY OF BDZ 1879 – the first agronomical school "Obraztsov chiflik", today – Agricultural scientific research institute, currently profiled in agriculture and seed science; 1881 – the first steel ship in Bulgaria was built; Bulgarian National Association of Shipbuilding and Ship repair 1881 – the first privately owned Bulgarian bank Girdap; 1881 – the Machine School for the Navy, the first technical school in Bulgaria. Later it was moved to Varna; 1883 – the first Weather station; БАН – "120 ГОДИНИ ОТ НАЧАЛОТО НА РЕДОВНИТЕ МЕТЕОРОЛОГИЧНИ НАБЛЮДЕНИЯ В БЪЛГАРИЯ." 1884 – the first Bulgarian pharmacy association; Българският фармацевтичен съюз(БФС)в. "Славянин" бр. 117 от 1884 г. 1885 – the first Bulgarian technical association was instituted; "FEDERATION OF THE SCIENTIFIC ENGINEERING UNIONS" 1890 – the first Chamber of Commerce and Industry; "Русенската Търговско-Индустриална Камара" 1891 – the first private insurance company "Bulgaria";History of world and national economy, Dimitar Sazdov, 2005, UNWE 1896 – the first manually operated elevator; "The first elevator in Bulgaria" 1897 – the first movie projection. The second was a month later in the capital Sofia; "Движещ се трен виждат русенци на първата кинопрожекция преди 110 години"

Ruse had the first Bulgarian factories for soda water, lemonade, and for neckties. "Mеждународен алманах за България 1898. Annuaire international de la Bulgarie. 1898 / А Дюрастел" – page 443 The first aviator Simeon Petrov was born in Ruse. Симеон Петров – първият дипломиран пилот

In the newly liberated Bulgaria of the late 19th century, Ruse was a cosmopolitan city with a multiethnic population. According to the first census conducted in 1883, ethnic Bulgarians made up 43% of the population, Turks 39%, and Jews 7%.

"All façades on main streets of Russe shall have rich decorations with plastic stone", postulate the Regulations for Constructions of Private Buildings of 1893, issued by the Municipality of Russe.

After knyaz Alexander Battenberg's 1886 abdication, and as a reaction to the regentship's course led by prime minister Stefan Stambolov, a group of Russophile (pro-Russian) military officers revolted in Ruse. The riot was violently crushed, and 13 of the leaders were quickly sentenced to death and executed near the city, which caused much public discontent. Decades later, in 1934, local citizens raised funds and built a monument at the place where the Russophile officers were executed. The monument was blown up in 1940 but rebuilt in 1966 at approximately the same spot.

Early 20th century

1908 – The first factory for iron beds in Modern Bulgaria. Today Ruse is a major centre of furniture manufacturing. 1911 was marked off with the start of a project for an electrical station by "Siemens-Schukert". On 17 February 1917 Ruse became the third electrified city in the country (after Sofia and Varna). In 1913 Belgian entrepreneurs and engineers were granted a concession for a period of 25 years and built the largest sugar factory in Bulgaria.

1927 – the first sock-making factory in Bulgaria opened in Ruse. "Fazan" still exists today; "Първата чорапена фабрика в България" 1933 – the first oil refinery was constructed;

Between World War I and II, after Southern Dobruja was lost to Romania, the economic significance of the city decreased. So did the population: Ruse was no longer the second-largest city in Bulgaria (after former East Rumelian capital Plovdiv), being quickly surpassed by Sofia and Varna. Foreign consulates were closed, except for the Russian one, which remained functional until 2022. Only for the period between 1919 and 1920 the capital loss is estimated at around 40 million leva.

World War II period

The return of Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria in September 1940 fostered good conditions for the restoration of the city's leading role. It became a provincial centre, and economic activity revived. Typical for the post-war architecture of the city was the wide use of iron, concrete and glass as construction materials. Examples are the River port – 1931, the Freight station – 1935, Market Hall – 1939 and the Court house – 1940.

Communist period

The construction of the Ruse-Giurgiu bridge in 1954 and the fast industrialization gave a new push to development. Ruse emerged again as an important economic, transport, cultural, and education hub. Engineering, chemical, and light industries expanded; a large harbor was built, and the city became a university centre. At the 1985 census, a population of more than 186,000 was reported.

In the early 1980s, Ruse entered a dark period. The Verachim factory was built in Giurgiu, which polluted the air between 1980 and 1991, impacting the city's development. The population decreased, and 15,000 people moved out between 1985 and 1992. The first informal organization in Bulgaria under the communist regime was established here - The Public Committee for Environmental Protection of Ruse, which provoked the first nationwide demonstrations and strongly influenced the change to democracy. In 1991, the Romanian factory ceased the pollution, after the fall of the communist regime in Romania.

Democratic Bulgaria