Geography & History

Rousse (Ruse)

All of the properties for sale by Authentic Bulgaria are located in North East Bulgaria in the beautiful countryside, just south of Rousse. There are a number of reasons for us choosing this area. First, it is a lovely unspoilt area to live with many attractions, a wonderful climate, the famous river Danube and areas of outstanding natural beauty as recognised by UNESCO.

The area is less developed than the popular ski areas such as Bansko and beach areas such as Sunny Beach, although both are within reach for visits.

Don’t just take our word for it. Have a look at what others say about the area, or simply do a search on the internet for the Rusenski Lom Nature Park area or visit the official tourist website: http://lomea.org/indexEN.html or http://www.greendanube.org/public/GetPage.aspx?p=rus_lom.htm

Source: Wikipedia
Rousse (also transliterated as Ruse or Russe; Bulgarian: Русе [ˈru.sɛ]) is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of near 175,600. Rousse is situated in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, 300 km from the capital Sofia and 200 km from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the most significant Bulgarian river port, serving an important part of the international trade of the country.
Rousse is known for its 19th- and 20th-century Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo architecture, which attracts many tourists. The Rousse-Giurgiu Friendship Bridge, the only one in the shared Bulgarian-Romanian section of the Danube, crosses the river nearby.

Geography

Rousse is located on the right bank of the Danube, which is the high bank, having two underwater terraces and three land terraces at 15–22 m, 30–66 m, and 54–65 m. The average altitude is 45.5 m AMSL. The urban area is an approximately 11-km ellipse running along the river. The city extends from the land-connected Matey (Матей) island and the mouth of Rusenski Lom on the west to Srabcheto (Сръбчето) 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 (саръбаир) hill is to the south of the city and is 159 m high. The Rousse TV Tower is built there on the remains of Leventtabia, a former Turkish fortification.

History

An inscription from the Sexaginta Prista fortress

Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
The city emerged as a Thracian settlement from the 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE, when pottery, fishing, agriculture, and hunting developed. Excavations reveal several layers, suggesting that the place was attacked by neighbouring tribes and suffered some natural disasters. Ancient sanctuaries were found nearby, where idols of a pregnant woman, a fertility goddess, were prevalent. The Thracian settlement later developed into a Roman military and naval centre during the reign of Vespasian (69-70 CE) as part of the fortification system along the northern boundary of Moesia. Its name, Sexaginta Prista, suggests a meaning of "a city of 60 ships" (from Latin: sexaginta — "60" and Greek: pristis — a special type of guard ship), based on the supposed 60 nearby berths. The fortress was located on the main road between Singidunum (modern Belgrade) and the Danube Delta and was destroyed in the sixth century by Avar and Slavic raids. Hungarian historian Felix Philipp Kanitz was the first to identify Sexaginta Prista with Rousse, but the Škorpil brothers demonstrated the link later through studying inscriptions, coins, graves, and objects of daily life. 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.

Second Bulgarian Empire and Ottoman rule

Kunt Kapu, the southern gate of the Ottoman fortress, built in the 1820s; the only remaining gate today

In the 13th and 14th centuries, during the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire, a fortified settlement called Rusi (also Golyamo Yorgovo; Bulgarian: Голямо Йоргово), first mentioned in 1380, emerged near the ruins of the Roman town. It later strengthened its position as an important trade centre with the lands on the opposite side of the Danube, until it was conquered by the Ottomans in 1388. Scholars suggest that the city on the river bank derived its present name from the Cherven fortress (Bulgarian: Чѐрвен; "червѐн" meaning red) through the root rous, which is present in many Slavic languages and is a cognate of French rouge and Latin rusos.[2]

During Ottoman rule, the invaders 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, Rousse was dubbed Rusçuk (Turkish for "little Rousse") 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 Ruschuk. Imperceptibly, 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 and it was the first modern farm on the territory of the whole Ottoman Empire of that time.

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