The National Transport Museum ( bg, Национален музей на транспорта; ''Natsionalen Muzey na Transporta'') in
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, is situated on the bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, in the country's first railway station, built in 1866.
The museum
Exhibits are laid out both inside and outside the old station. Among the exhibits outside the building are more than ten
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s, including the oldest steam engine preserved in the country (a
class P 3/3 z, built in England in 1868, and various railroad
carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...
s, including the personal carriages of the Kings
Ferdinand of Bulgaria and
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III ( bg, Борѝс III ; Boris Treti; 28 August 1943), originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver (Boris Clement Robert Mary Pius Louis Stanislaus Xavier) , was the Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1918 until hi ...
, as well as the carriage of the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of 1866.
the museum is underfunded, the heritage engines and railcars are stored in the open air without almost any maintenance, and the humid air from the nearby Danube accelerates significantly their decay.
The museum was named the National Museum of Railway Transport and Communications on 26 June 1996, commemorating the 100th anniversary of railroads in Bulgaria, and the building was declared a historical landmark. The museum's exhibits have been used in the films ''Capitan Petko Voivoda'' (), ''Records of Bulgarian Uprisings'' (), and the Russian-Bulgarian production ''Turkish Gambit''.
The old railway station
The construction of the old Rousse Railway Station was commenced in 1863 and completed three years later. The station is situated in the (then) outskirts of
Rousse, near the high bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, opposite to
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
. It is not functioning now.
Building the railway station was the beginning of a larger project – the Rousse-
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
railway, executed under
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, and
Austria-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
pressure. The new railway was intended to shorten journeys from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
by five or six days. Its architectural and constructive plans were provided by the Birkleck brothers ( bg, братя Бърклек; English spelling uncertain). A water tower, a supportive river wall, and a couple of other facilities were built nearby, using white
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
from nearby villages. In 1866 the station's construction was completed, and it had a waiting room, a room for the station manager, one for the clerk in charge, and some other premises.
The exploitation administration, headquartered in London, occupied the building shortly after its opening. Most of the clerks and the supporting staff were Bulgarians.
Georgi Tsonchev was the supervisor general of the railway to Varna.
Ilarion Dragostinov
Ilarion Ivanov Dragostinov ( bg, Иларион Иванов Драгостинов; c. 1852 – 10 May 1876), nicknamed Arbanascheto (Арбанасчето, "The Arbanasi Boy") was a Bulgarian revolutionary and an important figure in the organiza ...
,
Ivan Vedar
Ivan Vedar ( bg, Иван Ведър), born Danail Nikolov, a.k.a. Yani Ingiliz, Johny English, Ovanes Efendi (equivalents of the name ''Ivan''), Denkooglu (after ''Deniu'', ''Danail''), was born in Razgrad, present-day Bulgaria in 1827. He is oft ...
, and
Radi Ivanov worked there as
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
operators;
Georgi Ikonomov was a
shunter operator. The railway station developed massive passenger and cargo activity for its time, partly due to the neighbouring harbour.
After opening the Rousse-
Tarnovo railway in 1900 with its first station ''Rousse South'', the old station was renamed ''Rousse East'', and remained functional until the launching of a
classification yard in June 1954, when it was transformed into (a part of the)
National Transport Museum.
Gallery
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 2.jpg, The Sultan's wagon
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 1.jpg
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 4.jpg
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 5.jpg
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 8.jpg, Interior of a carriage with heating
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 7.jpg, Interior — slots for mail transport
Image:Rousse Transport Museum 3.jpg, A handcar
External links
Museum website
See also
*
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
*
Varna Railway Station
*
List of museums in Bulgaria
This is a list of museums in Bulgaria.
Museums
* Boris Georgiev City Art Gallery
* Bulgarian torpedo boat Drazki
* Earth and Man National Museum
* Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex
* Kaliopa House
* Konaka Museum
* Kordopulov House
* ...
Bulgarian National Transport Museum (unofficial site)
Sources
* The ''Utro'' ( bg, Утро) newspaper, 21 July 2006, p. 4
{{authority control
Buildings and structures in Ruse, Bulgaria
Transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
Transport museums in Bulgaria
Museums in Ruse Province
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...