National Transport Museum, Bulgaria
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The National Transport Museum (; ''Natsionalen Muzey na Transporta'') in Ruse,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
, is situated on the bank of the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, 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 Work (physics), 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 (locomotive), cyl ...
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 two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
s, including the personal carriages of the Kings
Ferdinand of Bulgaria Ferdinand I (Ferdinand Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria; 26 February 1861 – 10 September 1948) was Prince of Bulgaria from 1887 to 1908 and Tsar of Bulgaria from 1908 until his abdication in 1918. Under his rule, Bulgaria entered the First Worl ...
and
Boris III of Bulgaria Boris III (; 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 his death in 1943. The eldest son ...
, as well as the carriage of the
Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...
sultan Sultan (; ', ) 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 came to be use ...
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 Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-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, ...
, near the high bank of the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
, opposite to
Giurgiu Giurgiu (; ; ) 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 of Ruse on the op ...
. 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 ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...
railway, executed under
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
, and
Austria-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
pressure. The new railway was intended to shorten journeys from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
by five or six days. Its architectural and constructive plans were provided by the Birkleck brothers (; English spelling uncertain). A water tower, a supportive river wall, and a couple of other facilities were built nearby, using white
limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
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 Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also

*Georgy (disambiguation) *Georgii (disambiguation) {{disambig ...
was the supervisor general of the railway to Varna.
Ilarion Dragostinov Ilarion Ivanov Dragostinov (; c. 1852 – 10 May 1876), nicknamed Arbanascheto (Арбанасчето, "The Arbanasi Boy") was a Bulgarian revolutionary and an important figure in the organization and direction of the anti-Ottoman Empire, Ottoman ...
,
Ivan Vedar Ivan Vedar (), 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, Ottoman Empire in 1827. He is often referred to as the founder ...
, and
Radi Ivanov Radi may refer to: *Raidi (born 1938), Chinese Communist Party politician in Tibet *Radhi (Bhutan), a village in eastern Bhutan's Trashigang district *Rädi Rädi is a village in Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, in southwestern Estonia E ...
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 ...
operators;
Georgi Ikonomov Georgi may refer to: * Georgi (given name) * Georgi (surname) See also *Georgy (disambiguation) *Georgii (disambiguation) Georgii may refer to: ;Given name * Georgii Zantaraia (born 1987), Ukrainian judoka of Georgian origin *Georgii Karpechenko ...
was a
shunter A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distan ...
operator. The railway station developed massive passenger and cargo activity for its time, partly due to the neighbouring harbour. After opening the Rousse-
Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...
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 A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...
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 luxury 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, w ...
* 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 * ...


Sources

* The ''Utro'' () 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 Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
Transport museums in Bulgaria Museums in Ruse Province
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...