Levent Tabia

Overview

Levent Tabia Fortress is located in the city of Ruse, on the banks of the Danube River, 195 km northwest of Varna and 311 km northeast of the capital Sofia.

The fortress is located on the highest point of the city of Ruse, near the hill Sara Bair. In the past, the fort was one of the most important in the defense of the Danube border of the Ottoman Empire and the largest and strongest unit of the Ottoman fortress of Ruse.

Its construction began in the 1920s. On the eve of the Russo-Turkish War / 1828-1829 / the fort still has temporary facilities, but in the early 1930s it was rebuilt mainly according to projects. of Prussian military engineers and despite later modernizations retained its appearance until the Liberation War. Exceptional measures were taken to fortify it, because it was considered that due to its strategic location, its capture would lead to the capitulation of the entire fortress.

The outer fortification line of the fort consisted of an earthen rampart and a moat with a front to the south. Its intricately built hidden entrance was from the north. During the Liberation War there were 20 large-caliber long-range cannons "Krupp". Inside were barracks, ammunition burials and more. The fort housed a garrison of 3,000 men (1 regiment) and was adapted to withstand a prolonged siege.

After the Liberation, despite the provisions of the Berlin Congress (1879) for the demolition of all fortresses in the Principality of Bulgaria, the fort was preserved and used for burials of the Danube military flotilla. During the Second World War it had an anti-aircraft battery. After the disbandment of the Danube military flotilla in 1961, the fort was left unattended for several years.

In 1972 it was turned into an attractive restaurant complex "Leventa" with seven halls, each of which carried the atmosphere of one of the Danube capitals. In the mid-1990s, the restaurant ceased operations to be rebuilt and renovated at the end of 2005 as the Leventa complex, consisting of a restaurant and the Ruse Wine House.