Ruse Regional History Museum

Overview

Battenberg Palace is the popular name of the building that now houses the Regional History Museum in Ruse. It is located in the city of Ruse on Battenberg Square 3. The palace was built in 1882 according to the plan of the Austrian architect Friedrich Grunanger. By design, the building was to serve as the official residence of the Bulgarian Prince Alexander I Battenberg in Ruse. As the palace was completed after the withdrawal of Prince Alexander I from the Bulgarian throne, it was never used as the seat of a Bulgarian ruler. Instead, after its completion, it housed the district administration in Ruse, and since 1948 the building has been used for the needs of the District Court in Ruse. The building has a large basement where criminals and political prisoners are interrogated. In addition, the building was connected by an underground tunnel to the nearby house of the Ruse mayor. In front of the palace is a large park with fountains and sculptural compositions. In 1990, it was decided that the Battenberg Palace would host the expositions of the Regional History Museum in Ruse. For this purpose, the implementation of a large-scale program for repair and reconstruction of the palace began. After a long break in the renovation work, the renovation of the building was completed in fifteen years. The repair works are financed by the Municipality of Rousse and the Beautiful Bulgaria project. On September 23, 2007 the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Georgi Parvanov officially opened the renovated building of the palace together with the expositions of the historical museum.