District Administration

The building of the District Administration is the first large public building in the new Bulgarian state.

Built in 1882 to a design by the Austrian architect Friedrich Grunanger, appointed chief architect of the Public Works Directorate in Sofia.

The year of construction is marked with Roman numerals on the facade, along with the name of Prince Alexander I Battenberg. The building has two floors. Finishes with a mansard roof covered with sheet metal. A two-way carriageway approach leads to the main entrance, which has now been rebuilt for easy access for people with disabilities. The meeting room, now Battenberg Hall, is covered with figured parquet.
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The building is known as the "Battenberg Palace", but it was never a princely palace. The original architectural plan reads: "Building of the Russian District Administration". For seven decades it was used for district and district administration. Here were the offices of such administrators as Nikola Obretenov, Alexander Kanazirski, Ivan Kovachen, Ivan Neshev, whose rule brings great public benefits to Ruse and the region.
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In 1946 the metal state coat of arms was removed and the building was handed over to the Ruse District Court. After two decades of complete reconstruction in 2007, the building houses the Ruse Historical Museum.
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Source for District Administration: Doikov, V., Dimitrova, M. The buildings - the European cultural heritage of Ruse. R., 2013