site.btaJune 20, 1954: Inauguration of First Danube Bridge Between Bulgaria and Romania

On June 20, 1954, the first bridge on the Danube River between Bulgaria and Romania was inaugurated, consolidating the cooperation between the two countries. Built between Bulgarian town Ruse and Romanian Giurgiu, the Danube Bridge provided both a railway and motorway connection between the countries.

At the time, it was the largest combined bridge (with a railway and motorway) in Europe. Until 2013, this was the first and only overland crossing in the entire 472-km Bulgarian-Romanian stretch of the river.

Called "The Bridge of Friendship" [Most na Druzhbata] in socialist Bulgaria, it was built in 2.5 years by Bulgaria and Romania in cooperation with the Soviet Union.

The bridge is 2.8 km long and passes at a height of 30 meters above the river. The central part of the bridge is mobile and can be lifted for oversized boats passage.

Historic Significance 

In 1948, Bulgaria and Romania signed an “agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance” which gave birth to the idea of Danube Bridge.

In 1951, after a long time of consideration, Ruse and Giurgiu were chosen as the location. The project was named “Object 889”, and plans were drafted in complete secrecy by Soviet engineers. Specialists of other “fraternal socialist countries” – Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary also took part in the process.  

Construction

Construction commenced in 1952 and was finished in 1954. A total of 19,200 tons of steel were used to build 160-metre bridge structures on shore which were later transported to the water on floating platforms. The project required the work of 7,000 Romanian and 4,700 Bulgarian workers. 

The inauguration day in 1954 brought together Bulgarian prime minister Valko Chervenkov (1950-1956), his Romanian counterpart Gheorghe Georgiou-Dej (1952-1955) and project leader Leonid Saprykin together to give speeches.

Design

The bridge was designed by Bulgarian architect Georgi Ovcharov who is the architect behind famous buildings in Sofia, like Sofia University's Faculty of Biology, the Ministry of Interior and the Stefan Makedonski National Music Theatre.

The eagle heads along its length were the idea of Ukrainian sculptor Mykhailo Parashchuk.

Here's how BTA's Home News Desk Bulletin covered the news on June 20, 1954:

Our Motherland is celebrating a new major victory on the path of socialism, on the path of friendship with the great Soviet Union and the people’s democracies. The newly built bridge over the Danube between Ruse and Giurgiu – the largest bridge in Europe, was inaugurated today. This spectacular socialist building project, which was completed seven months ahead of schedule, is a new and precious offspring of the fraternal friendship between the Bulgarian and Romanian peoples and of the enormous assistance of the Soviet Union. It provides further brilliant proof of the correct policy of the BCP, of the triumph of socialism in our country.