Giurgiu-Ruse Friendship Bridge in Ruse

Great experience

Superb 👍

Too old for being in use.

Idk what to say about A BRIDGE :/

Went by train underneath. It was nice passing by all the cars and trucks waiting in line, until the train stopped and I was the one waiting for a document check.

Ok

Its painful to say this as a bulgarian, but the romanian side looks modern and our from 30 years ago

The bridge is okay: its doing its job and it seems solid enough.Caveat: Im not an experienced bridge reviewer and I have tested the bridge only once.My main complaint is that the bridge is not pedestrian-friendly. I was in Ruse with a friend and we wanted to walk to Romania:- The bridge is surprisingly far from the city center (6km, so a bit more than an hour). It would be nice to move the bridge and make it more central.- The sideways are very narrow (cant have two people next to each other), and this may be problematic for obese people.- The bridge is dirty, smelly and unsafe.- There was a crane(!blocking the sidewalk. We had to switch side and there was no pedestrian crossing in the middle of the bridge.- We found lots of random objects, including bottles and shoes (its a mystery how someone can forget a shoe in the middle of a bridge).- On the Romanian side after the bridge, theres no sidewalk. Its dangerous, especially at night.- We met a guard at the end of the bridge who checked our IDs. He asked us what we were doing - as if it was not obvious that we were walking to Romania.- The border check is designed for cars/trucks. We considered queing among the cars, but then decided to pass them. Guards at the border spent 10 minutes checking our passports and asked questions (I would have been happy to have a friendly discussion with them, but it felt more like a police interrogation).On the plus side:- The bridge is free for pedestrians and provides 30 minutes of entertainment.Why 3 stars? While our experience was not perfect, theres no real alternative: the only other bridge is 300km away. So, Ive put 3 stars meaning: "not great, but would use it again".

Better orgnized in 2021 than in previous years. Separate lanes for trucks, lorries, buses and for private cars. The overhaul of the Romanian side is clearly visible.

The Bulgarian part of the bridge definitely needs an upgrade. You need to pay in order to cross it but you actually pay for breaking your car.The Romanian flag on the welcome board should be changed. It’s Romania, not France.

they steal my 3 bgn! we give them 20 bgn and they give me back 13 bgn but it should cost only 4 bgn

Just came through from Giurgui on Saturday afternoon at 14.00. Its much improved since our previous experiences a few years ago. Seperate area for cars and lorries. Only 6 cars in front and through in 30 mins. It used to be a nightmare but not any more. Much better than Kardam which we used to enter Romania

the Bulgarian half of the bridge definitely needs an upgrade.

The road connecting the bridge and the city does not honor the city of Giurgiu

It s the border between Romania and Bulgaria and there are berder police check points both sides of the bridge.

Totally outdated bridge and infrastructure for a claimed friendy connection between two EU countries. Hundreds and hundreds of trucks waiting in line on both sides. On certain hours, regular car drivers are only struggling among large trucks crossing over the single tiny way bridge line, what a shame.

FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE presently called DANUBE BRIDGE 1- Is just a normal two- lane Bridge that connects Bulgaria and Romania. We were able to make use of this bridge because of our visit in the city of Giurgiu and Bucarest from the City of Ruse in Bulgaria. The name of the Bridge was named after the Danube river we were crossing. The Bridge is usually stocked up with much traffic but this problem was solved when newly a second bridge was built between Vidin and Calafat to reduce traffic congestion. It is named Danube Bridge 2 . This Friendship bridge gained its popularity not only because of its historical background but it has unique architecture built on every beginning and end of the bridge. These are the pairs of rectangular towers supported by pillars on both ends of this bridge. One part of the pillars was still under construction when i took some pictures.

Great Bridge its pretty fast to cross and i think 2lanes is enough because there is a second Bridge at Vidin-Calafat

Defo feel more chummy on this bridge.Good view of the city.

unbelievable lack of maintenancealways crowdednever a good experience by carit’s a bridge, the only one.

the bridge operator in BG accepts for the toll only euro coins or bills, NO cents

A two-lane bridge, more than half a century old, which cannot handle the flow of traffic in both directions. Simply miserable

30.07.2019 - 40 minutes to cross the bridge by car, a lot of time to celebrate this "Friendship Bridge". Im full of joy and happiness.

Friendship bridge, very nice and crossing the Donav a big moment every time.

The waiting time for crossing it was very long

Nothing special but the towers on each end.

Was a bit busy today, but very nice natue around, and easy to pass.

At present, this bridge should not have been used long ago, it belongs to the museum. But going after it is a great attraction.

the road is ok , but the services in both bulgaria and romania are not so good

Connecting Bulgaria and Romania; road and railway; part of the bridge can be lifted to permit crossing of vessel

Its a bridge, with inefficient borders at both ends, there could be improvements either side tbh.

Almost the whole bridge was blocked by a queue of trucks. Hard to understand why the authorities have not organized the access on the bridge in order to avoid it.

It is a amazing bridge connecting bulagia and romania 😍😚😚

Connection bridge for Roumania and Bulgary countries over the Danube river. Easy access from the one country to the other. Borders exist in both sides of the bridge. The closest cities for an overnight stay are the Giurgiu (Roumaniaand Rousse (Bulgary).

The bridge was built between 1952 and 1954 as part of a larger scale military project to span a fast railroad corridor for the Soviet army down to the Turkish border. Stalins death prevents the success of the operation and the bridge remains the only fully functionning part of the project. Back then the plan was to also dig a tunnel under the East Balkan and they almost succeeded. Today if youre feeling adventurous and youre well prepared you can find the North entrance and some 2 kilometers of an unfinished tunnel deep in the woods south-west of Varna.Anyways, currently the bridge is used for civil purposes only. It has a middle section that can be lifted to let larger ships pass through. My first impression – it was smaller than I imagined it, in poor condition and the roads on both sides are far from what a border between two European countries should look like.

For first experience was pretty interesting and fun to pass.

An important but unbelievable lack of maintenance bridge, it is too difficult to drive on, there are many big holes

Most of the time there are long queues at the customs in Bulgaria.

a bridge good for year 1500, but not 2016 between 2 EU countries

Great place this bridge. To bad that is still in construction since year 2000 BC :(

Nothing special. Just a bridge between two countries. Crowded because of the customs.

The renovation of the Romanian site of the bridge is taking 2 years. They are now in a very small last part and they are some regulations. You need atleast 40 minutes in one direction.

Paving has been repaired recently. Long waiting times at toll payment because of poor management.

Walked across the bridge from Bulgarian side to Romanian side. City buses from Ruse go to near the Bulgarian side. 4KM walk, pavement not always clear so have to walk in the road. Hitched a ride after passport control on Romanian side

Some section are with bad pavement. I cross it on 21 and 22 of August 2016 without delays. Romanian site is still under some repairs. On Romanian toll they accept only cash!

It took me a couple of hours to cross in both directions due to complete lack of organisation on both sides. A short travel is turned to a nightmare and so much business between the countries is lost. Too bad it is not so easy to avoid, but I guess they know that.

Constant roadworks on the romanian section, and we dont have a clear bridge to cross during the holiday season.... I wonder if it will be done this year....

bad roads, poor management. everything looks deserted. i will avoid this area next time.

Terrible experience. Three different sections of road works along the way. It took me almost three hours from paying the fee on the Romanian side to reaching the passport control point.

Serves its purpose. Its a bridge, you can cross it, and so on. It has only 2 lanes only. Usually (around 70%is under repair, on BG or on RO side. In some cases it a pain to cross it. Heavy traffic jam may occur.