Not far away from the center of Ruse, in a quiet and peaceful place – under the shade of some huge chestnut trees, stands proudly one of the oldest and most beautiful temples of the great Christian city on the Danube River – “Saint George”. According to the written testimony of the chroniclers and travelers, this church is older than even the oldest church in Ruse aknowledged until now – the Cathedral of „Sveta Troitsa”. The reasons supporting such statements are given by the Catholic Archbishop’s chronicles Peter Bogdan Bakshev and by the faimous Hungarian traveler, Felix Kanitz. However, most likely, both churches listed here were originally built of wood and only later they came in the form of today. It for sure and fully proved that the construction of the church St. George” began in 1841 as a result of donations and repeated demands of the population in this part of town, addressed to the Turkish leadership, and by the consent of the Abdul Medjid Sultan, who issued a special decree for this purpose.
At the construction of the church worked especially Tryavna craftsmen and builders from the outskirts of Gabrovo region. The new church was completed in only about two years, and its consecration was performed in early 1943. The foundation is dug about 2 meters to the ground, with the following sizes: 32 meters in lenght and 14 meters in width. The church has in total three altars, of which, each is dedicated to a different saint. The central altar was named after the main patron of the church Saint George, one in the North – after St. Dimitar Basarabovski, and the southern altar – after St. Nicholas, the Wonderworker. The oldest icons in the church are the work of authors from the Tryavna School of Arts– Zahariy Stoyanov and Yoankiy papa Vitanov. Mark on the appearance of the church has left the urban Viennese architect and engineer – Edward Winter, who worked on achievement of other buildings of that time, emblematic for Ruse. According to the Winter’s project in 1904 was raised the the highest part of the church – the belfry, where the bel is with a weight of 445 kilograms. In 1909, in the courtyard, a rectory was added to the entire church – cultural assembly. Here, under one roof, lies a library, a meeting room of the church council, chancellery and a candle processor place.
Over the years, the church has been connected to the electricity grid – in 1924, later it was equipped with phone line – in 1937, and today, fully in the spirit of contemporary technology, church services can be followed live on the Internet by webcam.
Another great pride for the church is that here are kept some relics of its patron – St. George, who was appointed protector of the whole city. By judgment of the Municipal Council in 2002, May the 6th, the day of Saint George, was declared the day of the city of Ruse.