Discover Tutrakan

Tutrakan can be explored through several cultural themes: fishing and boatbuilding, the Roman past of Transmarisca, remembrance at the 1916 Military Cemetery and visual art. The museum and the Fishermen’s Quarter focus on work and craftsmanship; Transmarisca offers a different, ancient perspective.

Fishing and boatbuilding

The Ethnographic Museum of Danube Fishing and Boatbuilding opened in 1974 and is considered unique among the countries along the Danube. Its exhibition features authentic fishing tools and equipment dating from antiquity to the present day. It documents fishing and boatbuilding on the Danube and in the surrounding marshes and lakes. The exhibition is spread across seven halls and two interior spaces in an early 20th-century building designated as a cultural monument.

The museum and the Fishermen’s Quarter offer different perspectives on this theme: the museum focuses on tools and the documented traditions of fishing and boatbuilding. The quarter preserves the associated houses, workshops and nets in an authentic architectural ensemble.

The Fishermen’s Quarter lies in the northeastern part of the city and is an authentic architectural reserve of national cultural significance. It preserves fishermen’s houses, boatbuilding workshops and fishing nets. A visitor package for Tutrakan includes a guided tour of the Fishermen’s Quarter architectural complex, with demonstrations of net weaving and boatbuilding. Check the package’s availability before your trip.

Transmarisca and the Roman past

The Roman settlement of Transmarisca was established between 40 and 50 AD. By the end of the 3rd century, the late antique fortress of Transmarisca was a permanent military post on the Danube frontier. It was completed in 299 AD, when Diocletian visited the city for the second time. The settlement’s beginnings and the fortress’s later completion mark two distinct stages in this history.

The fortifications also have a history of their own: the southern fortress wall of Transmarisca has two defensive towers and is an important archaeological monument and tourist site. Tower No. 1, now restored, was excavated archaeologically from 1995 to 1997 and conserved from 2000 to 2001. Alongside the ancient dates, these are more recent milestones in archaeological work.

Remembrance and visual art

The “Military Cemetery 1916” Memorial Complex in Tutrakan contains the graves of more than 10,000 soldiers and officers. An obelisk erected at the complex in 1922 bears inscriptions in Bulgarian, German, Romanian and Turkish.

The Tutrakan Art Gallery opened in 2014 and exhibits works of visual art dating from 1985 to 2017. The current exhibition may change. Alongside fishing, archaeology and remembrance, visual art offers its own cultural focus in Tutrakan.

Nature conservation and access rules

The Kalimok-Brashlen protected area was established to protect one of the few remaining wetlands on the Danube and its unique biodiversity. In the biodiversity management zone, visitors may only travel along designated tourist routes. Check the access rules before visiting.

For the broader travel overview: Tutrakan.