1. There are hypotheses that some of the first people on the European continent lived in Nortwestern Bulgaria. In Kozarnika Cave, located in the Vidin region, human remains have been found that date back to approximately 1.6 million years ago. Archaeologists have also found animal bones and stone tools.
2. The tallest monument from the Roman era in Bulgaria (about 12 m) is located in the village of Lesicheri in Pavlikeni Municipality. The Lesicheri Pillar (or the Markov Kamak Pillar) has stood there for approximately two thousand years.
3. Catholic bishop of Nikopol Filip Stanislavov made the first book printed in Cyrillic and Illyrian — Abagar. This happened in 1651 in Rome. The publication was a prayer book for the needs of the Bulgarian Catholic Church.
4. Three of Bulgaria's emblematic musical works were created near the Danube: in 1863, Tsvetan Radoslavov composed the song Gorda Stara Planina in Svishtov, which later became the national anthem; in 1892, Stoyan Mihaylovski, a teacher at the Men's Secondary School in Ruse, wrote the anthem of Bulgarian education and culture Varvi, Narode Vazrodeni; in 1937, Diko Iliev, conductor of the community brass orchestra in Oryahovo and musician in the orchestra of the 36th Kozloduy Infantry Regiment, wrote one of the most famous Bulgarian horo pieces – Dunavsko Horo, which is traditionally performed in the first minutes of the New Year.
5. So many of Bulgaria's firsts occured in the Danube Tourist Region. Ruse, Svishtov, Lom and many other Danube towns describe a number of firsts as part of their historical calling cards: the first community centre, the first insurance company, the first printing house, the first railway, the first public cinema screening, the first meteorological station and many others.
6. On 20 June 1954, the first bridge on the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania was opened. It was called the Friendship Bridge and it connects Ruse and Giurgiu. It's 2.8 km long and built on two levels — for cars and for trains. This bridge remained the only one along the entire 451-kilometre border between the two countries for 59 years – only in 2013 was the New Europe Bridge between Vidin and Calafat put into operation.
7. The first population census after the Liberation of Bulgaria showed that Ruse was the largest settlement in the Principality of Bulgaria (26 163 inhabitants). For comparison, at that time, Sofia's population was 20 501.
8. On 20 September 1908, Bulgarian Prince Ferdinand I was welcomed near Ruse. Together with the whole government, the monarch set off for Veliko Tarnovo, but on the way the train took a break at Dve Mogili Station. It was there that Prime Minister Aleksandar Malinov wrote the Independence Manifesto, which was signed by the Prince and all ministers.
9. On 1 September 1912, Dimitar Apostolov Tsenov – patriot, merchant, entrepreneur and shareholder, bequeathed to his hometown of Svishtov all of his property, valued at 5 million Gold Leva. This donation remains in history as the largest individual donation and second largest donation for the development of higher education, after the one of the Georgiev brothers, given to Sofia University. Today Dimitar Tsenov is a patron of the Academy of Economics in Svishtov.
10. The remains of what is considered the largest camp for political opponents of the totalitarian rule in Bulgaria, which functioned with short interruptions in the period 1949-1989, can be found on Persin Island in Belene.