Radetzky Steamship

The Radetzky is a historic steamship built in 1851 at the Óbuda shipyard in Óbuda, now part of Budapest. It was intended for regular services on the River Danube between Galați and Orșova. The ship bears the name of the Austrian field marshal Joseph Radetzky.
In 1876, during the Bulgarian National Revival, the Radetzky became a symbol of Bulgarian history when Hristo Botev's revolutionary detachment used it to cross from Romania into Bulgaria. It was declared a cultural monument and included among the Hundred National Tourist Sites.
Following a series of events, the original steamship remained in service until 1918 and was decommissioned and destroyed in 1924. In the 1960s, a decision was taken to recreate the ship through voluntary donations. In 1964–1966, a replica of the Radetzky was built at the Ruse shipyard using the steam tug Plovdiv as its basis. This new ship became a museum of the revolutionary movement and was designated the Radetzky National Steamship Museum.
Today, the Radetzky is one of Bulgaria's Hundred National Tourist Sites and operates as a museum, offering sightseeing cruises on the River Danube. In 2005, a fundraising campaign was organised to save the ship, with people donating money to preserve this significant artefact of Bulgarian history.