Radetzky takes tourists back in time

The Radetski Steamboat National Museum is one of the most attractive tourist sites in northwestern Bulgaria, as revealed during the presentation of the new issue of LIK magazine, “130 Years of Organized Tourism in Bulgaria.” The curator and director of the museum, Desislava Deseva, and the captain of the ship, Mario Tutunarov, shared interesting facts about the vessel. Built in Budapest in 1851, the ship was actively sailing until 1910, and four years later it was scrapped and handed over for scrap. The current replica of the steamboat was created in 1966 based on an idea by journalist Liliana Lozanova with funds collected from 1,200,000 children. On board are weapons and clothing from the era, Hristo Botev’s last letter to his family, and the original sketches on which the steamboat was based.

Currently, the vessel is a branch of the Bulgarian History Museum in Sofia and offers tourist cruises. The ship’s captain shared that steering it is a real challenge—compared to modern vessels, the steamboat is difficult to navigate because it lacks modern systems and equipment. Anchored at the port of Kozloduy, the vessel is the only traveling museum steamboat on the Balkan Peninsula.

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