Summary: In 1857 a couple of Bulgarian merchants applied to the Sublime Porte for permission to construct and operate the Ruse–Varna railway. The undertaking was strongly influenced and unofficially supported by members of the Sublime Porte and the Ottoman provincial government. Yet, the merchants involved in the bid gave it a bottom-up impetus. Thus, the local economic elites became acquainted with new ideas, know-how, and practices regarding entrepreneurship and modern industrial undertakings. The endeavour had three main aspects that played an important role in the process: application and organization of the railway project by the local group; negotiations of the local group, both with the Sublime Porte and other railway entrepreneurs; project financing. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of the extent to which the new practices were adopted and applied in their subsequent activities and business operations and it seems that the local bid had rather limited economic impact.
Keywords: Ruse–Varna railway, Shumen, modernization, concession
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