The Danube ( ; ) is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
that was once a long-standing frontier of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine before draining into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
extends into nine more countries.
The largest cities on the river are
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
,
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
and
Bratislava, all of which are the capitals of their respective countries; the Danube passes through four capital cities, more than any other river in the world. Five more capital cities lie in the Danube's basin:
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
,
Sofia,
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
,
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
and
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
. The fourth-largest city in its basin is
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
, the capital of
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, standing on the
Isar River.
The Danube is the
second-longest river in Europe, after the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...
in Russia. It flows through much of
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
Southeastern Europe, from the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. Its longest headstream
Breg rises in
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald (; Low Alemannic: ''Furtwange im Schwarzwald'') is a small city located in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany. Together with Villingen-Schwenningen, Furtwangen is part of the district (German: Kreis) of Sc ...
, while the river carries its name from its source confluence in
Donaueschingen onwards.
Since ancient times, the Danube has been a traditional trade route in Europe. Today, of its total length are navigable. The Danube is linked to the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
via the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, connecting the Danube at
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is ...
with the
Main at
Bamberg. The river is also an important source of
hydropower
Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...
and
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...
. Many European borders, especially in the Balkans, are also drawn by the Danube's stream. There are more countries along its flow than on any other river (10; the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...
is second with 9).
The Danube river basin is home to fish species such as
pike,
zander,
huchen,
Wels catfish,
burbot
The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closely ...
and
tench
The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is ...
. It is also home to a large diversity of
carp and
sturgeon, as well as
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...
and
trout. A few species of
euryhaline fish, such as European
seabass
Sea bass is a common name for a variety of different species of marine fish. Many fish species of various families have been called sea bass.
In Ireland and the United Kingdom, the fish sold and consumed as sea bass is exclusively the European ba ...
,
mullet, and
eel, inhabit the
Danube Delta and the lower portion of the river.
Names and etymology
Other names
The river was known to the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
as the () a borrowing from a
Daco-Thracian name meaning 'strong, swift', from a root possibly also encountered in the ancient name of the
Dniester
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and t ...
( in Latin, in Greek) and akin to
Iranic 'swift' and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
() 'swift', from the
PIE
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts (pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), sweete ...
, 'to flow'.
In the Middle Ages, the Greek was borrowed into Italian as and into Turkic languages as ; the latter was further borrowed into Romanian as a regionalism ().
The Thraco-
Phrygian name was , "the bringer of luck".
The
Middle Mongolian name for the Danube was transliterated as ''Tho-na'' in 1829 by
Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat.
The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names related to :
german: link=no, Donau ();
ro, Dunărea (; via German);
;
;
;
cz, Dunaj ();
sk, Dunaj ();
pl, Dunaj ();
hu, Duna ();
sl, Donava ();
sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Dunav, Дунав ();
bg, Дунав, Dunav ();
russian: Дунай, Dunaj ();
uk, Дунай, Dunaj ();
gr, Δούναβης ();
it, Danubio ();
es, Danubio; ();
;
rm, Danubi;
sq, Tunë, .
Etymology
''Danube'' is an
Old European river name derived from the
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
'
danu' or '
don'
[Triad 35. Bromwich, ''Trioedd Ynys Prydein'', pp. 280–285.] (both Celtic gods), which itself derived from the
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo ...
. Other European river names from the same root include the Dunaj, Dzvina/
Daugava,
Don,
Donets,
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...
,
Dniestr,
Dysna and
Tana/Deatnu. In
Rigvedic Sanskrit, ''dānu'' (दनु) means "fluid, dewdrop" and ''dānuja (दनु-ज)'' means "born from ''dānu''" or "born from dew-drops". In
Avestan, the same word means "river". The
Finnish word for Danube is , which is most likely derived from the name of the river in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, . Its
Sámi name means "Great River". It is possible that in
Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": ''Dnieper'' and ''Dniestr'', from ''Danapris'' and ''Danastius'', are presumed to continue Scythian "far river" and "near river", respectively.
[. ]
In Latin, the Danube was variously known as , , or ''Hister''. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its
Slavic names, except
Slovene (the name of the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German (
Early Modern German , ,
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...
) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix ''
-ouwe'' "wetland".
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
differs from other surrounding languages in designating the river with a feminine term, ().
This form was not inherited from Latin, although Romanian is a Romance language.
To explain the loss of the Latin name, scholars who suppose that Romanian developed near the large river propose
that the Romanian name descends from a hypothetical
Thracian . The Proto-Indo-European root of this presumed name is related to the Iranic word ""/"", while the supposed suffix is encountered in the ancient name of the
Ialomița River, ''Naparis'', and in the unidentified ''Miliare'' river mentioned by
Jordanes
Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...
in his
Getica
''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of th ...
.
Gábor Vékony says that this hypothesis is not plausible, because the Greeks borrowed the ''Istros'' form from the native Thracians.
He proposes that the Romanian name is a loanword from a Turkic language (
Cuman
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sough ...
or
Pecheneg).
Geography
Classified as an
international waterway, it
originates in the town of
Donaueschingen, in the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, at the
confluence of the rivers
Brigach and
Breg. The Danube then flows southeast for about , passing through four capital cities (
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
,
Bratislava,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, and
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
) before emptying into the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
via the
Danube Delta in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
.
Once a long-standing frontier of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
, the river passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries:
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
(29.0% of basin area),
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
(11.6%),
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
(10.2%),
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(10.0%),
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
(7.0%),
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
(5.9%),
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
(5.9%),
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
(4.4%),
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
(3.8%), and
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
(1.6%).
Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
extends into nine more (ten if
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...
is included).
Drainage basin
In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
includes parts of nine more countries:
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
(4.6% of the basin area), the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(2.9%),
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
(2.0%),
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = ...
(0.9%),
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(0.2%),
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
(<0.15%),
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
(<0.1%),
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
(<0.1%) and
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
(<0.1%).
The total drainage basin is in area, and is home to 83 million people.
The highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of ''
Piz Bernina'' at the
Italy–Switzerland border
The border between the modern states of Switzerland and Italy extends for , from the French-Swiss-Italian tripoint at Mont Dolent in the west to the Austrian-Swiss-Italian tripoint near Piz Lad in the east.
Much of the border runs across the ...
, at . The Danube River Basin is divided into three main parts, separated by "gates" where the river is forced to cut through mountainous sections:
* Upper Basin, from the
headwaters to the
Devín Gate.
* Middle Basin, usually called the
Pannonian basin
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only th ...
or Carpathian Basin, between the
Devín Gate and the
Iron Gates. It includes the Hungarian plains
Kisalföld
The Little Hungarian Plain or Little Alföld ( Hungarian: ''Kisalföld'', Slovak: ''Malá dunajská kotlina'', German: ''Kleine Ungarische Tiefebene'') is a plain (tectonic basin) of approximately 8,000 km² in northwestern Hungary, sout ...
and
Alföld.
* Lower Basin, from the
Iron Gates to the
river mouth, including the
Danube Delta.
Discharge
Mean annual discharge on the hydrological stations (period from 2000 to 2020); 1 -
Reni
Reni may refer to:
Places
* Reni, Alwar, Alwar district, Rajasthan, India
* Reni, Chamoli (also ''Raini''), Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, devastated by the 2021 Uttarakhand flood
* Reni, Churu, Churu district, Rajasthan, India
* Reni, U ...
,
Isaccea; 2 -
Silistra; 3 -
Pristol
Pristol is a commune in Mehedinți County, Oltenia, Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary ...
; 4 -
Batina
Batina ( hu, Kiskőszeg) is a port village on the right bank of the Danube in Baranja, Croatia. Its elevation is 105 m. Administratively, it is located in the Draž municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County.
Geography
Batina is locate ...
,
Bezdan
Bezdan ( sr-cyr, Бездан; hu, Bezdán, hr, Bezdan, german: Besdan) is a village located in Bačka, Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated in the Sombor municipality, West Bačka District. The village has a Hungarian ethnic majority and its ...
; 5 -
Nagymaros,
Szob; 6 -
Bratislava,
Wolfsthal; 7 -
Untergriesbach
Untergriesbach ( bar, label=Central Bavarian, Untagriasbo) is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Passau (district), district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany.
Geography
Untergriesbach is located in the southern Bavarian Forest and ...
Multiannual average, minimum and maximum discharge (water period from 1876 to 2010)
Simulated water and suspended sediment results from climate-driven decadal study (with STD through specific decade)
Tributaries
The land drained by the Danube extends into many other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges and other shallow-draught boats. From its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are (as they enter):
File:Donaueschingen Donauzusammenfluss 20080714.jpg, The Danube's source confluence in Donaueschingen: the ''Donauzusammenfluss'', the confluence of Breg and Brigach.
File:Дунайський біосферний заповідник 2.JPG, 0 km, Danube Delta, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
File:Danube Delta ESA23450088.jpeg, Where the Danube Meets the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
( European Space Agency Sentinel-2 image).
File:The Danube Spills into the Black Sea.jpg, The Danube discharges into the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
(the upper body of water in the image).
Cities and towns
The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals (shown below in bold), more than any other river in the world. Ordered from the source to the mouth they are:
*
**
Donaueschingen in the
State of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
– rivers
Brigach and
Breg join to form the Danube
**
Möhringen an der Donau in Baden-Württemberg
**
Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg
**
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaring ...
in Baden-Württemberg
**
Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg
**
Munderkingen
Munderkingen () is the smallest town in the district of Alb-Donau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 9 km southwest of Ehingen, and 31 km southwest of Ulm.
Buildings Danube Bridge
The so-called "New Danub ...
in Baden-Württemberg
**
Ehingen in Baden-Württemberg
**
Ulm in Baden-Württemberg
**
Neu-Ulm in Bavaria
**
Günzburg in Bavaria
**
Dillingen an der Donau in Bavaria
**
Donauwörth in Bavaria
**
Neuburg an der Donau
Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany.
Divisions
The municipality has 16 divisions:
* Altmannstetten
* Bergen, ...
in Bavaria
**
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Ba ...
in Bavaria
**
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is ...
in Bavaria
**
Regensburg in Bavaria
**
Straubing in Bavaria
**
Deggendorf in Bavaria
**
Passau in Bavaria
*
**
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
, capital of
Upper Austria
**
Krems in
Lower Austria
**
Tulln
Tulln an der Donau () is a historic town in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, the administrative seat of Tulln District. Because of its abundance of parks and gardens, Tulln is often referred to as ''Blumenstadt'' ("City of Flowers"), and "The C ...
in
Lower Austria
**
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
– capital of Austria and the most populous city on the Danube, where the Danube floodplain is called the ''
Lobau'', though the ''
Innere Stadt'' is situated away from the main flow of the Danube (it is bounded by the
Donaukanal – 'Danube canal').
*
**
Bratislava – capital of
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
**
Komárno
**
Štúrovo
Štúrovo (before 1948: ''Parkan''; hu, Párkány, german: Gockern, tr, Ciğerdelen) is a town in Slovakia, situated on the River Danube. Its population in 2018 was 10,279.
The town is situated opposite the Hungarian city of Esztergom. The Má ...
*
**
Mosonmagyaróvár
Mosonmagyaróvár (; german: Wieselburg-Ungarisch Altenburg; also known by other alternative names) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County in northwestern Hungary. It lies close to both the Austrian and Slovakian borders and has a populatio ...
**
Győr
**
Komárom
**
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river ...
**
Visegrád – This section of the river is also called
Danube Bend.
**
Vác
**
Szentendre
Szentendre () is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis- Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum), galleries, and artists.
Due to its ...
**
Göd
**
Dunakeszi
Dunakeszi () is a city in Pest county, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary. It is located to the north of Budapest on the left bank of the Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and to ...
**
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
– capital of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
, the largest city and the largest agglomeration on Danube (about 3,300,000 people).
**
Szigetszentmiklós
**
Százhalombatta
**
Ráckeve
**
Adony
Adony (formerly ''Duna-Adony''; german: Adam; la, Vetus Salina or ) is a town in Fejér County, Hungary.
Twin towns – sister cities
Adony is twinned with:
* Oberweser, Germany (1995)
* Szczekociny, Poland (2001)
* Cehu Silvaniei, Roman ...
**
Dunaújváros
**
Dunaföldvár
Dunaföldvár is a town in Tolna County, Hungary. Residents are Hungarians, with minority of Serbs. A Bronze Age gold hoard of jewellery was found between Paks and Dunaföldvár on the banks of the Danube in the nineteenth century. The treasure ...
**
Paks
**
Kalocsa
**
Baja
**
Mohács
*
**
Vukovar
**
Ilok
*
**
Apatin
**
Bačka Palanka
Bačka Palanka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка Паланка, ; hu, Palánka) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the left bank of the Danube. In 2011 the tow ...
**
Čerević
**
Futog
**
Veternik
**
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...
– regional capital of
Vojvodina
**
Sremski Karlovci
**
Zemun
**
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
– capital of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
**
Pančevo
**
Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
According t ...
**
Kovin
**
Veliko Gradište
**
Golubac
Golubac ( sr-cyr, Голубац, ; ro, Golubăț) is a village and municipality located in the Braničevo District of eastern Serbia. Situated on the right side of the Danube river, it is bordered by Romania to the east, Veliko Gradište t ...
**
Donji Milanovac
**
Kladovo
*
**
Vidin
**
Lom
**
Kozloduy
**
Oryahovo
**
Nikopol
**
Belene
Belene ( bg, Белене ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov.
Geo ...
**
Svishtov
**
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
**Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-cen ...
**
Tutrakan
**
Silistra
*
**
Moldova Nouă
Moldova Nouă (; ; ; or ''Bošňák''; sr, Нова Молдава) is a town in southwestern Romania in Caraș-Severin County (the historical region of Banat), in an area known as ''Clisura Dunării''. The town administers three villages: Mă ...
**
Orșova
**
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
**
Calafat
**
Bechet
**
Dăbuleni
**
Corabia
**
Turnu Măgurele
**
Zimnicea
**
Giurgiu
**
Oltenița
**
Călărași
**
Fetești
**
Cernavodă
Cernavodă () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 20,514.
The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' (черна вода in Cyrillic), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded b ...
**
Hârșova
**
Brăila – limit of the maritime sector of the Danube
**
Galați – largest port on the Danube
**
Isaccea
**
Tulcea
**
Sulina – last city through which it flows
*
**
Giurgiulești
*
**
Reni
Reni may refer to:
Places
* Reni, Alwar, Alwar district, Rajasthan, India
* Reni, Chamoli (also ''Raini''), Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, devastated by the 2021 Uttarakhand flood
* Reni, Churu, Churu district, Rajasthan, India
* Reni, U ...
**
Izmail
**
Kiliya
**
Vylkove
Islands
*
Ada Kaleh Island
Ada Kaleh (; from tr, Adakale, meaning "Island Fortress"; hu, Újorsova or ; Serbian and Bulgarian: Адакале, ''Adakale'') was a small island on the Danube in what is modern Romania, that was submerged during the construction of the ...
*Ostrovul Mare,
Gogoșu
*
Balta Ialomiței
Balta Ialomiței is an island on the Danube, located in Ialomița County and Călărași County, Romania. It is surrounded by two branches of the Danube, named "Borcea" and "Dunărea Veche". Originally, a wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosyst ...
*
Belene Island
Belene Island ( bg, остров Белене, ''ostrov Belene'') or Persin Island (остров Персин, ''ostrov Persin'') is the biggest island in Bulgarian waters. The island is formed by the Danube River splitting into two branches passi ...
*
Csepel Island
*
Donauinsel
*
Great Brăila Island
The Great Brăila Island ( ro, Insula Mare a Brăilei) is an island on the Danube river in the Brăila County, Romania. It has on average length and width, with a total area of . The two river branches which separate it from the mainland are an ...
*
Great War Island
Great War Island ( sr, Велико ратно острво, Veliko ratno ostrvo) is a river island in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers. Though uninhabited, the island is part of the Belgrad ...
*
Island of Mohács
*
Kozloduy Island
*
Margaret Island
*
Ostrovo (Kostolac)
*
Ostrovul Ciocănești
*
Ostrovul Mare, Islaz
Ostrovul Mare is a natural reserve, an island on the Danube together with Ostrovul Calnovăț, in the proximity of Islaz, Teleorman County. On the island is breeding a colony of pygmy cormorant
The pygmy cormorant (''Microcarbo pygmaeus'') is ...
*Ribarsko Ostrvo,
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the P ...
*
Island of Šarengrad
*
Szigetköz
The Szigetköz (literally "island alley"; german: Kleine Schüttinsel, lit=Little Schütt Island; sk, Malý Žitný ostrov, lit=Little Rye Island) is an island on the Danube in Western Hungary, part of the Little Hungarian Plain. It is the larg ...
*
Island of Szentendre
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
*
Vardim Island
*
Island of Vukovar
*
Žitný ostrov
Sectioning
*Upper Section: From spring to
Devín Gate, at the border of Austria and Slovakia. Danube remains a characteristic mountain river until
Passau, with average bottom gradient 0.0012% (12 ppm), from Passau to Devín Gate the gradient lessens to 0.0006% (6 ppm).
*Middle Section: From Devín Gate to
Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania. The riverbed widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only 0.00006% (0.6 ppm).
*Lower Section: From Iron Gate to
Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0.00003% (0.3 ppm).
Modern navigation
The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to
Brăila in Romania (the maritime river sector), and further on by river ships to
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is ...
, Bavaria, Germany; smaller craft can navigate further upstream to
Ulm,
Württemberg, Germany. About 60 of its tributaries are also navigable.
Since the completion of the German
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in 1992, the river has been part of a trans-European waterway from
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
on the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
to
Sulina on the Black Sea, a distance of .
In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten
Pan-European transport corridors, routes in Central and Eastern Europe that required major investment over the following ten to fifteen years. The amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987.
In 1999, transport on the river was made difficult by the
NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
. Clearance of the resulting debris was completed in 2002, and a temporary
pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge (or ponton bridge), also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow- draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry ...
that hampered navigation was removed in 2005.
At the
Iron Gate, the Danube flows through a
gorge that forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania; it contains the
Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station dam, followed at about downstream (outside the gorge) by the
Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station
The Iron Gate II ( ro, Porțile de Fier II, sr, Ђердап II, translit=Đerdap II) is a large dam on the Danube River, between Romania and Serbia.
Characteristics
The dam is built at the Danube's . The project started in 1977 as a joint-v ...
. On 13 April 2006, a record peak discharge at Iron Gate Dam reached .
There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the
Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal (DTD) in the
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
and
Bačka
Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hunga ...
regions (
Vojvodina, northern province of Serbia); the
Danube-Black Sea Canal, between
Cernavodă
Cernavodă () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 20,514.
The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' (черна вода in Cyrillic), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded b ...
and
Constanța (Romania) finished in 1984, shortens the distance to the Black Sea by ; the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal is about , finished in 1992, linking the North Sea to the Black Sea. A Danube-Aegean canal has been proposed.
Piracy
In 2010–12, shipping companies, especially from Ukraine, claimed that their vessels suffered from "regular
pirate attacks" on the Serbian and the Romanian stretches of the Danube. However, the transgressions may not be considered acts of piracy, as defined according to the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 ...
, but rather instances of "river robbery".
On the other hand, media reports say the crews on transport ships often steal and sell their own cargo and then blame the plundering on "pirates", and the alleged attacks are not piracy but small-time
contraband theft along the river.
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, translit=Del'ta Dunayu) is the largest
river delta
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rare ...
in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is , of which are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of
Razim-Sinoe ( of which water surface), which are located south of the delta proper, but are related to it geologically and ecologically (their combined territory is part of the World Heritage Site), the total area of the Danube Delta reaches .
The Danube Delta is also the best-preserved river delta in Europe, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
(since 1991) and a
Ramsar Site. Its lakes and marshes support 45 freshwater fish species. Its wetlands support vast flocks of migratory birds of over 300 species, including the endangered
pygmy cormorant (''Phalacrocorax pygmaeus''). These are threatened by rival canalization and drainage schemes such as the
Bystroye Canal
The Deepwater Navigation Course "Danube – Black Sea" is a deep-water canal in the Danube Delta that runs through the Danube Delta distributaries Chilia, Old Istambul and "Bystroe". Through most of its length it coincides with the R ...
.
2022 heat wave
In 2022, there was a major
heat wave
A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the ...
in Europe. As a result, there was less water flowing in the rivers. As the water level decreased, a number of ship wrecks from
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
emerged in the Danube River. Many of the ships were from
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
Fleet and had been destroyed to stop them from falling into enemy hands.
International cooperation
Ecology and environment
The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an organization that consists of 14 member states (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine) and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. The commission, established in 1998, deals with the whole Danube river basin, which includes tributaries and groundwater resources. Its goal is to implement the Danube River Protection Convention by promoting and coordinating sustainable and equitable water management, including conservation, improvement, and rational use of waters and the implementation of the EU
Water Framework Directive and the
Danube Strategy
The Danube Strategy of the European Union aimed at closer cooperation between the states along the Danube. The focus is on the areas of infrastructure, environmental protection, wealth creation and good governance.
History of the Danube Strategy ...
.
Navigation
The Danube Commission is concerned with the maintenance and improvement of the river's navigation conditions. It was established in 1948 by seven countries bordering the river. Members include representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia; it meets regularly twice a year. It also convenes groups of experts to consider items provided for in the commission's working plans.
The commission dates to the Paris Conferences of 1856 and 1921, which established for the first time an international regime to safeguard free navigation on the Danube. Today the Commission include riparian and non-riparian states.
Geology
Although the
headwaters of the Danube are relatively small today, geologically, the Danube is much older than the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
, with which its catchment area competes in today's southern Germany. This has a few interesting geological complications. Since the Rhine is the only river rising in the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
mountains which flows north towards the North Sea, an invisible line beginning at
Piz Lunghin
Piz Lunghin (2,780 m) is a mountain in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, located in the Albula range, overlooking the Maloja Pass. It is considered as the "roof of Europe" as the peak is nearby the triple watershed of the Lunghin pass. Water ru ...
divides large parts of southern Germany, which is sometimes referred to as the
European Watershed.
Before the last
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
in the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
, the Rhine started at the southwestern tip of the Black Forest, while the waters from the Alps that today feed the Rhine were carried east by the so-called ''Urdonau'' (original Danube). Parts of this ancient river's bed, which was much larger than today's Danube, can still be seen in (now waterless) canyons in today's landscape of the
Swabian Alb. After the
Upper Rhine valley had been eroded, most waters from the Alps changed their direction and began feeding the Rhine. Today's upper Danube is but a meek reflection of the ancient one.
Since the Swabian Alb is largely shaped of porous
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
, and since the Rhine's level is much lower than the Danube's, today subsurface rivers carry much water from the Danube to the Rhine. On many days in the summer, when the Danube carries little water, it completely oozes away noisily into these underground channels at two locations in the Swabian Alb, which are referred to as the Donauversickerung (
Danube Sink). Most of this water resurfaces only south at the
Aachtopf, Germany's wellspring with the highest flow, an average of , north of
Lake Constance—thus feeding the Rhine. The European Water Divide applies only for those waters that pass beyond this point, and only during the days of the year when the Danube carries enough water to survive the sinkholes in the Donauversickerung.
Since such large volumes of underground water erode much of the surrounding limestone, it is estimated that the Danube upper course will one day disappear entirely in favor of the Rhine, an event called
stream capturing.
The hydrological parameters of Danube are regularly monitored in Croatia at
Batina
Batina ( hu, Kiskőszeg) is a port village on the right bank of the Danube in Baranja, Croatia. Its elevation is 105 m. Administratively, it is located in the Draž municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County.
Geography
Batina is locate ...
,
Dalj,
Vukovar and
Ilok.
History
The Danube basin was the site of some of the earliest human cultures. The
Danubian Neolithic cultures include the
Linear Pottery cultures of the mid-Danube basin. Many sites of the sixth-to-third millennium BCE
Vinča culture, (Vinča, Serbia) are sited along the Danube. The third millennium BCE
Vučedol culture
The Vučedol culture ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vučedolska kultura, Вучедолска култура) flourished between 3000 and 2200 BCE (the Eneolithic period of earliest copper-smithing), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of ...
(from the Vučedol site near
Vukovar,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capi ...
) is famous for its ceramics.
Darius the Great,
king of Persia, crossed the river in the late 6th century BCE to
invade European Scythia and to subdue the
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern
* : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Cent ...
.
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
defeated the Triballian king
Syrmus Syrmus or Syrmos (also ''Syrmios'', Ancient Greek: Σύρμος) was a king of the West Thracian Triballi tribe during the 330s BC.
He is mentioned by Arrian, Strabo and Plutarch.
After the death of his father, Philip II, Alexander the Great p ...
and the northern barbarian Thracian and Illyrian tribes by advancing from Macedonia as far as the Danube in 336 BCE.
Under the Romans, the Danube formed the border of the Empire with the tribes to the north almost from its source to its mouth. At the same time, it was a route for the transport of troops and the supply of settlements downstream. From 37 CE to the reign of the Emperor
Valentinian I (364–375) the
Danubian Limes was the northeastern border of the Empire, with occasional interruptions such as the fall of the Danubian Limes in 259. The crossing of the Danube into
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
was achieved by the ''Imperium Romanum'', first in two battles in 102 and then in 106 after the construction of a bridge in 101 near the garrison town of
Drobeta at the Iron Gate. This victory over Dacia under
Decebalus enabled the Province of
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
to be created, but in 271 it was lost again.
Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the 6th century.
File:Trajan's Bridge Across the Danube, Modern Reconstruction.jpg, The oldest bridge across the Danube, constructed by Apollodorus of Damascus between 103 and 105 CE, directed by Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
, modern Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
and Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
File:Mária Valéria´s bridge.jpg, At Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river ...
and Štúrovo
Štúrovo (before 1948: ''Parkan''; hu, Párkány, german: Gockern, tr, Ciğerdelen) is a town in Slovakia, situated on the River Danube. Its population in 2018 was 10,279.
The town is situated opposite the Hungarian city of Esztergom. The Má ...
, the Danube separates Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
from Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
.
File:Vena 06.jpg, The Danube in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
File:Danube at belene.jpg, The Danube between Belene
Belene ( bg, Белене ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov.
Geo ...
and Belene Island
Belene Island ( bg, остров Белене, ''ostrov Belene'') or Persin Island (остров Персин, ''ostrov Persin'') is the biggest island in Bulgarian waters. The island is formed by the Danube River splitting into two branches passi ...
, Bulgaria
File:Frozen Danube Reichsbrücke.JPG, A look upstream from the Donauinsel in Vienna, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
during an unusually cold winter (February 2006). A frozen Danube usually occurs just once or twice in a lifetime.
File:Bratislavaminorflood.jpg, Bratislava does not usually suffer major floods, but the Danube sometimes overflows its right bank.
Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower Danube
Part of the rivers Danubius or Istros was also known as (together with the Black Sea) the ''Okeanos'' in ancient times, being called the ''Okeanos Potamos'' (Okeanos River). The lower Danube was also called the ''Keras Okeanoio'' (Gulf or Horn of Okeanos) in the ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius Rhodos (Argon. IV. 282).
At the end of the ''Okeanos Potamos'', is the holy island of Alba (Leuke, Pytho Nisi, Isle of Snakes), sacred to the Pelasgian (and later, Greek) Apollo, greeting the sun rising in the east.
Hecateus Abderitas :''See Hecataeus of Miletus for the earlier historian.''
Hecataeus of Abdera or of Teos ( el, Ἑκαταῖος ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης), was a Greek historian and Pyrrhonist philosopher who flourished in the 4th century BC.
Life
Diogenes Laë ...
refers to Apollo's island from the region of the Hyperboreans, in the Okeanos. It was on Leuke, in one version of his legend, that the hero Achilles was buried (to this day, one of the mouths of the Danube is called Chilia). Old Romanian folk songs recount a white monastery on a white island with nine priests.
[''Dacia Preistorica'']
, Nicolae Densusianu (1913).
Rivalry along the Danube
Between the late 14th and late 19th centuries, the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
competed first with the
Kingdom of Serbia,
Second Bulgarian Empire,
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...
,
Principality of Wallachia,
Principality of Moldavia and later with the
Austrian Habsburgs The term Habsburg Austria may refer to the lands ruled by the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs, or the historical Austria. Depending on the context, it may be defined as:
* The Duchy of Austria, after 1453 the Archduchy of Austria
* The '' Erblande' ...
,
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
, and
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
for controlling the Danube (''Tuna'' in
Turkish), which became the northern border of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Many of the
Ottoman–Hungarian Wars
The Ottoman–Hungarian Wars were a series of battles between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Following the Byzantine Civil War, the Ottoman capture of Gallipoli, and the decisive Battle of Kosovo, the Ottoman Empire ...
(1366–1526) and
Ottoman–Habsburg wars (1526–1791) were fought along the river.
The most important
wars of the Ottoman Empire along the Danube include the
Battle of Nicopolis (1396), the
Siege of Belgrade (1456), the
Battle of Mohács (1526), the first Turkish
Siege of Vienna (1529), the
Siege of Esztergom (1543)
The siege of Esztergom occurred between 25 July and 10 August 1543, when the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, besieged the city of Esztergom in modern Hungary. The city was captured by the Ottomans after two weeks.
Backgrou ...
, the
Long War (1591–1606), the
Battle of Vienna (1683), the
Great Turkish War (1683–1699), the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
(1853–1856) and the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).
Second World War
During the 2011 renovation of the
Margaret Bridge
Margaret Bridge or Margit híd (sometimes ''Margit Bridge'') is a three-way bridge in Budapest, Hungary, connecting Buda and Pest across the Danube and linking Margaret Island to the banks. It is the second-northernmost and second-oldest publi ...
,
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
, human remains were discovered. The mostly Jewish remains were victims of the
far-right Arrow Cross Party, who briefly governed Hungary from 1944.
Economics
Drinking water
Along its course, the Danube is a source of drinking water for about 20 million people. In
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Germany, almost 30 percent (as of 2004) of the water for the area between
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...
,
Bad Mergentheim,
Aalen
Aalen () is a former Free Imperial City located in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, about east of Stuttgart and north of Ulm. It is the seat of the Ostalbkreis district and is its largest town. It is also the large ...
and
Alb-Donau (district) comes from purified water of the Danube. Other cities such as
Ulm and
Passau also use some water from the Danube.
In Austria and Hungary, most water is drawn from ground and spring sources, and only in rare cases is water from the Danube used. Most states also find it too difficult to clean the water because of extensive pollution; only parts of Romania where the water is cleaner still obtain drinking water from the Danube on a regular basis.
Navigation and transport
In the 19th century, the Danube was an important waterway but was, as ''The Times'' of London put it, "annually swept by ice that will lift a large ship out of the water or cut her in two as if she were a carrot."
Today, as
"Corridor VII" of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
, the Danube is an important transport route. Since the opening of the
Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, the river connects the
Port of Rotterdam and the industrial centers of Western Europe with the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
and, also, through the
Danube – Black Sea Canal, with the
Port of Constanța
The Port of Constanța is located in Constanța, Romania, on the western coast of the Black Sea, from the Bosphorus Strait and from the Sulina Branch, through which the Danube river flows into the sea. It covers , of which is land and the res ...
.
The waterway is designed for large-scale inland vessels () but it can carry much larger vessels on most of its course. The Danube has been partly canalized in Germany (5 locks) and Austria (10 locks). Proposals to build a number of new locks to improve navigation have not progressed, due in part to environmental concerns.
Downstream from the
Freudenau locks in Vienna, canalization of the Danube was limited to the
Gabčíkovo dam
Gabčíkovo ( hu, Bős, ) is a town and municipality in the Dunajská Streda District, in the Trnava Region of southwestern Slovakia. It has 5,232 inhabitants of whom approximately 80% are Hungarians. After the Communist takeover of Czechoslovak ...
and locks near Bratislava and the two double
Iron Gate locks in the border stretch of the Danube between Serbia and Romania. These locks have larger dimensions. Downstream of the Iron Gate, the river is free flowing all the way to the Black Sea, a distance of more than .
The Danube connects with the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal at
Kelheim
Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020).
History
Kelheim is ...
, with the
Donaukanal in Vienna, and with the Danube–Black Sea Canal at
Cernavodă
Cernavodă () is a town in Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania with a population of 20,514.
The town's name is derived from the Bulgarian ''černa voda'' (черна вода in Cyrillic), meaning 'black water'. This name is regarded b ...
.
Apart from a couple of secondary navigable branches, the only major navigable rivers linked to the Danube are the
Drava,
Sava and
Tisa. In Serbia, a canal network also connects to the river; the network, known as the
Danube–Tisa–Danube Canals, links sections downstream.
In the Austrian and German sections of the Danube, a type of flat-bottomed boat called a
Zille was developed for use along the river. Zillen are still used today for fishing, ferrying, and other transport of goods and people in this area.
Fishing
The importance of fishing on the Danube, which was critical in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, has declined dramatically. Some fishermen are still active at certain points on the river, and the
Danube Delta still has an important industry. However, some of the river's resources have been managed in an environmentally unsustainable manner in the past, leading to damage by pollution, alterations to the channel, and major infrastructure development, including large hydropower dams.
The
sturgeon stocks associated with the Danube River basin have, over the centuries, formed the basis of a large and significant commercial fishery, renowned throughout the world. The construction of the dams, besides overfishing and river pollution, has a significant role in sturgeon population decline because it creates a barrier for fish migratory species that usually spawn in the upper parts of the river. The spawning areas of migratory fishes species has been dramatically reduced by the construction of hydropower and navigation systems at Iron Gates I (1974) and Iron Gates II (1984) The initial design of these dams has not included any fish passage facility. The possibility of building a man-made
fish pass
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as movem ...
enabling migration for fish species including the sturgeon, is currently under review by projects such as We Pass.
The Upper Danube
ecoregion alone has about 60 fish species and the Lower Danube–
Dniester
The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and t ...
ecoregion has about twice as many.
[Hales, J. (2013). ]
Upper Danube
'. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 25 February 2013. Among these are an exceptionally high diversity of sturgeon, a total of six species (
beluga,
Russian sturgeon,
bastard sturgeon
The ship sturgeon, also known as the fringebarbel sturgeon, ship sturgeon, spiny sturgeon, or thorn sturgeon (''Acipenser nudiventris''), is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. These fish are typically found along the benthos of shall ...
,
sterlet,
starry sturgeon and
European sea sturgeon), but these are all threatened and have largely–or entirely in the case of the European sea sturgeon–disappeared from the river.
[ The huchen, one of the largest species of salmon, is ]endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the Danube basin, but has been introduced elsewhere by humans.
Tourism
Important tourist and natural spots along the Danube include the Wachau Valley, the Nationalpark Donau-Auen
Donau-Auen National Park (german: Nationalpark Donau-Auen) covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe.
The German word ''Aue'' (variant ''Au'') means ...
in Austria, Gemenc
Gemenc is a unique forest that is found between Szekszárd and Baja, in Hungary. This is the only remaining tidal area of the Danube in Hungary. The wood's fauna include stags, boars, storks, grey herons, gyrfalcons, white-tailed eagles, and kit ...
in Hungary, the Naturpark Obere Donau
The Upper Danube Nature Park (German: ''Naturpark Obere Donau''), founded in 1980, is located in the south of Baden-Württemberg in Germany and encloses primarily the districts of Tuttlingen and Sigmaringen. It encompassed initially 860 km2 ...
in Germany, Kopački rit in Croatia, Iron Gate in Serbia and Romania, the Danube Delta in Romania, and the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria.
Also, leisure and travel cruises on the river are of significance. Besides the often frequented route between Vienna and Budapest, some ships even go from Passau in Germany to the Danube Delta and back. During the peak season, more than 70 cruise liners are in use on the river, while the traffic-free upper parts can only be discovered with canoes or boats.
The Danube region is not only culturally and historically of importance, but also due to its fascinating landmarks and sights important for the regional tourism industry. With its well established infrastructure regarding cycling, hiking, and travel possibilities, the region along the Danube attracts every year an international clientele. In Austria alone, there are more than 14 million overnight stays and about 6.5 million arrivals per year.
The Danube Banks in Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
are a part of Unesco World Heritage sites, they can be viewed from a number of sightseeing cruises offered in the city.
The Danube Bend is also a popular tourist destination.
Danube Bike Trail
The Danube Bike Trail (also called Danube Cycle Path or the ''Donauradweg'') is a bicycle trail along the river. Especially the parts through Germany and Austria are very popular, which makes it one of the 10 most popular bike trails in Germany.
The Danube Bike Trail starts at the origin of the Danube and ends where the river flows into the Black Sea. It is divided into four sections:
# Donaueschingen– Passau ()
# Passau–Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
()
#Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
–Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
()
#Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
–Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
()
Sultans Trail
The Sultans Trail is a hiking trail that runs along the river between Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
According t ...
in Serbia. From there the Sultans Trail leaves the Danube, terminating in Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
. Sections along the river are as follows.
#Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
–Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
()
#Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...
–Smederevo
Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
According t ...
()
Donausteig
In 2010, the Donausteig, a hiking trail from Passau to Grein, was opened. It is long and it is divided into 23 stages. The route passes through five Bavarian and 40 Austrian communities. An impressive landscape and beautiful viewpoints, which are along the river, are the highlights of the ''Donausteig''.
The Route of Emperors and Kings
The Route of Emperors and Kings is an international touristic route leading from Regensburg to Budapest, calling in Passau, Linz and Vienna. The international consortium ''ARGE Die Donau-Straße der Kaiser und Könige'', comprising ten tourism organisations, shipping companies, and cities, strives for the conservation and touristic development of the Danube region.
In medieval Regensburg, with its maintained old town, stone bridge and cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
, the Route of Emperors and Kings begins. It continues to Engelhartszell
Engelhartszell an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Engöhoartszö'') is a municipality in the district of Schärding in the Austrian state of Upper Austria.
Geography
Engelhartszell lies in the upper Danube valley in the Innviertel. About 57 percent ...
, with the only Trappist monastery in Austria. Further highlight-stops along the Danube, include the "Schlögener Schlinge", the city of Linz, which was European Capital of Culture in 2009 with its contemporary art richness, the Melk Abbey, the university city of Krems and the cosmopolitan city of Vienna. Before the Route of Emperors and Kings ends, you pass Bratislava and Budapest, the latter of which was seen as the twin town of Vienna during the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Since ancient Roman times, famous emperors and their retinue traveled on and along the Danube and used the river for travel and transportation. While traveling on the mainland was quite exhausting, most people preferred to travel by ship on the Danube. So the Route of Emperors and Kings was the setting for many important historical events, which characterize the Danube up until today.
The route got its name from the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I of Barbarossa and the crusaders as well as from Richard I of England
Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...
who had been jailed in the Dürnstein Castle, which is situated above the Danube. The most imperial journeys throughout time were those of the Habsburg family. Once crowned in Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, the emperors ruled from Vienna and also held in Regensburg the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg
The Perpetual Diet of Regensburg or the Eternal Diet of Regensburg, (german: Immerwährender Reichstag) also commonly called in English the perpetual Diet of Ratisbon,Jean Berenger, C.A. Simpson, ''The Habsburg Empire 1700-1918'' (2014), p. 134 fr ...
. Many famous castles, palaces, residences, and state-run convents were built by the Habsburger along the river. Nowadays they still remind us of the bold architecture of the "Donaubarock".
Today, people can not only travel by boat on the Danube but also by train, by bike on the Danube Bike Trail or walk on the "Donausteig" and visit the UNESCO World Heritage cities of Regensburg, Wachau and Vienna.
Important national parks
* Naturpark Obere Donau (Germany)
* Donauauen zwischen Neuburg und Ingolstadt (Germany) �
map
* Nature protection area Donauleiten (Germany)
* Nationalpark Donau Auen (Austria) �
map
* Chránená krajinná oblasť Dunajské luhy (Slovakia) �
map
* Danube-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) �
map
* Danube-Drava National Park (Hungary) �
map
* Naturalpark Kopački Rit (Croatia) �
map
* Gornje Podunavlje
, iucn_category = IV
, photo = Gornje Podunavlje.jpg
, photo_caption = Gornje Podunavlje near Apatin
, location = Apatin, Sombor and Odžaci, Vojvodina,
, nearest_city = Sombor
, map = Serbia , relief = 1
, map_caption = Gornje Podunavlje ...
Nature Reserve (Serbia) �
map
* Fruška Gora National Park (Serbia)
* Koviljsko-petrovaradinski rit Nature Reserve (Serbia)
* Great War Island
Great War Island ( sr, Велико ратно острво, Veliko ratno ostrvo) is a river island in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of Sava and Danube rivers. Though uninhabited, the island is part of the Belgrad ...
Nature Reserve (Serbia)
* Đerdap National park (Serbia)
* Iron Gates Natural Park (Romania)
* Persina Nature Park (Bulgaria) �
map
* Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Site (Bulgaria) �
map
* Srebarna Nature Reserve (Bulgaria) �
map
* Măcin Mountains
The Măcin Mountains () is a mountain range in Tulcea County, Romania. Part of the Northern Dobruja Massif, they are located between Danube River to the north and west, Taița River and ''Culmea Niculițelului'' to the east and Casimcea Platea ...
Natural Park (Romania)
* Balta Mică a Brăilei Natural Park (Romania)
* Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (Romania) �
map
* Danube Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine
File:Gornje Podunavlje.jpg, Gornje Podunavlje
, iucn_category = IV
, photo = Gornje Podunavlje.jpg
, photo_caption = Gornje Podunavlje near Apatin
, location = Apatin, Sombor and Odžaci, Vojvodina,
, nearest_city = Sombor
, map = Serbia , relief = 1
, map_caption = Gornje Podunavlje ...
Special Nature Reserve in Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
File:Golubaccas.jpg, Golubac Fortress in Đerdap National park, Serbia
In popular culture
* The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
by Austrian composer Johann Strauss, '' The Blue Danube Waltz'' (''On the Beautiful Blue Danube''). This piece is well known across the world and is also used widely as a lullaby. ''The Waves of the Danube "Waves of the Danube" ( ro, Valurile Dunării) is a waltz composed by Iosif Ivanovici in 1880, and is one of the most famous Romanian tunes in the world. The song has many variations throughout the piece, reminiscent of the music of Johann Strauss. ...
'' ( ro, Valurile Dunării) is a waltz by the Romanian composer Iosif Ivanovici (1845–1902); as the Anniversary Song, it has been performed by many vocalists, such as Al Jolson, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Lynn, Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
, and countless others. Anniversary_Waltz,_though_that_is_actually_a_different_song_and_melody..html" ;"title="Waves of the Danube">Anniversary Waltz, though that is actually a different song and melody.">Waves of the Danube">Anniversary Waltz, though that is actually a different song and melody. Joe Zawinul wrote a symphony about the Danube called '' Stories of the Danube''. It was performed for the first time at the 1993 Bruckner festival, at Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital ...
.
* The Danube figures prominently in the Bulgarian National Anthem, as a symbolic representation of the country's natural beauty. In Lithuanian folklore songs, the appearance of Danube (Dunojus, Dunojėlis) is more common than the appearance of the longest Lithuanian river Neman
The Neman, Nioman, Nemunas or MemelTo bankside nations of the present: Lithuanian: be, Нёман, , ; russian: Неман, ''Neman''; past: ger, Memel (where touching Prussia only, otherwise Nieman); lv, Nemuna; et, Neemen; pl, Niemen; ; ...
.
* The German tradition of landscape painting, the Danube school, was developed in the Danube valley in the 16th century.
* One of Claudio Magris's masterpieces is called ''Danube'' (). The book, published in 1986, is a large cultural-historical essay, in which Magris travels the Danube from the first sources to the delta, tracing the rich European ethnic and cultural heritage, literary and ideological past and present along the way.
* Jules Verne's ''The Danube Pilot
''The Danube Pilot'' (french: Le Pilote du Danube) is a novel by Jules Verne.
It was first published in 1908, three years after his death, and like most of the books published posthumously, had been extensively revised by his son, Michel. Part o ...
'' (1908) (''Le Pilote du Danube'') depicts the adventures of fisherman Serge Ladko as he travels down the river.
* In the ''Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' universe, the ''Danube''-class runabout is a type of starship used by the Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
Starfleet, most notably in the ''Deep Space Nine
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication fr ...
'' series.
* Miklós Jancsó
Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter.
Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including '' The Round-Up'' (''Szegénylegények'', 1965), '' ...
's film the ''Blue Danube Waltz
"The Blue Danube" is the common English title of "An der schönen blauen Donau", Op. 314 (German for "By the Beautiful Blue Danube"), a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866. Originally performed on 15 Februar ...
'' (1992)
*Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary crit ...
's short story " The Willows" mostly takes place on the river.
See also
* Danube Monarchy
* Danubian Principalities
* List of cities and towns on Danube river
* 2006 European floods
* ''Between the Woods and the Water
''Between the Woods and the Water'' is a travel book by British author Patrick Leigh Fermor, the second in a series of three books narrating the author's journey on foot across Europe from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople in 1933/34.
The f ...
'', a travel book telling of a Danubian journey in 1934
* '' The Ister'', 2004 film
* Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River
* List of crossings of the Danube
* Steamboats on the Danube
*Black Sea drainage basin
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Ro ...
References
External links
*
Danube watershed map and information from the World Resources Institute
Danube Panorama Project
сайт о Дунае
Danube and the sport of rowing
Danube image pool on Flickr
Danube Tourist Commission
danubemap.eu – The Tourist Map of the Danube
archive
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
Bridges of Budapest over the Danube river
Description of the Danube estuary in June 1877, ''The Times'' of London
Old maps of the Danube
Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel
The National Library of Israel (NLI; he, הספרייה הלאומית, translit=HaSifria HaLeumit; ar, المكتبة الوطنية في إسرائيل), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; he, בית הספרים הלא� ...
{{Authority control
*
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