The Vienna Danube regulation (german: Wiener Donauregulierung) refers to extensive
flood-control engineering along the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
river in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
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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 the last 150 years. The first major dams or
levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
s were built during 1870-75. Another major project was constructed during 1972-88, which created the
New Danube
The New Danube (German Neue Donau) is a side channel built in 1972–88 on the eastern side of the Danube in Vienna, Austria. It was created to provide flood relief by containing excess water. The Donauinsel (Danube Island), made out of the re ...
and
Danube Island
The Donauinsel (Danube Island) is a long, narrow artificial island in central Vienna, Austria, lying between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel ''Neue Donau'' ("New Danube"). The island is in length, but is only wide. The Ne ...
(''Donauinsel''). Prior to regulation, the Danube in Vienna had been an 8-kilometre (5 mi) wide wetlands, as a patchwork of numerous streams meandering through the area (''see maps'').
History
In Vienna, the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
river up until 1870, was almost totally unregulated. The river flowed through
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
on the left (east) bank of today's Danube course. Villages like
Jedlesee
Jedlesee (; sometimes spelled Jedlersee) is a suburb of Floridsdorf, the 21st district of Vienna. An independent community until 1894, it was joined along with Leopoldau, Donaufeld, Floridsdorf and Neu Jedlesdorf to the greater Floridsdorf municip ...
,
Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...
and
Stadlau that were near the former main branch of the Danube were particularly susceptible to flooding.
After repeated severe flooding, in 1810 Hofbau-Direktor
Josef von Schemerl proposed regulating the river by creating a new river bed, but his plans were not realized.
From 1870 to 1875 the Danube was regulated for the first time. On the left bank, a wide flood-prone area, the ''Inundationsgebiet'', was created with the dam Hubertusallee covering today's municipal districts of Floridsdorf and Donaustadt. The new main branch, including shipping, was wide, leaving the old river bed as the
Old Danube
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
* Old, Baranya, Hungary
* Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...
. Additional major floods in the years 1897, 1899 and 1954, especially concerning the right bank of the Danube at ''
Handelskai'' ("Trade pier"), proved that this 1875 regulation of the Danube was insufficient.
In 1972, after several years of study, a new flood-control project was started. Working up to 1988, within the inundation area, a new, wide channel (''Entlastungsgerinne'') was created. The material excavated from the channel was placed between the Danube and the channel, creating the Danube Island. This channel, the New Danube, is protected by fortifications and is only used to divert flood waters. It is designed for a flow of . Overall, the Danube regulation is designed for a capacity of up to , which is the estimated maximum flow of a flooding which took place in 1501. The Danube Island and the New Danube now serve as a popular recreation area.
Flood years and levels
Major floods in Vienna were:
[
MA 45: "große Hochwasser", webpage:
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at the
Reichsbrücke
The Reichsbrücke (German for ''Imperial Bridge'') is a major bridge in Vienna, linking Mexikoplatz in Leopoldstadt with the Donauinsel in Donaustadt across the Danube. The bridge is used by 50,000 vehicles per day and carries six lanes of tra ...
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See also
A series of articles on regulation of the Danube in chronological order
*
Internationalization of the Danube River
The Danube River has been a trade waterway for centuries, but with the rise of international borders and the jealousies of national states, commerce and shipping has often been hampered for reasons of conflict and parochialism rather than cooperat ...
, for events from earliest times to the Treaty of Paris in 1856
*
Commissions of the Danube River
The Commissions of the Danube River were authorized by the Treaty of Paris (1856) after the close of the Crimean War. One of these international commissions, the most successful, was the European Commission of the Danube, or, in French, ''Commiss ...
, for the international bodies governing the waterway from 1856 to 1940
*
Nazi rule over the Danube River
Nazi rule over the Danube River was brought about by force of arms, through annexation of Austria, invasion of Yugoslavia and of the Soviet Union and treaties with the Kingdom of Romania and Hungary, but a legal cover was provided through moves th ...
*
Danube River Conference of 1948
The Danube River Conference of 1948 was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to develop a new international regime for the development and control of the Danube in the wake of World War II. It was the first postwar conference pitting the victorious All ...
*
Danube Commission
The Danube Commission (, , ) is concerned with the maintenance and improvement of navigation conditions of the Danube River, from its source in Germany to its outlets in Romania and Ukraine, leading to the Black Sea. It was established in 1948 b ...
, for events since 1948
*
, for the organization established in 1998 and charged with environmental and ecological activities
Notes
External links
ORF ON Science - "An der schönen blauen Donau"stadt-wien.at - Die Große Regulierung
Vienna Danube regulation
The Vienna Danube regulation (german: Wiener Donauregulierung) refers to extensive flood-control engineering along the Danube river in Vienna, Austria during the last 150 years. The first major dams or levees were built during 1870-75. Ano ...
Danube
River regulation