reo Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Danube
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Danube (/'daenju:b/ pan-ewb, known by various names in
other languages) is Europe's second-longest river, after the Volga
River, and also the longest river in the European Union region. It
is located in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman
Empire, and today flows through 10 countries. Originating in
Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,860 km (1,780 mi),
passing through or touching the border of Austria, Slovakia,
Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and
Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea. Its drainage basin
extends into nine more countries.
Contents
= 1 Names and etymology
= 2 Geography
= 2.1 Drainage basin
= 2.2 Tributaries
= 2.3 Cities and towns
= 24 Islands
= 2.5 Sectioning
3. Modern navigation
4 Piracy
5 Danube delta
6 Intemational cooperation
= 6.1 Ecology and environment
= 6.2 Navigation
7 Geology
8 History
= 8.1 Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower
Danube
= 8.2 Ottoman—Hungarian and Ottoman-Habsburg
rivalry along the Danube
9 Economics
= 9.1 Drinking water
= 9.2 Navigation and transport
= 9.3 Fishing
= 9.4 Tourism
= 9.4.1 Danube Bike Trail
= 9.4.2 Sultans Trail
= 9.4.3 Donausteig
= 9.4.4 The Route of Emperors and Kings
10 Important national parks
11 Cultural significance
12 See also
13. References
14 External links
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube
Coordinates: 45°15'9°N 29°4841°E
Danube
River
Danube in Vienna
Countries
Cities
Primary source
location
~ elevation
= length
- coordinates
Secondary source
location
- elevation
= length
= coordinates
Source confluence
= location
- coordinates
Mouth
- coordinates
Length
Basin
Discharge
= average
Germany, Austria,
Slovakia, Hungary,
Croatia, Serbia,
Romania, Bulgaria,
Ukraine, Moldova
Ulm, Ingolstadt,
Regensburg, Linz,
‘Vienna, Bratislava,
Gyér, Budapest,
Dumaiijvéros, Vukovar,
Novi Sad, Zemun,
Belgrade, Pandevo,
Smederevo,
Drobeta Turnu-Severin
Breg
Martinskapelle,
Black Forest, Germany
1,078 m (3,537 ft)
2,860 km (1,777 mi)
48°05'44°N 08°09'18"E
Brigach
St. Georgen, Black
Forest, Germany
940 m (3,084 ft)
2,860 km (1,777 mi)
48°06'24"N 08°16'51"E
Donaueschingen
47°S7'03"N 08°31'13"E
Danube Delta
45°13/3"N 29°45'41
2,860 km (1,777 mi)
817,000 km?
(315,445 sq mi)
for before delta
7,000 mis
(247,203 cu fs)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
18reo Danube - Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Names and etymology ~ Passau oom ww)
« 30km before town
The Latin name Danuvius is one of a number of "Old European" ae
~ Vienna 5
river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European *danu. Other love Is 7
river names from the same root include the Don, Donets, (67,098 cu ft/s)
~ Budapest 2,350 m/s
Dzvina/Duna, Dysna, Dnieper and Dniestr. In Rigvedic Sanskrit,
danu means "fluid, drop", in Avestan, the same word means
"river". In the Rigveda, Danu once appears as the mother of ~ Belgrade 4,000 mis
Vrtra. It is possible that danu in Scythian as in Avestan was a (141,259 eu fs)
generic word for "river": Dniepr and Dniestr, from Danapris and
Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian *danu apara "far river" and *danu nazdya- “near river",
(82,989 cu fs)
respectively.|!]
Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros (‘Totpoc) a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning "strong,
swift" (akin to Sanskrit isiras "swift"),1 In Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or
as Ister. The Dacian’ Thracian name was Donaris/Donaris for the upper Danube and Istros for the lower
Danube.!! The Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas,!) "the bringer of luck" {41
The Latin name is masculine (as is the name of the Rhine). German Donau (Early Modern German Donaw,
Tonaw] Middle High German Tuonowell) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -
ouwe "wetland".
The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names derived from Danuvius: German: Donau
((do:nay}; Bavarian: Doana; Yiddish: "377 Duney [dongj]); Silesian: Diinaj; Upper Sorbian: Dunaj; Slovak:
Dunaj ({'dunaj]); Hungarian: Duna ([' duno); Serbo-Croatian: Dunav / Jynae ([diinav] or [dina:v]; Romanian:
Dundrea ({' dunarea]); Romani: Dunaja (['dunaja}); Bulgarian: Jlynas Dunav ({‘dunef}); Ukrainian: flynait
Dunai ({du'naj)).
Geography
Classified as an international waterway, it originates
in the town of Donaueschingen—which is in the
Black Forest of Germany—at the confluence of the
rivers Brigach and Breg. The Danube then flows
southeast for 1,914 km (1,189 mi), passing through
four capital cities before emptying into the Black
Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine,
Once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire,
the river passes through or touches the borders of 10,
countries: Romania (29.0% of basin area), Hungary
(11.6%), Serbia (10.2%), Austria (10.0%), Germany
(7.0%), Bulgaria (5.9%), Slovakia (5.9%), Croatia
(4.4%), Ukraine (3.8%), and Moldova (1.6%).!7l Its
drainage basin extends into nine more.
be
Course of the Danube, marked in red
Drainage basin
In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the drainage basin includes parts of nine more countries:
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.6%), the Czech Republic (2.9%), Slovenia (2.0%), Montenegro (0.9%), Switzerland
(0.2%), aly (<0.1%), Poland (<0.1%), the Republic of Macedonia (<0.1%) and Albania (<0.1%). The
highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy-Switzerland border, 4,049 metres
(13,284 #18)
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Tributaries
‘The Danube's watershed 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 (in order that they enter):
‘The Danube discharges into the Black
Sea,
‘Where the Danube Meets the Black
‘Sea (NASA Goddard image).
1. Mller (entering at Ulm)
2. Lech .
3, Altmiihl (entering at Kelheim) 18. Tisza
4, Naab (entering at Regensburg) 19, Sava (entering at Belgrade)
5, Regen (entering at Regensburg) 20, Tami§ (entering at Panéevo)
6. Isar 21. Great Morava
7. Inn (entering at Passau) 22. Caras
8. Ilz (entering at Passau) 23. Jiu (entering at Bechet)
9. Enns 24, Iskar (entering near Gigen)
10. Morava (entering near Devin Castle) 25. Olt (entering at Tumu Magurele)
11. Raba (entering at Gyér) 26. Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria)
12. Vah (entering at Komarno) 27. Arges (entering at Oltenita)
13. Hron (entering at Stiirovo) 28. Ialomita
iS oe 29, Siret (entering near Galati)
Si " P
16 Deiva 30. Prut (entering near Galati)
17. Vuka (entering at Vukovar)
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‘The confluence of the Sava into the Danube at Belgrade. Pictured from Belgrade Fortress, Serbia
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:
= BE Germany
= Donaueschingen in the State of Baden-Wiirttemberg —
rivers Brigach and Breg join to form the Danube
= Méhringen an der Donau in Baden-Wiirttemberg
= Tuttlingen in Baden-Wiirttemberg
«= Sigmaringen in Baden-Wirttemberg
= Riedlingen in Baden-Wiirttemberg The Donaucusammenfluss, or
= Munderkingen in Baden-Wirttemberg, "Danube confluence", where the Breg,
= Ehingen in Baden-Wiirttemberg and Brigach unite to form the Danube
= Ulm in Baden-Wiirttemberg in Donattcechingen, Germany
= Neu-Ulm in Bavaria
= Giinzburg in Bavaria
= Dillingen an der Donau in Bavaria
= Donauwérth in Bavaria
= Neuburg an der Donau in Bavaria
= Ingolstadt in Bavaria
= Kelheim in Bavaria
= Regensburg in Bavaria
= Straubing in Bavaria
= Deggendorf in Bavaria
= Passau in Bavaria
= Austria
«= Linz, capital of Upper Austria ‘The Danube in Ulm from the steeple
= Krems in Lower Austria of Ulm Minster, looking southwest
= Tulln in Lower Austria
= Vienna — 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’).
= jam Slovakia
= Bratislava - capital of Slovakia
= Komarno
= Stirovo
= Hungary ; ‘The Danube in Regensburg, Germany
= Mosonmagyarévar
= Gyor
= Komérom
= Esztergom
bepssenivikipedtacorgwikiDanube anerazors
Visegrid
Vie
Szentendre
Dunakeszi
Szigetszentmiklés
Szazhalombatta
Rackeve
Adony
Dunadjvaros
Dunaféldvr
Paks
Kalocsa
Baja
Mohies
= Ze Croatia
= Vukovar
= Ilok
= FB Serbia
Apatin
Batka Palanka
Futog
‘Veternik
Novi Sad
Sremski Karlovei
Zemun
Belgrade — capital of Serbia
Panéevo
Smederevo
Kovin
Veliko Gradi8te
Golubac
Donji Milanovac
Kladovo
= mam Bulgaria
Vidin
Lom
Kozloduy
Oryahovo
Nikopol
Belene
Svishtov
Ruse
Tutrakan
Silistra
= IW Moldova
= Giurgiulesti
= BB Ukraine
= Reni
= Izmail
= Kiliya
vylkove
= BB Romania
Moldova Noua
= Orsova
= Drobeta-Turnu Severin
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Danube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Budapest — capital of Hungary, the largest city and the
largest agglomeration on Danube (about 3,300,000 people)
ai Ti ft
Danube in Linz
‘The Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia
Basilica of Estergom (Hungary), the
third largest cathedral in Europe
‘
Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary
Confluence of river Sava into the
Danube beneath Belgrade citadel
a8reo
Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Calafat
Bechet
Dabuleni
Corabia
Turu Magurele
Zimnicea
Giurgiu
Oltenita
Cilrasi
Fetesti
Ceravoda
Hargova
Braila
Galati — largest port on the Danube
Isaccea
Tulcea
Sulina — last city through which it flows
ae =
Danube at Nikopol, Bulgaria in
winter
Se
ES
0 km, Danube Delta (Ukraine)
‘The Danube in Sulina, Romania
Panorama of the Danube in Vienna
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arereo Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
™
‘The Danube Bend is a curve of the Danube in Hungary, near the city of Visegréd. The Transdanubian Mountains lie on the
right bank (left side of the picture), while the North Hungarian Mountains on the left bank (right side of the picture).
‘amo me conn
Misr eae rch Ne
Panorama of the Danube in Budapest
Budapest at night
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Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
Panoramic image of the Danube and Sava river from Kalemegdan, Belgrade Serbia,
Islands
Adakale Island
Ostrovul Mare, Gogosu
Balta Ialomitei
Belene Island
Csepel Island
Donauinsel
Great Braila Island
Great War Island
Island of Vukovar
Island of Sarengrad
Zitny ostrov
Szigetkoz,
Island of Szentendre
Margaret Island
Csepel Island
Island of Mohdes
Ostrovul Ciocinesti
Ostrovul Mare, Islaz
Ostrvo (Kostolac)
Kozloduy Island
Ribarsko Ostrvo, Novi Sad
Vardim Island
Sectioning
= Upper Section: From spring to Devin Gate, Danube remains a
characteristic mountain river until Passau, with average bottom
gradient 0.0012% (12 ppm), from Passau to Devin Gate the
= Middle Section: From Devin Gate to Iron Gate. The riverbed
gradient lessens to 0.0006% (6 ppm).
‘Aerial view of Margaret Island,
Budapest, Hungary. There are 15
bridges over the Danube in Budapest
Great War Island, Belgrade, as seen
from Zemun, Serbia. It is located at
the confluence of the Sava and
Danube.
widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only .00006% (0.6 ppm).
= Lower Section: From Iron Gate to Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0.00003% (0.3 ppm).
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube
are72016
Modern navigation
‘The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to Briila in
Romania and by river ships to Kelheim, Bavaria, Germany; smaller
craft can navigate further upstream to Ulm, Wiirttemberg, 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 on the North Sea to Sulina on the Black Sea, a distance of
3,500 km (2,200 mi). 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 inereased 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. Clearance of the resulting debris was completed in 2002, and a
temporary pontoon bridge 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 60 km (37 mi)
downstream (outside the gorge) by the Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power
Station. On 13 April 2006, a record peak discharge at Iron Gate Dam.
reached 15,400 ms (540,000 cu ft/s).
‘There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the Danube-
‘Tisa-Danube Canal (DTD) in the Banat and Batka regions (Vojvodina,
northern province of Serbia); the 64 km (40 mi) Danube-Black Sea
Canal, between Cernavoda and Constan{a (Romania) finished in 1984,
shortens the distance to the Black Sea by 400 km (250 mi); the Rhine—
Main-Danube Canal is about 171 km (106 mi), finished in 1992, linking
the North Sea to the Black Sea.
Piracy
In 2010-12, shipping companies (especially from Ukraine) claimed that
their vessels suffered from "regular pirate attacks", on the Serbian and
Romanian stretches of the Danube (i.e. inside the European Union's
territory).lJ[!2]03] However, these transgressions may not be
considered acts of piracy, as defined according to the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, but rather instances of "river
robbery" !41
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 that is taking place along the river!)
Danube delta
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Danube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
‘Adakale Island in the Danube was
forgotten during the peace talks at the
Congress of Berlin in 1878, which
allowed it to remain a de jure Turkish
territory and the Ottoman Sultan
Abdillhamid II's private possession
until the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923
(de facto until Romania unilaterally
declared its sovereignty on the island
in 1919 and further strengthened this
claim with the Treaty of Trianon in
1920,)(911191 The island was
submerged during the construction of
the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant in
1970, which also removed the
possibility of a potential legal claim
by the descendants of Abdilhamid 11,
‘The Danube in Budapest
Fisher in the Danube Delta
onma20%68 Danube - Wikipedia, be fae encyclopedia
The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dundirii pronounced [delta
‘dunorij); Ukrainian: Jlensra Jynato, Del’ta Dunaju) is the largest river
delta in the European Union. 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 4,152 km? (1,603 sq mi), of which 3,446 km? (1,331 sq mi)
are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km?
(392 sq mi) of which 865 km? (334 sq mi) 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 Freight ship on the Danube near
Site), the total area of the Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km? Vienna
(1,994 sq mi).
The Danube Delta is also the best preserved river Delta in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (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.
International cooperation
Ecology and environment
The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
(ICPDR) is an organization consisting 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 commission,
established in 1998, deals with the whole Danube river basin, which
includes tributaries and the 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 Pelicans in the Danube Delta,
implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive. Romania
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, 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 mountains which flows north
towards the North Sea, an invisible line beginning at Piz Lunghin divides large parts of southern Germany,
which is sometimes referred to as the European Watershed.
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Before the last ice age in the Pleistocene, the Rhine started at the
southwestem 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, and since _!"0" Gates, Serbia-Romania border
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 Alp, which are referred to as the Donauversickerung (Danube
Sink). Most of this water resurfaces only 12 kilometres (7 mi) south at
the Aachtopf, Germany's wellspring with the highest flow, an average of
8,500 litres per second (300 cu ft/s), 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 sink holes in the
‘ Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power
Donauversickerung. Station, Romania-Serbia
Since such large volumes of underground water erode much of the
surrounding limestone, it is estimated that the Danube upper course will a"
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, Dalj, Vukovar and Ilok.!'61 4
History
‘The Iron Gate, on the Serbian-
Romanian border (Iron Gates natural
park and Derdap national park)
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 BC
Vinéa culture, (Vinéa, Serbia) are sited along the Danube. The third
millennium BC Vuéedol culture (from the Vudedol site near Vukovar,
Croatia) is famous for its ceramics.
Darius the Great, king of Persia, crossed the river in the late 6th century
BC in order to invade European Scythia and to subdue the Scythians
constructed by Apollodorus of
Damascus between 103-105 CE,
directed by Trajan, modern Serbia
and Romania,
‘Alexander the Great defeated the Triballian king Syrmus and the
northern barbarian Thracian and Illyrian tribes by advancing from
Macedonia as far as the Danube in 336 BC.
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 AD 37 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 was achieved by the mperium Romanum,
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube annemaon6 Danube Wikipedia, be ree eneyclopecia
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 to be
created, but in 271 it was lost again.
Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the 6th century.
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 Esztergom and Stirovo, the
Danube separates Hungary from
Slovakia
Atthe 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 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.(17] ‘The Danube in Vienna
Ottoman-Hungarian and Ottoman—Habsburg rivalry
along the Danube
Between the late 14th and late 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire
competed first with the Kingdom of Hungary and later with the Austrian
Habsburgs for controlling the Danube (Turks call it Tuna), which
formed the northern border of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Many
of the Ottoman—Hungarian Wars (1366-1526) and Ottoman-Habsburg
wars (1526-1791) were fought along the river.
‘The Danube between Belene and
The most important wars of the Ottoman Empire along the Danube Belene Island, Bulgaris
include the Battle of Nicopolis (1396), the Siege of Belgrade (1456), the
Battle of Mohdes (1526), the first Turkish Siege of Vienna (1529), the
Siege of Esztergom (1543), the Long War (1591-1606), the Battle of
Vienna (1683), the Great Turkish War (1683-1699), the Crimean War
(1853-1856) and the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).
Economics
Drinking water
Along its course, the Danube is a source of drinking water for about 20
million people, In Baden-Wiirttemberg, Germany, almost 30 percent (as
of 2004) of the water for the area between Stuttgart, Bad Mergentheim,
‘Aalen 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.
A look upstream from the Donauinsel
in Vienna, Austria during an
unusually cold winter (February
2006), A frozen Danube usually
‘occurs just once or twice in a
lifetime.
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube ve72016 Danube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.!!81
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 atislava does not usually suffer
major floods, but the Danube
sometimes overflows its right bank
ship out of the water or cut her in two as if she were a carrot."U191
‘Today, as "Corridor VII" of the European Union, 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
centres of Western Europe with the Black Sea and, also, through the
Danube — Black Sea Canal, with the Port of Constanta.
‘The waterway is designed for large-scale inland vessels (110 * 11.45 m)
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 concems,
Combat between Russian and Turkish
forces on the Danube in 1854, during
the Crimean War (1853-1856)
Downstream from the Freudenau locks in Vienna, canalization of the
Danube was limited to the Gabéikovo dam 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 860 kilometres
(530 mi.
‘The Danube connects with the Rhine-Main—Danube Canal at Kelheim, with the Donaukanal in Vienna, and
with the Danube-Black Sea Canal at Cemavoda.
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, has declined dramatically. Some fishermen are still active
at certain points on the river, and the Danube Delta still has an important,
industry.
Fishing from a Zille on the Danube in
Lower Austria, 1982
‘The Upper Danube ecoregion alone has about 60 fish species and the Lower Danube-Dniester ecoregion has
about twice as many.!”°) Among these are an exceptionally high diversity of sturgeon, a total of six species
(beluga, Russian sturgeon, bastard sturgeon, sterlet, starry sturgeon and European sea sturgeon), but these are
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube 1318razors Danube - Wikipedia, be fae encyclopedia
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 to the Danube basin, but has been.
introduced elsewhere by humans.!2!
Tourism
Important tourist and natural spots along the Danube include the
Wachau Valley, the Nationalpark Donau-Auen in Austria, Gemene in
Hungary, the Naturpark Obere Donau in Germany, Kopaéki 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 Wachau Valley near Spitz, Austria
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.!72)
The Danube Banks in Budapest are a part of Unesco World Heritage sites
of sightseeing cruises offered in the city.
they can be viewed from a number
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.!4]
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:
1, Donaueschingen—Passau (559 km)
Passau—Vienna (340 km)
‘Vienna—Budapest (306 km)
|. Budapest-Black Sea (1670 km)
BEN
Sultans Trail
The Sultans ‘Trail is a hiking trail that runs along the river between
Vienna and Smederevo in Serbia. From there the Sultans Trail leaves the
The Danube Bike Trail running along,
Danube, terminating in Istanbul. Sections along the river are as follows.
the Schldigener Schlinge
1, Vienna-Budapest (323 km)
2. Budapest-Smederevo (595 km)
Donausteig
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube sane.reo Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
In 2010 the Donausteig, a hiking trail from Passau to Grein, was —
opened. It is 450 kilometres (280 mi) long and it is divided into 23
stages. The route passes five Bavarian and 40 Austrian communities. An
impressive landscape and beautiful viewpoints, which are along the
river, are the highlights of the Donausteig.4]
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 ‘The Danube Bike Trail leading
Vienna, The international consortium ARGE Die Donau-Strage der through the city Linz
Kaiser und Kénige, comprising ten tourism organisations, shipping
companies, and cities, strives for the conservation and touristic
development of the Danube region.(21
In medieval Regensburg, with its maintained old town, stone bridge and
cathedral, the Route of Emperors and Kings begins. It continues to
Engelhartszell, with the only Trappist monastery in Austria, Further
highlight-stops along the Danube include the “Schldgener 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
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 travelled on and along the Danube and used the river for travel
and transportation. While travelling 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.
Resting area along the Donausteig
hiking trail near Bad Krewzen
The route got its name from the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick T of Barbarossa and the crusaders as well as
from Richard I of England who had been jailed in the Diimstein Castle, which is situated above the Danube.
The most imperial journeys throughout time were those of the Habsburg family. Once crowned in Frankfurt, the
emperors ruled from Vienna and also held in Regensburg the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg. Many famous
castles, palaces, residences and state-run convents where 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_!51
Important national parks
= Naturpark Obere Donau (Germany)
= Donauauen zwischen Neuburg und Ingolstadt (Germany) — map
(http://danubemap.ew/donauauwald)
= Nature protection area Donauleiten (Germany)
«= Nationalpark Donau Auen (Austria) — map (http://danubemap.cu/
donauauen)
= Chrénend krajinnd oblast’ Dunajské luhy (Slovakia) — map (http://
danubemap.eu/dunajskeluhy)
= Danube-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) — map (http://danubemap.
eu/dunaipoly)
= Danube-Drava National Park (Hungary) — map (http://danubema —__ Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature
p.eu/dunadrava) Reserve in Serbia.
= Naturalpark Kopatki Rit (Croatia) — map (http:/danubemap.ewko
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube 1518reo Danube. Wikipedia, te free encyclopedia
packirit)
Gomje Podunavlje Nature Reserve (Serbia) — map (http://danube
map.eu/podunavlje)
Fruska Gora National Park (Serbia)
Koviljsko-petrovaradinski rit Nature Reserve (Serbia)
Great War Island Nature Reserve (Serbia)
Derdap National park (Serbia)
Tron Gates Natural Park (Romania)
Persina Nature Park (Bulgaria) — map (http://danubemap.ew/persin
a)
Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Site (Bulgaria) — map (http://danube __ Golubae Fortress in Berdap National
map.cu/kalimok) park, Serbia
Srebama Nature Reserve (Bulgaria) — map (http://danubemap.ew/s
rebarna)
Macin Mountains Natural Park (Romania)
Small Island of Braila Natural Park (Romania)
Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (Romania) — map (http://danubemap.eu/delta)
Danube Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine
Cultural significance
The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz by
Austrian composer Johann Strauss, An der schénen, blauen
Donau (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 (Romanian: Valurile Dundrii) is a waltz by the
Romanian composer Iosif Ivanovici (1845-1902). 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,
In 2008, the Finnish indie rock band Wiidakko released a song The 1900 plan to link the Danube and
called Tonava (Danube in Finnish) on their second album Asiat the Adriatic Sea by C. Wagenfihrer.
joita et voi koskaan saavuttaa 2" It would be a realisation of the
The Danube figures prominently in the Bulgarian National erroncous notion of the Danube
Anthem, as a symbolic representation of the country’s natural having a bifurcation.!25
beauty, In Lithuanian folklore songs appearance of Danube
(Dunojus, Dunojélis) is more common than the appearance of the
longest Lithuanian river Neman.
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 (ISBN 1-86046-823-3). The book, published in
1986, is a large cultural-historical essay, in which Magris travels the Danube from the very 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 (1908) ("Le Pilote du Danube") depicts the adventures of fisherman
Serge Ladko as he travels down the river. Algernon Blackwood's The Willows, about a boat excursion on
the river, is considered one of the greatest stories in the literature of the supernatural.
The river is the subject of the film The Ister (2004) (official site here [1] (http://www.theister.com/)).
Parts of the German road movie Im Juli take place along the Danube. In Nicolas Roeg's 1980 film Bad
Timing, the border crossing over the Danube between Bratislava and Vienna is a recurring site in which
the romance between Milena (Teresa Russell), Alex (Art Garfunkel) and Milena’s husband Stefan
(Denholm Elliot) is played out.
In the Star Trek universe, the Danube-class runabout is a type of starship used by the Federation Starfleet,
most notably in the Deep Space Nine seties.
The river is mentioned a great number of times throughout the Earth's Children Saga by Jean M. Auel,
especially in the book The Plains of Passage, when the main characters Ayla and Jondalar travel west
hpasenwikipediarorgwikiDaube 161872016 Danube - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
along this river, which they call the Great Mother River, due to its
big size.
= Miklés Jancsé's film the Blue Danube Waltz (1992)
= The Hungarian sweet speciality, Duna kavies ("Danube pebbles")
is named after the river.
= A Hungarian folk ensemble, the Danube Folk Ensemble (Duna
Mavészegyiittes) is named after the river. The group is made up
of 30 dancers and musicians. During their performances they
show the Hungarian folk music, dance and costumes.
= There are Hasidic (Chabad Nigunnim) songs called "dunai",
dating from around 1800. They are often lullabys and are named
after the river Dunay. Farmers around the river used to come to it
and sing spiritual songs to thank their god for the great beauty
which they saw every day.
See also
= 2006 European floods 16th-century Danube landscape near
= Between the Woods and the Water, a travel book telling of a Regensburg, by Albrecht Altdorfer -
Danubian journey in 1934
= The Ister, 2004 film
= List of crossings of the Danube
= Steamboats on the Danube
a member of the Danube school.
References
1, Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from
the West. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000. p. 106. AGaes B. 1, Ocersinexnit assix # oamK7op (Ossetian
language and folklore). Moscow: Publishing house of Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1949. P. 236 (http:/i.ironau.ru/pd
fiosjazfolk1949.pdf)
2. Katigié, Radoslav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans, Part One. Patis: Mouton, 1976: 144.
3. Dyer, Robert (1974), "Matoas, the Thraco-Phrygian name for the Danube, and the IE root *mady", Glotta
(Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH 8 Co. KG)) $2 (1/2): 91
4, Sael Kos, Marjeta (2009), "Reka kot bo?anstvo — Sava v anki" [River as a Deity — The Sava in Antiquity. In
Barachini, Jozef. Ukrocena lepotica: Sava in njene zgodbe [The Tamed Beauty: The Sava and Its Stories] (PDF) (in
Slovenian and English). Sevnica: Javni zavod za kulturo, Sport, turizem in mladinske dejavnosti. pp. 42-50.
ISBN 978-961-92735-0-0,
5. Tonaw in Sebastian Franck, Weltbuch (1542), 81 (https://books.google.ch/books ?id=dk9QLBxWmxcC&dq-tonach&p
g-PT167Hv=onepagedeq~tonachsef=false). Donaw e.g. in Leonhard Thurneisser zum Thur, Pison (1572), 186 (http
s://books. google.ch/books?id-PWhWAAAAcAAT&pg-PR I86Hv-onepages.q&ef-false); spelling Donau from the
17th century.
6. Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, 407 (https:!/books. google.ch/books ?id-Ne 1 2irFmr6gC&pg=PAA07).
7. "Countries of the Danube River Basin’, International Commission for the protection of the Danube River, Retrieved
2010-11-13,
8. http://www-unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/blanks/assessment/black pdf
9. Treaty of Peace with Turkey signed at Lausanme, Lausarme, Switzerland, 24 July 1923, retrieved 6 December 2014
10, Adakale Island in the Danube (http:/alexisphoenix.org/adakaleh.php)
11. Rijedni gusari u Srbiji pljatkaju hrvatske brodove (http:/\vww.jutarnji.hr/rijecni-gusari-v-srbiji-pljackaju-hrvatske-bro
dove--zadinja-zrtva-brod--quot-sloga-quot--sisackog--quot-dunavskog-lloyda-quot-/980402/) (Serbian)
12, "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company Says Its Ships Are Being Attacked Frequently In Romanian Part Of River
Danube”. Un.ua. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
13, Romanian Pirats Attack Ukrainian Ships More Frequently (http://ga7eta.ualarticles/np/_ukrajinski-korabli-vse-chastish
-stayut-zhertvami-rumunskih-pirativ/419063) (Ukrainian)
14, Pirates om the lower Danube (http://www-rivercruiseinfo.com/content/pirates-lower-danube) at rivercruiseinfo.com
15, Reports Of ‘Pirates Of The Danube’ Get The Old Heave-Ho (http:/Avww.rferl.orgicontent/romania_danube_river_pirat
es_ukraine/24474067,html) at Radio Free Europe
16. "Daily hydrological report”. State Hydrometeorological Bureau of the Republic of Croatia, Retrieved 2010-09-09,
11, Dacia Preistorica (http://www-pelasgians.org)), Nicolae Densusianu (1913).
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"The Danube". International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchement Area.
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"The Danube," The Times, February 13, 1883, page 12 (http://www. thetimes.co.ukitto/viewArticle.arcarticleld=ARC
HIVE-The_Times-1883-02-13-12-001 &pageld=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1883-02-13-12)
Hales, J. (2013). Upper Danube (http://www feow.orgiecoregions/details/417). Freshwater Ecoregions of the World,
Retrieved 25 February 2013.
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Hlucho hucho" (http://www fishbase,org/summary/SpeciesSummary.p
hhp?genusname=Hucho&especiesname-hucho) in FishBase. February 2013 version.
"Press release of the "ARGE Donau Osterreich"" (PDP) (in German). Retrieved 2014-04-01
"Die ADFC-Radreiseanalyse 2013 ~ Zablen, Daten und Fakten” (in German). Rettieved 12 March 2014
"Donausteig”. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
"The Route of Emperors and Kings". Retrieved 29 March 2014.
Zmue, Irena (2010). "Sustained Interest". In Zupanek, Bernarda. Emona: Myth and Reality (PDF). Museum and
Galleries of Ljubljana; City Museum of Ljubljana. p. 63. ISBN 978-961-6509-20-6.
https:/Avwww.youtube.com/watch?v=20ES9xinZTM
External links
Wikimedia Commons has
org/browse/relation/89652) at OpenStreetMap Wikimedia Commons fas
Danube watershed map and information from the World
Resources Institute (http://pdf.wri.org/watersheds_2000/watershe
ds_europe_p2_38.pdf)
Danube Panorama Project (http://danubepanorama.net/en/)
cai o Jlymae (http://danube.at.ua/) (Russian)
Danube and the sport of rowing (http://www. werow.com/en/guide/donau)
Danube image pool on Flickr (https://secure.flickr.com/groups/danube_river/pool/)
Danube Tourist Commission (http://www.danube-river.org/) (German)
danubemap.cu - The Tourist Map of the Danube (http://danubemap.ew/park/en)
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (hutp://www.iepdrorg/)
Bridges of Budapest over the Danube (http://www-bridgesofbudapest.com/)
Description of the Danube estuary in June 1877, The Times of London (http://www.thetimes.co.ukitto/vie
wArticle.arc?articleld=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1877-06-14-12-001 &pageld=ARCHIVE-The_Times-187
7-06-14-12)
& Geographic data related to Danube (http://www. openstreetmap,
Retrieved from “https://en. wikipedia.org/w/index. php title—Danube&oldid~729226857"
Categories: Danube | Danube basin | International rivers of Europe | Geography of Central Europe
Geography of Eastem Europe | Geography of Southeastem Europe | Rivers of Austria | Rivers of Bavaria
Rivers of Bulgaria | Rivers and streams of Croatia | Rivers of Hungary | Rivers of Moldova
Rivers of Romania | Rivers of Serbia | Rivers of Slovakia | Rivers of Ukraine
Rivers of Baden-Wirttemberg | Batka | Banat | Geography of Bacs-Kiskun County
Geography of Vojvodina | Syrmia | Border rivers | Bulgaria-Romania border | Croatia—Serbia border
Hungary-Slovakia border | Romania—Ukraine border | Romania—Serbia border
Federal waterways in Germany
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