Danube

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Coordinates: 45°13′3″N 29°45′41″E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the river. For other uses, see Danube (disambiguation).
"Istrus" redirects here. For greek figure, see Istrus (mythology).
Danube

The Danube in Budapest

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Course of the Danube
 Donau (German)
 Dunaj (Slovak)
 Duna (Hungarian)
 Dunav / Дунав (Serbo-Croatian)
Native name
 Дунав (Bulgarian)
 Dunărea (Romanian)
 Дунай (Ukrainian)

Location
 Germany
 Austria
 Slovakia
 Hungary
 Croatia
Countries  Serbia
 Bulgaria
 Romania
 Moldova
 Ukraine

Cities  Ulm
 Ingolstadt
 Regensburg
 Passau
 Linz
 Vienna
 Bratislava
 Győr
 Budapest
 Dunaújváros
  Mohacs
 Apatin
 Vukovar
 Ilok
 Bačka Palanka
 Novi Sad
 Sremski Karlovci
 Zemun
 Belgrade
 Pančevo
 Smederevo
 Drobeta-Turnu Severin
 Vidin
 Giurgiu
 Ruse
 Călărași
 Brăila
 Galați
 Izmail
 Tulcea
 Sulina

Physical characteristics
Source Breg
Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg,
 • location
Germany
 • coordinates 48°05′44″N 08°09′18″E
 • elevation 1,078 m (3,537 ft)
2nd source Brigach
St. Georgen im Schwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg,
 • location
Germany
 • coordinates 48°06′24″N 08°16′51″E
 • elevation 940 m (3,080 ft)
Source confluence  
 • location Donaueschingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
 • coordinates 47°57′03″N 08°31′13″E
Mouth Danube Delta
 • location Romania
 • coordinates 45°13′3″N 29°45′41″E
Length 2,850 km (1,770 mi)[1]
Basin size 801,463 km2 (309,447 sq mi)
Width  
 Middle Danube (Iron Gates) 150 m (490 ft); Lower
 • minimum
Danube (Brăila) 400 m (1,300 ft)[2]
Upper Danube 300 m (980 ft); Middle Danube
 • average 400 m (1,300 ft) to 800 m (2,600 ft); Lower
Danube 900 m (3,000 ft) to 1,000 m (3,300 ft)[3][2][4]
Middle Danube 1,500 m (4,900 ft); Lower Danube
 • maximum
1,700 m (5,600 ft)[4][2]
Depth  
 • minimum 1 m (3 ft 3 in) (Upper Danube)[4]
Upper Danube 8 m (26 ft); Middle Danube 6 m
 • average (20 ft) to 10 m (33 ft), 53 m (174 ft) (Iron Gates);
Lower Danube 9 m (30 ft)[3][2][4][5]
Middle Danube (Iron Gates) 90 m (300 ft); Lower
 • maximum
Danube 34 m (112 ft)[2]
Discharge  
 • location Before the Danube Delta
(Period: 1931–2010) 6,510 m3/s (230,000 cu ft/s)[6]

(Period: 1970–2015) 6,546 m3/s (231,200 cu ft/s)[7]

 • average (Period: 1840–2006) 6,471 m3/s (228,500 cu ft/s)[3]

(Period: 2000–2020) 6,464.9 m3/s (228,310 cu ft/s)

[4]

 • minimum 1,790 m3/s (63,000 cu ft/s)[6]

 • maximum 15,900 m3/s (560,000 cu ft/s)[6]
Discharge  
Passau, Bavaria, Germany
 • location
30 km (19 mi) before town
 • average 580 m3/s (20,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge  
 • location Vienna, Austria
 • average 1,900 m3/s (67,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge  
 • location Budapest, Hungary
 • average 2,350 m3/s (83,000 cu ft/s)
Discharge  
 • location Belgrade, Serbia
 • average 5,600 m3/s (200,000 cu ft/s)
 v
 t
  e

Danube summary route map

The Danube (/ˈdæn.juːb/ DAN-yoob; known by various names in other languages) is the second-longest
river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through much of Central and Southeastern
Europe, from the Black Forest into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was
once a frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects ten European countries, running
through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast
for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia,
Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four
national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Its drainage basin amounts to 817
000 km² and extends into nine more countries.

The Danube's longest headstream Breg rises in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, 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, 2,415 km (1,501 mi) of its total
length are navigable. The Danube is linked to the North Sea via the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal,
connecting the Danube at Kelheim with the Main at Bamberg. The river is also an important
source of hydropower and drinking water.

The Danube river basin is home to fish species such as pike, zander, huchen, Wels catfish, burbot
and tench. It is also home to a large diversity of carp and sturgeon, as well as salmon and trout. A
few species of euryhaline fish, such as European seabass, mullet, and eel, inhabit the Danube
Delta and the lower portion of the river.

Names and etymology

Other names

Today the river carries its name from its source confluence in Donaueschingen onwards. Its
longest headstream Breg rises in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald. The river was known to the
ancient Greeks as the Istros (Ἴστρος)[8] a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning
'strong, swift', from a root possibly also encountered in the ancient name of the Dniester
(Danaster in Latin, Tiras in Greek) and akin to Iranic turos 'swift' and Sanskrit iṣiras (इषिरस ्)
'swift', from the PIE *isro-, *sreu 'to flow'.[9] In the Middle Ages, the Greek Tiras was borrowed
into Italian as Tyrlo and into Turkic languages as Tyrla; the latter was further borrowed into
Romanian as a regionalism (Turlă).[9]

The Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas,[10] "the bringer of luck".[11]

The Middle Mongolian name for the Danube was transliterated as Tho-na in 1829 by Jean-Pierre
Abel-Rémusat.[12]
The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names related to Dānuvius: German:
Donau (IPA: [ˈdoːnaʊ] ( listen)); Romanian: Dunărea (IPA: [ˈdunəre̯a]; via German);[13] Bavarian:
Doana; Silesian: Dōnaj; Upper Sorbian: Dunaj; Czech: Dunaj (IPA: [ˈdunaj]); Slovak: Dunaj
(IPA: [ˈdunaj]); Polish: Dunaj (IPA: [ˈdunaj] ( listen)); Hungarian: Duna (IPA: [ˈdunɒ] ( listen));
Slovene: Donava (IPA: [ˈdóːnaʋa]); Serbo-Croatian: Dunav / Дунав (IPA: [dǔna(ː)ʋ]); Bulgarian:
Дунав, romanized: Dunav (IPA: [ˈdunɐf]); Russian: Дунай, romanized: Dunaj (IPA: [dʊˈnaj]);
Ukrainian: Дунай, romanized: Dunaj (IPA: [dʊˈnɑj]); Greek: Δούναβης (IPA: [ˈðunavis]); Italian:
Danubio (IPA: [daˈnuːbjo]); Spanish: Danubio; (IPA: [daˈnuβjo]); Turkish: Tuna; Romansh:
Danubi; Albanian: Tunë, definite Albanian form: Tuna.[14]

Etymology

Danube is an Old European river name derived from the Celtic 'danu' or 'don'[15] (both Celtic
gods), which itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other European river names
from the same root include the Dunaj, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, 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 Tonava, which is most likely derived from the name of the river
in German, Donau. Its Sámi name Deatnu means "Great River". It is possible that dānu in
Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": Dnieper and Dniestr, from Danapris and
Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian *dānu apara "far river" and *dānu nazdya- "near
river", respectively.[16]

In Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius, Ister[17] or Hister. The Latin
name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovene (the name of the Rhine is also
masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German Donau
(Early Modern German Donaw, Tonaw,[18] Middle High German Tuonowe)[19] is feminine, as it
has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe "wetland".

Romanian differs from other surrounding languages in designating the river with a feminine
term, Dunărea (IPA: [ˈdunəre̯a]).[9] This form was not inherited from Latin, although Romanian is
a Romance language.[13] To explain the loss of the Latin name, scholars who suppose that
Romanian developed near the large river propose[13] that the Romanian name descends from a
hypothetical Thracian *Donaris. The Proto-Indo-European root of this presumed name is related
to the Iranic word "don-"/"dan-", while the supposed suffix -aris is encountered in the ancient
name of the Ialomița River, Naparis, and in the unidentified Miliare river mentioned by Jordanes
in his Getica.[9] Gábor Vékony says that this hypothesis is not plausible, because the Greeks
borrowed the Istros form from the native Thracians.[13] He proposes that the Romanian name is a
loanword from a Turkic language (Cuman or Pecheneg).[13]

Geography
 The Danube basin The
hydrogeographical source of the Danube at St. Martin's Chapel in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald:
the Bregquelle, the source of the Danube's longest headstream, the Breg, where the Danube is

symbolized by the Roman allegory for the river, Danuvius.

The symbolical source of the Danube in Donaueschingen: the source of the Donaubach (Danube
Brook), which flows into the Brigach.

Classified as an international waterway, it originates in the town of Donaueschingen, in the

Black Forest of Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Brigach and Breg. The Danube then
flows southeast for about 2,730 km (1,700 mi), passing through four capital cities (Vienna,
Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade) 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%).[20] Its drainage basin extends into nine more (ten if Kosovo is
included).

Drainage basin

In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the drainage basin includes parts of nine more
countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.6% of the basin area), the Czech Republic (2.9%),
Slovenia (2.0%), Montenegro (0.9%), Switzerland (0.2%), Italy (<0.15%), Poland (<0.1%),
North Macedonia (<0.1%) and Albania (<0.1%).[20] The total drainage basin is 801,463 km2
(309,447 sq mi) in area,[21][22] and is home to 83 million people.[23] The highest point of the
drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border, at 4,049 m
(13,284 ft).[24] The Danube River Basin is divided into three main parts, separated by "gates"
where the river is forced to cut through mountainous sections:[23]

 Upper Basin, from the headwaters to the Devín Gate.

  Middle Basin, usually called the Pannonian basin or Carpathian Basin, between the
Devín Gate and the Iron Gates. It includes the Hungarian plains Kisalföld 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,
Isaccea; 2 - Silistra; 3 - Pristol; 4 - Batina, Bezdan; 5 - Nagymaros, Szob; 6 - Bratislava,
Wolfsthal; 7 - Untergriesbach[4][25]

Mean annual discharge (m3/s)

Year
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2000 6,580.6 6,198.1 5,585.9 2,669.4 2,627.2 2,337.9 1,667.2
2001 6,304.3 5,919.4 5,421.8 2,432.5 2,382.3 2,231.3 1,627.6
2002 6,837.1 6,100.1 5,392 2,824.9 2,855.6 2,683 1,803.9
2003 5,021 4,571 3,825 1,786 1,722 1,647 1,153
2004 6,524 6,088 5,233 2,025 2,013 1,852 1,213
2005 8,711 7,659 6,396 2,420 2,329 2,115 1,359
2006 8,428 7,370 6,616 2,110 2,503 2,186 1,396
2007 5,626 5,195 4,512 2,182 2,136 1,916 1,287
2008 5,909 5,358 4,736 2,163 2,079 1,876 1,339
2009 6,492 5,990 5,412 2,607 2,441 2,186 1,433
2010 9,598 8,515 7,424 2,879 2,615 2,130 1,420
2011 5,303 2,000
2012 5,053 2,240
2013 7,164 6,558 5,946 2,863 2,684 2,417 1,671
2014 7,446 6 901 5,756 2,198 2,036 1,788 1,237
2015 6,138 5,722 4,971 2,030 1,903 1,629 1,240
2016 6,465 5,993 5,339 2,261 2,196 1,944 1,412
2017 5,202 4,813 4,270 2,143 2,041 1,844 1,307
2018 6,487.8 5,875.5 4,891 1,906.3 1,808.1 1,644.1 1,227.8
2019 5,579 5,168 4,593 2,253 2,114 1,962 1,446
2020 4,893.5 2,180

Multiannual average, minimum and maximum discharge (water period from 1876 to 2010)[26]

Discharge (m3/s)
Station
Min Mean Max
Ceatal Izmail 1,889 6,489 14,673
Reni, Isaccea 1,805 6,564 14,820
Zimnicea, Svishtov 1,411 6,018 14,510
Orșova 1,672 5,572 13,324
Veliko Gradište 1,461 5,550 14,152
 Discharge (m3/s)
Station
Min Mean Max
Pančevo 1,454 5,310 13,080
Bogojevo 959 2,889 8,153
Bezdan, Batina 749 2,353 7,043
Mohács 667 2,336 7,227
Nagymaros, Szob 628 2,333 7,057
Bratislava 633 2,059 7,324
Vienna 506 1,917 6,062
Krems an der Donau 596 1,845 5,986
Linz 468 1,451 4,783
Hofkirchen 211 638 1,943
Regensburg 128 444 1,330
Ingolstadt 83 312 965
Ulm 6 38 153

Simulated water and suspended sediment results from climate-driven decadal study (with STD
through specific decade)[27]

Average Average Average

Sediment load
precipitation temperature discharge
Water period
(106 tons)
in the basin (mm) in the basin (°C) (m3/s)
1530–1540 794 9.0 6,207 72.9
1650–1660 885 8.4 7,929 67,3
1709–1719 861 8.3 7,616 52.91
1770–1780 865 8.9 7,728 74.1
1940–1950 778 8.9 7,209 55.0
1960–1970 850 8.8 7,399 73.0
1975–1985 818 9.0 7,186 77.8
1990–2000 790 9.5 6,570 73.8

Discharge chronology
Historical average flow to the present day; Measured and reconstructed average water flows
from 1742. The reconstructed and observed streamflow (Q – m3/s) at Ceatal Izmail for the 1742
to 2022:[28][29][30][31]

Year m3/s Year m3/s Year m3/s Year
Reconstructed
1742 5,780 1751 6,760 1761 6,470 1771
1743 5,355 1752 7,090 1762 6,510 1772
1744 5,370 1753 4,980 1763 5,950 1773
m3/s Year m3/s Year m3/s
9,700 1781 5,830 1791 5,540
6,050 1782 6,470 1792 6,930
4,600 1783 7,930 1793 7,800
1745 4,940 1754 6,330 1764 6,280 1774 6,150 1784 8,400 1794 5,230
1746 7,140 1755 6,840 1765 6,130 1775 6,060 1785 7,610 1795 6,530
1747 5,850 1756 6,370 1766 8,530 1776 6,320 1786 6,570 1796 6,460
1748 6,840 1757 6,830 1767 6,850 1777 5,530 1787 6,980 1797 6,700
1749 6,690 1758 8,410 1768 8,400 1778 7,470 1788 5,860 1798 6,560
1750 5,180 1759 5,520 1769 5,720 1779 6,600 1789 7,190 1799 9,590
1760 6,840 1770 10,700 1780 6,990 1790 6,940 1800 6,150
5,905 6,597 7,154 6,547 6,978 6,749
1801 7,310 1811 8,220 1821 6,390 1831 6,670 1841 6,210 1851 7,350
1802 6,590 1812 5,230 1822 5,700 1832 4,820 1842 5,340 1852 6,550
1803 6,870 1813 6,680 1823 6,520 1833 5,350 1843 6,710 1853 7,800
1804 6,220 1814 7,290 1824 6,420 1834 6,470 1844 6,960 1854 5,060
1805 7,010 1815 6,640 1825 8,040 1835 7,040 1845 7,440 1855 7,020
1806 6,830 1816 8,090 1826 5,800 1836 9,740 1846 6,750 1856 5,390
1807 7,000 1817 8,650 1827 6,650 1837 6,770 1847 7,070 1857 4,880
1808 5,600 1818 6,920 1828 8,140 1838 10,440 1848 5,620 1858 5,580
1809 7,150 1819 6,470 1829 8,280 1839 9,960 1849 5,360 1859 5,630
1810 8,430 1820 6,560 1830 7,790 1840 5,560 1850 7,360 1860 7,220
6,901 7,075 6,973 7,282 6,482 6,248
1861 5,980 1871 8,860 1881 8,320 1891 5,440 1901 5,570 1911 5,120
1862 5,040 1872 5,970 1882 5,130 1892 5,620 1902 5,650 1912 6,940
1863 3,340 1873 5,150 1883 7,590 1893 5,710 1903 5,490 1913 6,410
1864 6,150 1874 4,680 1884 5,250 1894 4,770 1904 4,940 1914 6,560
1865 5,690 1875 5,360 1885 5,430 1895 6,240 1905 6,100 1915 9,540
1866 3,780 1876 7,520 1886 5,660 1896 6,470 1906 6,190 1916 7,550
1867 6,350 1877 6,660 1887 5,340 1897 7,700 1907 6,770 1917 6,410
1868 5,660 1878 7,040 1888 6,800 1898 4,550 1908 4,400 1918 4,300
1869 5,370 1879 8,300 1889 6,530 1899 4,500 1909 5,590 1919 7,410
1870 7,470 1880 5,660 1890 4,650 1900 6,900 1910 7,450 1920 6,720
5,483 6,520 6,070 5,790 5,815 6,770
Observed
1921 3,906 1931 6,706 1941 9,916 1951 6,368 1961 5,860 1971 5,272
1922 6,530 1932 6,181 1942 7,266 1952 5,850 1962 6,628 1972 6,160
1923 6,430 1933 6,344 1943 4,308 1953 6,117 1963 6,047 1973 5,766
1924 6,700 1934 5,644 1944 7,190 1954 6,168 1964 5,259 1974 7,258
1925 5,255 1935 5,718 1945 5,870 1955 8,834 1965 8,400 1975 7,190
1926 8,144 1936 6,392 1946 4,684 1956 7,100 1966 7,954 1976 6,567
1927 5,990 1937 8,325 1947 5,418 1957 6,254 1967 7,500 1977 7,073
1928 5,005 1938 6,867 1948 6,357 1958 6,340 1968 5,660 1978 7,120
1929 5,330 1939 6,310 1949 4,301 1959 5,375 1969 7,710 1979 7,747
1930 5,197 1940 9,533 1950 5,130 1960 6,514 1970 9,602 1980 8,767
5,888 6,802 6,044 6,492 7,062 6,892
1981 8,172 1991 6,274 2001 6,304.3 2011 5,303 2021 6,018
1982 6,700 1992 5,710.8 2002 6,837.1 2012 5,053 2022 5,753
1983 5,543 1993 4,873 2003 5,021 2013 7,164 2023 –
1984 6,325 1994 6,031.8 2004 6,524 2014 7,446
1985 6,449 1995 6,223.7 2005 8,711 2015 6,138
1986 6,257 1996 7,035.8 2006 8,428 2016 6,465
1987 6,619 1997 6,684.2 2007 5,626 2017 5,202
1988 6,383 1998 6,804.6 2008 5,909 2018 6,487.8
1989 5,448 1999 7,951.5 2009 6,492 2019 5,579
1990 4,194 2000 6,580.6 2010 9,598 2020 4,893.5
6,209 6,417 6,945 5,973 5,885.5
Multiannual average discharge 1742 to 2022: ~ 6,500 m3/s

Tributaries

The Tisza is the longest tributary of the Danube.

Main article: List of tributaries of the Danube

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):

1. Iller (entering at Ulm) 18. Tisza

2. Lech
3. Altmühl (entering at Kelheim)
4. Naab (entering at Regensburg)
5. Regen (entering at Regensburg)
6. Isar
7. Inn (entering at Passau)
8. Ilz (entering at Passau)
9. Enns
10. Morava (entering near Devín Castle)
11. Rába (entering at Győr)
12. Váh (entering at Komárno)
13. Hron (entering at Štúrovo)
14. Ipeľ
15. Sió
16. Drava
19. Sava (entering at Belgrade)
20. Timiș (river) (entering at Pančevo)
21. Great Morava
22. Mlava
23. Caraș
24. Jiu (entering at Bechet)
25. Iskar (entering near Gigen)
26. Olt (entering at Turnu Măgurele)
27. Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria)
28. Yantra (entering near Svishtov)
29. Argeș (entering at Oltenița)
30. Ialomița
31. Siret (entering near Galați)
32. Prut (entering near Galați)
 17. Vuka (entering at Vukovar)

The Danube's source confluence in Donaueschingen: the Donauzusammenfluss, the

confluence of Breg and Brigach.

 0 km, Danube Delta, Ukraine

Where the Danube Meets the Black Sea (European Space Agency Sentinel-2 image).

The Danube discharges into the Black Sea (the upper body of water in the image).

Cities and towns

3-color confluence of (from left to right) Inn, Danube, and Ilz

in Passau

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:
 Germany
o Donaueschingen in the State of Baden-Württemberg – rivers Brigach and Breg
join to form the Danube
o Möhringen an der Donau in Baden-Württemberg
o Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg
o Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg
o Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg
o Munderkingen in Baden-Württemberg
o Ehingen in Baden-Württemberg
o Ulm in Baden-Württemberg
o Neu-Ulm in Bavaria
o Günzburg in Bavaria
o Dillingen an der Donau in Bavaria
o Donauwörth in Bavaria
o Neuburg an der Donau in Bavaria
o Ingolstadt in Bavaria
o Kelheim in Bavaria
o Regensburg in Bavaria
o Straubing in Bavaria
o Deggendorf in Bavaria
o Passau in Bavaria

Danube in Linz, Austria

 Austria
o Linz, capital of Upper Austria
o Krems in Lower Austria
o Tulln in Lower Austria
o 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').
 The Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia

 Slovakia
o Bratislava – capital of Slovakia
o Komárno
o Štúrovo

Basilica of Esztergom, Hungary

 Hungary
o Mosonmagyaróvár
o Győr
o Komárom
o Esztergom
o Visegrád – This section of the river is also called Danube Bend.
o Vác
o Szentendre
o Göd
o Dunakeszi
o Budapest – capital of Hungary, the largest city and the largest agglomeration on
Danube (about 3,300,000 people).
o Szigetszentmiklós
o Százhalombatta
o Ráckeve
o Adony
o Dunaújváros
o Dunaföldvár
o Paks
o Kalocsa
o Baja
o Mohács
  Croatia
o Vukovar
o Ilok

Confluence of river Sava into the Danube beneath Belgrade

citadel

 Serbia
o Apatin
o Bačka Palanka
o Čerević
o Futog
o Veternik
o Novi Sad – regional capital of Vojvodina
o Sremski Karlovci
o Zemun
o Belgrade – capital of Serbia
o Pančevo
o Smederevo
o Kovin
o Veliko Gradište
o Golubac
o Donji Milanovac
o Kladovo

Danube at Nikopol, Bulgaria in winter

 Bulgaria
o Vidin
o Lom
 o Kozloduy
o Oryahovo
o Nikopol
o Belene
o Svishtov
o Ruse
o Tutrakan
o Silistra

The Danube in Sulina, Romania

 Romania
o Moldova Nouă
o Orșova
o Drobeta-Turnu Severin
o Calafat
o Bechet
o Dăbuleni
o Corabia
o Turnu Măgurele
o Zimnicea
o Giurgiu
o Oltenița
o Călărași
o Fetești
o Cernavodă
o Hârșova
o Brăila – limit of the maritime sector of the Danube
o Galați – largest port on the Danube
o Isaccea
o Tulcea
o Sulina – last city through which it flows
 Moldova
o Giurgiulești
 Ukraine
o Reni
o Izmail
 o Kiliia
o Vylkove

Panorama of the Danube in Vienna

The Danube Bend is a curve of the Danube in Hungary, near the city of Visegrád. 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).

Panorama of the Danube in Budapest with the Hungarian Parliament (left)

Budapest at night
The confluence of the Sava into the Danube at Belgrade. Pictured from Belgrade Fortress, Serbia

Panoramic image of the Danube and Sava river from Kalemegdan, Belgrade Serbia.

The Danube entering the Iron Gate at the South-Western end of the Carpathian Mountains.
Romania on the left side, Golubac Fortress and Serbia on the right side.

Islands

Further information: List of islands in the Danube

 Aerial view of Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary. There are

15 bridges over the Danube in Budapest. Great War Island in

Belgrade, Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube.

The Ada Kaleh 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 Abdul Hamid 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 it with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920).[32][33] The island was
submerged during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant in 1970.

 Ada Kaleh Island

 Ostrovul Mare, Gogoșu
 Balta Ialomiței
 Belene Island
 Csepel Island
 Donauinsel
 Great Brăila Island
 Great War Island
 Island of Mohács
 Kozloduy Island
 Margaret Island
 Ostrovo (Kostolac)
 Ostrovul Ciocănești
 Ostrovul Mare, Islaz
 Ribarsko Ostrvo, Novi Sad
 Island of Šarengrad
  Szigetköz
 Island of Szentendre
 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
This section needs expansion with: how the "Iron Gate" relates to ship navigation?. You can
help by adding to it. (November 2022)

The Danube in Budapest

Fisherman in the Danube Delta 1:03Freight ship on the Danube near Vienna

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, 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 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.[citation needed] 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. Clearance of the resulting
debris was completed in 2002, and a temporary pontoon bridge that hampered navigation was
removed in 2005.[citation needed]
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 m3/s
(540,000 cu ft/s).

There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal (DTD)
in the Banat and Bačka regions (Vojvodina, northern province of Serbia); the 64 km (40 mi)
Danube-Black Sea Canal, between Cernavodă and Constanța (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.[34] A Danube-
Aegean canal has been proposed.[35]

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.[36][37][38]
However, the 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".[39]

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.[40]

Danube Delta
Main article: Danube Delta

The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij]; Ukrainian: Дельта
Дунаю, romanized: Del'ta Dunayu) 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 (Odesa Oblast). The approximate surface is
4,152 km2 (1,603 sq mi), of which 3,446 km2 (1,331 sq mi) are in Romania. If one includes the
lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km2 (392 sq mi) of which 865 km2 (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 Site), the total area of the Danube Delta
reaches 5,165 km2 (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.[41]

2022 heat wave

In 2022, there was a major heat wave 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 emerged in the
Danube River. Many of the ships were from Nazi Germany's Black Sea Fleet and had been
scuttled to stop them from falling into enemy hands.[42]

International cooperation
Ecology and environment

Main article: International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River

Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Romania

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 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.

Navigation

Main article: Danube Commission

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
 Iron Gates, Serbia-Romania border

Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station, Romania-Serbia

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.

Before the last ice age in the Pleistocene, 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.

The Iron Gate, on the Serbian-Romanian border (Iron Gates

natural park and Đerdap national park)
Since the Swabian Alb is largely shaped of porous limestone, 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 12 km
(7.5 mi) south at the Aachtopf, Germany's wellspring with the highest flow, an average of
8,500 L/s (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 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, Dalj,
Vukovar and Ilok.[43]

History

Combat between Russian and Turkish forces on the Danube in

1854, during the Crimean War (1853–1856)

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 (from the Vučedol site near Vukovar, Croatia) 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.

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 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 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 to be created, but in 271 it
was abandoned by emperor Aurelian.

Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the 6th century.