Names and etymology

The name Dnuvius is presumably a loan from a Scythian language, or possibly Gaulish. It is
one of a number of river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European language word *dnu,
apparently a term for "river", but possibly also of a primeval cosmic river, and of a Vedic river
goddess (see Danu), perhaps from a root *d "to flow/swift, rapid, violent, undisciplined." Other
river names with the same etymology include Don, Donets, Dnieper and Dniestr. Dniepr (pre-
Slavic Danapir by Gothic historian Jordanes) and Dniestr, from Danapris and Danastius, are
presumed from Scythian Iranian *Dnu apara "river afar" and *Dnu nazdya- "river near",
respectively.
The Danube was known in Latin as Danubius, Danuvius, Ister, in Ancient Greek as
(Istros). The Dacian/Thracian name was Donaris/Donaris ( in Greek, upper Danube) and
Istros (lower Danube).
[2]
Its Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas,
[3]
"the bringer of luck".
[4]
The
Ancient Greek Istros was a borrowing from Thracian/Dacian meaning "strong, swift", akin to
Sanskrit iiras "swift".
[2]

Since the Norman conquest of England, the English language has used the Latin-derived word
Danube.
In the languages of the modern countries through which the river flows, it is:
Bulgarian: pronounced [dunf] (transliterated: Dunav)
Croatian: Dunav
German: Donau pronounced [dona ]
Hungarian: Duna pronounced [dun]
Romanian: Dunrea pronounced [dune a]
Serbian: / Dunav, pronounced [dnav ] or [dnav ]
Slovak: Dunaj
Ukrainian: pronounced [dunj] (transliterated: Dunai)
Geography


The Danube discharges into the Black Sea.
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%), Italy (<0.1%), Poland (<0.1%), the Republic of
Macedonia (<0.1%) and Albania (<0.1%).
[1]
The highest point of the drainage basin is the
summit of Piz Bernina at the ItalySwitzerland border, 4,049 metres (13,284 ft).
[5]

Tributaries
Main article: List of tributaries of the Danube
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):
1. Iller (entering at Ulm)
2. Lech
3. Altmhl (entering at
Kelheim)
4. Naab (entering at
Regensburg)
5. Regen (entering at
Regensburg)
6. Isar
7. Inn (entering at Passau)
8. Enns
9. Morava (entering near
Devn Castle)
10. Rba (entering at Gy)
11. Vh (entering at Komrno)
12. Hron (entering at tovo)
13. Ipe
14. Si
15. Drva
16. Vuka (entering at Vukovar)
17. Tisza
18. Sava (entering at Belgrade)
19. Timi (entering at Panevo)
20. Great Morava
21. Caa
22. Jiu (entering at Bechet)
23. Iskar
24. Olt (entering at Turnu
Mguele)
25. Osam
28. Age (entering at Oltenia)
29. Ialomia
30. Siret (entering near Galai)
31. Prut (entering near Galai)


The confluence of the Sava into the Danube at Belgrade. Pictured from Belgrade Fortress ,Serbia
Cities and towns


The Donauzusammenfluss, or "Danube confluence", where the Breg and Brigach unite to form
the Danube in Donaueschingen, Germany


The Danube in Ulm from the steeple of Ulm Minster, looking southwest


The Danube in Regensburg, Germany


Danube in Linz


The Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia


Basilica of Esztergom (Hungary), the third largest cathedral in Europe


Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary


Confluence of river Sava into the Danube beneath Belgrade citadel
The Danube flows through four national capital cities (shown in bold), more than any river in the
world. Ordered from the source to mouth:
Germany
o Donaueschingen in the State of Baden-Wrttemberg Brigach and Breg rivers
join to form the Danube river
o Mhringen an der Donau in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Tuttlingen in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Sigmaringen in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Riedlingen in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Munderkingen in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Ehingen in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Ulm in Baden-Wrttemberg
o Neu-Ulm in Bavaria
o Gnzburg in Bavaria
o Donauwrth 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
Austria
o Linz, capital of Upper Austria
o Krems in Lower Austria
o Tulln in Lower Austria
o Vienna capital of Austria, 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').
Slovakia
o Bratislava capital of Slovakia
o Komrno
o tovo
Hungary
o Mosonmagyarvr
o Gy
o Komrom
o Esztergom
o Visegrd
o Vc
o Szentendre
o Dunakeszi
o Budapest capital of Hungary and the largest city on the Danube.
o Szigetszentmikls
o Szzhalombatta
o Rckeve
o Adony
o Dunajvros
o Dunafldvr
o Paks
o Kalocsa
o Baja
o Mohcs
Croatia
o Vukovar
o Ilok
Serbia
o Apatin
o Baka Palanka
o Futog
o Veternik
o Novi Sad
o Sremski Karlovci
o Zemun
o Belgrade capital of Serbia
o Panevo
o Smederevo
o Kovin
o Veliko Gadite
o Golubac
o Donji Milanovac
o Kladovo
Bulgaria


Danube at Nikopol, Bulgaria in winter
o Vidin
o Lom
o Kozloduy
o Oryahovo
o Nikopol
o Belene
o Svishtov
o Ruse
o Tutrakan
o Silistra
Moldova
o Giugiuleti
Ukraine

0 km, Danube Delta (Ukraine)
o Reni
o Izmail
o Kiliya
o Vylkove
Romania


The Danube in Sulina, Romania
o Moldova Nou
o Oova
o Drobeta-Turnu Severin
o Calafat
o Bechet
o Dbuleni
o Corabia
o Tunu Mguele
o Zimnicea
o Giurgiu
o Oltenia
o Clai
o Feteti
o Cenavod
o Hova
o Bila
o Galai largest port on Danube
o Isaccea
o Tulcea
o Sulina last city through which it flows


Panorama of Danube in Vienna


Panoramic shot of the Donau (Danube) river passing by Vienna, Austria.


The Danube Bend is a curve of the Danube in Hungary, near the city of Visegrd. 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 Danube in Budapest


Budapest at night


Panoramic image of Danube pictured in Ritopek, suburb of Belgrade, Serbia.
Islands
Further information: List of islands in the Danube


Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary by air. 15 bridges over the Danube in Budapest


Great War Island, Belgrade,view from Zemun, Serbia It is located at the confluence of Sava and
Danube rivers
.
Ada Kaleh
Balta Ialomiei
Belene Island
Csepel Island
Donauinsel
Geat Bila Island
Great War Island
Island of Vukovar
Island of aengad
itn Island
Szigetkz
Island of Szentendre
Margaret Island
Csepel Island
Island of Mohcs
Ostovul Ciocneti
Ostrovul Mare, Islaz
Ostrvo (Kostolac)
Kozloduy Island
Ribarsko Ostrvo, Novi Sad
Vardim Island
Sectioning
Upper Section: From spring to Devn Gate. Danube remains a characteristic mountain
river until Passau, with average bottom gradient 0.0012% (12 ppm), from Passau to
Devn Gate the gradient lessens to 0.0006% (6 ppm).
Middle Section: From Devn Gate to Iron Gate. 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 in Budapest


Fisher in the Danube Delta


Freight ship on the Danube near Vienna
The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to Bila in Romania and by river
ships to Kelheim, Bavaria, Germany; smaller craft can navigate further upstream to Ulm,
Wrttemberg, Germany. About 60 of its tributaries are also navigable.
Since the completion of the German RhineMainDanube 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
(3500 km). 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. 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 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 m/s.
There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the DanubeTisaDanube Canal (DTD)
in the Banat and Baka regions (Vojvodina, northern province of Serbia); the 64 km Danube
Black Sea Canal, between Cenavod and Constana (Romania) finished in 1984, shortens the
distance to the Black Sea by 400 km; the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal (about 171 km), finished in
1992, linking the North Sea to the Black Sea.
Piracy
In 2010-2012, 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).
[6][7][8]
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".
[9]

On the other hand, media reports say the crews on transport ships often steal and sell their own
cargo and then blame the plundeing on piates, and the alleged attacks ae not piacy but
small-time contraband that is taking place along the river.
[10]

Danube delta
Main article: Danube Delta
The Danube Delta has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Its wetlands (on the
Ramsar list of wetlands of international importance) support vast flocks of migratory birds,
including the endangered Pygmy Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus). Rival canalization and
drainage schemes threaten the delta: see Bystroye Canal. The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta
Dunii ponounced [delta dunij]; Ukainian: , Del'ta Dunaju) is the second
largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent.[1]
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 4152 km, of which 3446 km are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe
(1015 km of which 865 km 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 5165 km. The waters of the Danube, which
flow into the Black Sea, form the largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas. The Danube delta
hosts over 300 species of birds as well as 45 freshwater fish species in its numerous lakes and
marshes.
International cooperation
Ecology and environment


Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Romania
Main article: International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
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 implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.
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.
Geology


Iron Gates, Serbia-Romania border


Iron Gate I 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 edap 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 Alp, which are
referred to as the Donauversickerung (Danube Sink). Most of this water resurfaces only 12 km
south at the Aachtopf, Germany's wellspring with the highest flow, an average of 8500 liters per
second, north of Lake Constancethus 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 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.
[11]

History


The oldest bridge across the Danube, constructed by Apollodorus of Damascus between 103-105
CE, directed by Trajan, modern Serbia and Romania


At Esztergom and tovo, the Danube separates Hungary from Slovakia


River Danube in Vienna


The Danube between Belene and Belene Island, Bulgaria


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.


Bratislava does not usually suffer major floods, but the Danube sometimes overflows its right
bank


War between Russia and Turkey (1878)
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 Vina cultue, (Vina, Sebia) ae sited along the Danube. The third
millennium BC Vuedol cultue (fom the Vuedol site nea Vukovar, Croatia) is famous for its
ceramics.
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.
The river on of the Roman Empire's Limes Germanicus. The Romans often used the Danube as a
northern border for their empire.
Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the sixth century.
Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower Danube
Part of the Danubius or Istros river 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 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.
[12]

OttomanHungarian and OttomanHabsburg rivalry along the Danube

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by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (February 2013)
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, which
formed the northern border of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Many of the Ottoman
Hungarian Wars (13661526) and OttomanHabsburg wars (15261791) were fought along the
river.
The most important wars of the Ottoman Empire along the Danube include the Battle of
Nicopolis (1396), the Battle of Mohcs (1526), the first Turkish Siege of Vienna (1529), the
Siege of Esztergom (1543), the Long War (15911606), the Battle of Vienna (1683) and the
Great Turkish War (16831699).
The last major war of the Ottoman Empire along the Danube was the Russo-Turkish War (1877
1878).
Economics
Drinking water
Along its course, the Danube is a source of drinking water for about twenty million people. In
Baden-Wrttemberg, Germany, almost thirty 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.
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.
[13]

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."
[14]

Today, as "Corridor VII" of the European Union, the Danube is an important transport route.
Since the opening of the RhineMainDanube 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 Pot of Constana.
The waterway is designed for large-scale inland vessels (11011.45 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 concerns.
Downstream from the Freudenau locks in Vienna, canalization of the Danube was limited to the
Gabkovo 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 (similar
to the locks in the Russian Volga river, some 300 by over 30 m). Downstream of the Iron Gate,
the river is free flowing all the way to the Black Sea, a distance of more than 860 kilometres.
The Danube connects with the RhineMainDanube Canal at Kelheim, with the Donaukanal in
Vienna, and with the DanubeBlack Sea Canal at Cenavod.
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 DanubeTisaDanube Canals, links sections downstream.
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.
The Upper Danube ecoregion alone has about 60 fish species and the Lower DanubeDniester
ecoregion has about twice as many.
[15]
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 all threatened and have largelyor entirely in
the case of the European sea sturgeondisppeared from the river.
[15]
The huchen, one of the
largest species of salmon, is endemic to the Danube basin, but has been introduced elsewhere by
humans.
[16]

Tourism


Wachau Valley near Durnstein.
Important tourist and natural spots along the Danube include the Wachau Valley, the
Nationalpark Donau-Auen in Austria, Gemenc in Hungary, the Naturpark Obere Donau in
Germany, Kopaki it 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.
[17]

The Danube Banks in Budapest 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 running along the Schlgener Schlinge.


The Danube Bike Trail leading through the city Linz.
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.
[18]

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)
2. Passau-Vienna (340 km)
3. Vienna-Budapest (306 km)
4. Budapest-Black Sea (1670 km)
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 Danube, terminating in Istanbul. Sections along
the river are as follows.
1. Vienna-Budapest (323 km)
2. Budapest-Smederevo (595 km)
Donausteig


Resting area along the Donausteig hiking trail near Bad Kreuzen.
In 2010 the Donausteig, a hiking trail from Passau to Grein, was opened. It is 450 km long and it
is divided into 23 stages. On your journey you will pass five Bavarian and 40 Austrian
communities. An impressive landscape and beautiful viewpoints, which are situated along the
river, are the highlights of the Donausteig.
[19]

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-
Strae der Kaiser und Knige, comprising ten tourism organisations, shipping companies, and
cities, strives for the conservation and touristic development of the Danube region.
[17]

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 Schlgene 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.
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 who had been jailed in the Drnstein 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 achitectue of the Donaubaock.
Today, people can not only travel by boat on the Danube, but also by train, by bike on the
Danube Bike Tail o walk on the Donausteig and visit the UNESCO World Heritage cities of
Regensburg, Wachau and Vienna.
[20]

Important national parks


Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve in Serbia.


Golubac Fortress in edap National pak , Serbia.
Naturpark Obere Donau (Germany)
Donauauen zwischen Neuburg und Ingolstadt (Germany) - map
Nature protection area Donauleiten (Germany)
Nationalpark Donau Auen (Austria) - map
Chnen kajinn oblas Dunajsk luhy (Slovakia) - map
Danube-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) - map
Danube-Drava National Park (Hungary) - map
Naturalpark Kopaki Rit (Croatia) - map
Gornje Podunavlje Nature Reserve (Serbia) - map
Fuka Goa National park (Serbia)
Koviljsko-petrovaradinski rit Nature Reserve (Serbia)
Great War Island Nature Reserve (Serbia)
edap National pak (Serbia)
Iron Gates Natural Park (Romania)
Persina Nature Park (Bulgaria) - map
Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Site (Bulgaria) - map
Srebarna Nature Reserve (Bulgaria) - map
Natural Park Mcin Mountains (Romania)
Natural Park Small Island of Bila (Romania)
Biosphere Reserve Danube Delta (Romania) - map
Danube Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine
Cultural significance

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by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (May 2012)


The 1900 plan to link the Danube and the Adriatic Sea by C. Wagenfhrer. It would be a
realisation of the erroneous notion of the Danube having a bifurcation.
[21]

The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz by Austrian composer Johann
Strauss, An der schnen, 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 Dunrii) is a waltz by the Romanian composer Ion
Ivanovici (18451902). 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.


16th Century Danube landscape near Regensburg, by Albrecht Altdorfer - a member of the
Danube school.
The Danube figures prominently in the Bulgarian National Anthem, as a symbolic
representation of the country's natural beauty. In Lithuanian folklore songs appearance of
Danube (Dunojus, Dunojlis) is moe common than the appeaance 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 masterpiece 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]). 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 series.
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 along this river, which they call the Great Mother River,
due to its big size.
Mikls Jancs's film the Blue Danube Waltz (1992)
The Hungarian sweet speciality, Duna kavics ("Danube Pebbles") is named after the
river.
A Hungarian folk ensemble, the Danube Folk Ensemble (Duna Mvszegyttes) 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 Dunay river. 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.
[citation needed]