Danubio

El Danubio ( / d æ n . J U b / DAN -yoob ; conocido por varios nombres en otros idiomas ) es el segundo río más largo en Europa, después de la Volga en Rusia . Fluye a través de gran parte de Europa central y sudoriental , desde la Selva Negra hasta el Mar Negro . Su cabecera más larga Breg se eleva en Furtwangen im Schwarzwald , mientras que el río lleva su nombre por la confluencia de su fuente enDonaueschingen en adelante.

Danubio
Vista desde la colina Gellért hasta el Danubio, Hungría - Budapest (28493220635) .jpg
El Danubio en Budapest
Danubemap.png
Curso del Danubio, marcado en rojo
Localización
Países
Ciudades
Características físicas
FuenteBreg
 • localizaciónMartinskapelle , Selva Negra , Alemania
 • coordenadas48 ° 05′44 ″ N 08 ° 09′18 ″ E / 48.09556 ° N 8.15500 ° E / 48.09556; 8.15500
 • elevación1.078 m (3.537 pies)
2da fuenteBrigach
 • localizaciónSt. Georgen , Selva Negra , Alemania
 • coordenadas48 ° 06′24 ″ N 08 ° 16′51 ″ E / 48.10667 ° N 8.28083 ° E / 48.10667; 8.28083
 • elevación940 m (3080 pies)
Confluencia de fuentes 
 • localizaciónDonaueschingen
 • coordenadas47 ° 57′03 ″ N 08 ° 31′13 ″ E / 47.95083 ° N 8.52028 ° E / 47,95083; 8.52028
BocaDelta del Danubio
 • localización Rumania
 • coordenadas 45 ° 13′3 ″ N 29 ° 45′41 ″ E / 45.21750 ° N 29.76139 ° E / 45.21750; 29.76139Coordenadas : 45 ° 13′3 ″ N 29 ° 45′41 ″ E / 45.21750 ° N 29.76139 ° E / 45.21750; 29.76139
Largo2.850 km (1.770 millas) [1]
Tamaño de la cuenca801,463 km 2 (309,447 millas cuadradas)
Descarga 
 • localizaciónantes delta
 • promedio7.000 m 3 / s (250.000 pies cúbicos / s)
Descarga 
 • localizaciónPassau
30 km antes de la ciudad
 • promedio580 m 3 / s (20.000 pies cúbicos / s)
Descarga 
 • localizaciónViena
 • promedio1.900 m 3 / s (67.000 pies cúbicos / s)
Descarga 
 • localizaciónBudapest
 • promedio2,350 m 3 / s (83,000 pies cúbicos / s)
Descarga 
 • localizaciónBelgrado
 • promedio5.600 m 3 / s (200.000 pies cúbicos / s)
  • v
  • t
  • mi
Mapa resumido de la ruta del Danubio
Leyenda
2860
Fuente en Donaueschingen
2587
Límite de navegación en Ulm
2458
Ingolstadt
2411
Canal Rin-Meno-Danubio
2376
Ratisbona
2226
River Inn
Alemania
Austria
2128
Linz
1918
Viena
Austria
Eslovaquia
Río Morava
1867
Bratislava
Eslovaquia
Hungría
1794
Győr
1639
Budapest
1579
Dunaújváros
Hungría
Croacia
1433
Hungría
Serbia
1425
Canal Danubio-Tisa-Danubio
1424
Puente de Bezdan
1382
Río Drava
1367
Puente de la carretera de Bogojevo
1366
Puente ferroviario de Bogojevo
1335
Vukovar
1297
Puente Ilok – Bačka Palanka
Croacia
Serbia
1296
en serbia
1258
Liberty Bridge
1255
Puente de Varadin
1254
Novi Sad
1254
Puente Žeželj
1253
Canal Danubio-Tisa-Danubio
1232
Puente Beška
1215
Río Tisza
1176
Puente Pupin
1173
Zemun
1170
Río Sava
1169
Belgrado
1167
Puente Pančevo
1153
Pančevo
1104
Río Gran Morava
1116
Smederevo
1113
Puente de oleoducto
1112
Puente Kovin
1077
Canal Danubio-Tisa-Danubio
1076
Serbia
Rumania
943
Puerta de hierro I
930
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
863
Puerta de hierro II
Serbia
Bulgaria
846
796
Puente Nueva Europa
Río Olt
495
Ardid
489
Puente del Danubio
Bulgaria
Rumania
300
Puente de Anghel Saligny
300
Puente Cernavodă
238
Puente Giurgeni – Vadu Oii
Rumania
Moldavia
Moldavia
Ucrania
Delta del Danubio
0
Mar Negro
Nota: Las
distancias están en kilómetros, redondeadas al kilómetro más cercano.
Se muestran las distancias de las vías navegables, no las distancias del camino de sirga.
Las capitales de los países se muestran en negrita.

El Danubio fue una vez una antigua frontera del Imperio Romano y hoy es el río que atraviesa el mayor número de países del mundo (10; el Nilo es el segundo con 9). Originario de Alemania , el Danubio fluye hacia el sureste a lo largo de 2.850 km (1.770 millas), atravesando o bordeando Austria , Eslovaquia , Hungría , Croacia , Serbia , Rumania , Bulgaria , Moldavia y Ucrania antes de desembocar en el Mar Negro . Su cuenca de drenaje se extiende a nueve países más. Las ciudades más grandes del río son Viena , Budapest , Belgrado y Bratislava , todas las cuales son las capitales de sus respectivos países. Seis capitales más se encuentran en la cuenca del Danubio: Bucarest , Sofía , Zagreb , Ljubljana , Sarajevo y Pristina . La cuarta ciudad más grande de su cuenca es Munich , la capital de Baviera , situada a orillas del río Isar .

La cuenca del Danubio es el hogar de especies de peces como el lucio , lucioperca , salmón del Danubio , Wels siluro , lota y la tenca . También alberga una gran diversidad de carpas y esturiones , así como salmones y truchas . Algunas especies de peces eurihalinos , como la lubina , el salmonete y la anguila , habitan el delta del Danubio y la parte inferior del río.

Desde la antigüedad, el Danubio ha sido una ruta comercial tradicional en Europa. Hoy, 2.415 km (1.501 mi) de su longitud total son navegables. El Danubio está conectado con el Mar del Norte a través del Canal Rin-Meno-Danubio , que conecta el Danubio en Kelheim con el Main en Bamberg . El río también es una fuente importante de energía hidroeléctrica y agua potable .

Otros nombres

El río era conocido por los antiguos griegos como Istros ( Ἴστρος ) [2] un préstamo de un nombre daco-tracio que significa 'fuerte, rápido', de una raíz que posiblemente también se encuentra en el nombre antiguo del Dniéster ( Danaster en latín, Tiras en griego) y similar a Iranic Turos 'rápido' y sánscrito iṣiras ( इषिरस् ) 'rápidas', del PIE * isro- , * sreu 'fluyan'. [3] En la Edad Media, el griego Tiras fue tomado prestado al italiano como Tyrlo y a las lenguas turcas como Tyrla , este último luego tomado prestado al rumano como un regionalismo ( Turlă ). [3]

El nombre traco- frigio era Matoas , [4] "el portador de suerte". [5]

El nombre de Mongolia Medio para el Danubio fue transcrito como Tho-na en 1829 por Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat . [6]

Todos los idiomas modernos que se hablan en la cuenca del Danubio usan nombres relacionados con Dānuvius : Alemán: Donau ( IPA: [ˈdoːnaʊ] (About this soundescuchar )); Bávaro:Doana; Silesia:Dōnaj; Alto sorabo:Dunaj; Checo:Dunaj(IPA: [ˈdunaj]); Eslovaco:Dunaj(IPA: [ˈdunaj]); Polaco:Dunaj(IPA: [ˈdunaj] (About this soundescuchar )); Húngaro:Duna(IPA: [ˈdunɒ] (About this soundescuchar )); Esloveno:Donava(IPA: [ˈdóːnaʋa]); Serbocroata:Dunav/Дунав(IPA: [dǔna (ː) ʋ]); Rumano:Dunărea(IPA: [ˈdunəre̯a]); Búlgaro:Дунав,romanizado: Dunav(IPA: [ˈdunɐf]); Ruso:Дунай,romanizado: Dunaj(IPA: [dʊˈnaj]); Ucraniano:Дунай,romanizado: Dunaj(IPA: [dʊˈnɑj]); Griego:Δούναβης(IPA: [ˈðunavis]); Italiano:Danubio(IPA: [daˈnuːbjo]); Español:Danubio; (Pronunciación en español: [daˈnuβjo]); Turco:atún; Romanche:Danubi; Albanés:Tunë,formaalbanesadefinida :Tuna. [7]

Etimología

Danubio es un nombre de río de la antigua Europa derivado del celta ' danu ' o ' don ' [8] (ambos dioses celtas), que a su vez deriva del protoindoeuropeo * dānu . Otros nombres de ríos europeos de la misma raíz incluyen Dunaj, Dzvina / Daugava , Don , Donets , Dnieper , Dniestr , Dysna y Tana / Deatnu . En sánscrito rigvédico , dānu significa "fluido, gota de rocío" y dānuja significa "nacido de dānu " o "nacido de gotas de rocío". En Avestan , la misma palabra significa "río". En el Rigveda , Dānu aparece una vez como la madre de Vrtra , "un dragón que bloquea el curso de los ríos". La palabra finlandesa para Danubio es Tonava , que probablemente se deriva de la palabra para el río en alemán , Donau . Su nombre sámi Deatnu significa "Gran Río". Es posible que dānu en escita como en Avestan fuera una palabra genérica para "río": se presume que Dnieper y Dniestr , de Danapris y Danastius , continúan escita * dānu apara "río lejano" y * dānu nazdya- "río cercano", respectivamente. [9]

En latín, el Danubio fue conocido como Danubius , Danuvius , Ister [10] o Hister . El nombre latino es masculino, al igual que todos sus nombres eslavos , excepto el esloveno (el nombre del Rin también es masculino en latín, la mayoría de las lenguas eslavas, así como en alemán). El alemán Donau ( Early Modern alemán Donaw , Tonaw , [11] el alto alemán medio Tuonowe ) [12] es femenina, como lo ha sido re-interpretado como que contiene el sufijo -ouwe "humedal".

El rumano se diferencia de otros idiomas circundantes al designar el río con un término femenino, Dunărea . [3] Esta forma no se heredó del latín, aunque el rumano es una lengua romance. [13] Para explicar la pérdida del nombre latino, los estudiosos que suponen que el rumano se desarrolló cerca del gran río proponen [13] que el nombre rumano desciende de un hipotético tracio * Donaris . La raíz protoindoeuropea de este presunto nombre está relacionada con la palabra iraní " don- " / " dan- ", mientras que el supuesto sufijo -aris se encuentra en el nombre antiguo del río Ialomița , Naparis , y en el río Miliare no identificado . mencionado por Jordanes en su Getica . [3] Gábor Vékony dice que esta hipótesis no es plausible, porque los griegos tomaron prestada la forma Istros de los tracios nativos. [13] Propone que el nombre rumano es un préstamo de una lengua turca (Cuman o Pecheneg). [13]

La cuenca del Danubio
La fuente hidrogeográfica del Danubio en la Capilla de San Martín en Furtwangen im Schwarzwald : la Bregquelle , la fuente de la cabecera más larga del Danubio, el Breg , donde el Danubio está simbolizado por la alegoría romana del río Danubio .
La fuente simbólica del Danubio en Donaueschingen : la fuente del Donaubach ( arroyo del Danubio ), que desemboca en el Brigach .
La confluencia de la fuente del Danubio en Donaueschingen : el Donauzusammenfluss , la confluencia de Breg y Brigach .
Confluencia de (de izquierda a derecha) Inn , Danube e Ilz en Passau
Danubio en Linz , Austria
El Danubio en Bratislava , Eslovaquia
Basílica de Esztergom , Hungría
El Tisza es el afluente más largo del Danubio
Confluencia del río Sava en el Danubio debajo de la ciudadela de Belgrado
Danubio en Nikopol, Bulgaria en invierno
El Danubio en Sulina , Rumania
0 km, Delta del Danubio , Ucrania
Donde el Danubio se encuentra con el Mar Negro ( imagen Goddard de la NASA ).
El Danubio se descarga en el Mar Negro (la parte superior del cuerpo de agua en la imagen).

Clasificada como vía fluvial internacional , se origina en la ciudad de Donaueschingen , en la Selva Negra de Alemania , en la confluencia de los ríos Brigach y Breg . Luego, el Danubio fluye hacia el sureste durante unos 2.730 km (1.700 millas), pasando por cuatro ciudades capitales ( Viena , Bratislava , Budapest y Belgrado ) antes de desembocar en el Mar Negro a través del Delta del Danubio en Rumania y Ucrania .

Una vez que fue una antigua frontera del Imperio Romano , el río atraviesa o toca las fronteras de 10 países: Rumania (29,0% del área de la cuenca), Hungría (11,6%), Serbia (10,2%), Austria (10,0%), Alemania (7,0%), Bulgaria (5,9%), Eslovaquia (5,9%), Croacia (4,4%), Ucrania (3,8%) y Moldavia (1,6%). [14] Su cuenca de drenaje se extiende a nueve más (diez si se incluye Kosovo ).

Cuenca de drenaje

Además de los países limítrofes (ver arriba), la cuenca hidrográfica incluye partes de nueve países más: Bosnia y Herzegovina (4,6% del área de la cuenca), República Checa (2,9%), Eslovenia (2,0%), Montenegro (0,9 %). %), Suiza (0,2%), Italia (<0,15%), Polonia (<0,1%), Macedonia del Norte (<0,1%) y Albania (<0,1%). [14] La cuenca de drenaje total es de 801,463 km 2 (309,447 millas cuadradas) de área y alberga a 83 millones de personas. [15] [16] [17] El punto más alto de la cuenca de drenaje es la cima del Piz Bernina en la frontera entre Italia y Suiza , a 4.049 metros (13.284 pies). [18] La cuenca del río Danubio se divide en tres partes principales, separadas por "puertas" donde el río se ve obligado a atravesar secciones montañosas: [17]

  • Cuenca Alta , desde la cabecera hasta la Puerta del Devín .
  • Cuenca del Medio , generalmente llamada cuenca de Panonia o Cuenca de los Cárpatos, entre la Puerta de Devín y las Puertas de Hierro . Incluye las llanuras húngaras Kisalföld y Alföld .
  • Cuenca Inferior , desde las Puertas de Hierro hasta la desembocadura del río , incluido el delta del Danubio .

Afluentes

La tierra drenada por el Danubio se extiende a muchos otros países. Muchos afluentes del Danubio son ríos importantes por derecho propio, navegables por barcazas y otros barcos de poco calado. Desde su nacimiento hasta su desembocadura en el Mar Negro, sus principales afluentes son (al entrar):

  1. Iller (entrando por Ulm )
  2. Lech
  3. Altmühl (entrando en Kelheim )
  4. Naab (entrando en Ratisbona )
  5. Regen (entrando en Ratisbona )
  6. Isar
  7. Posada (entrando en Passau )
  8. Ilz (entrando por Passau )
  9. Enns
  10. Morava (entrando cerca del Castillo de Devín )
  11. Rába (entrando por Győr )
  12. Váh (entrando por Komárno )
  13. Hron (entrando en Štúrovo )
  14. Ipeľ
  15. Sió
  16. Drava
  17. Vuka (entrando en Vukovar )

18. Tisza
19. Sava (entrando por Belgrado )
20. Tamiš (entrando por Pančevo )
21. Gran Morava
22. Mlava
23. Karaš
24. Jiu (entrando por Bechet )
25. Iskar (entrando cerca de Gigen )
26. Olt (entrando en Turnu Măgurele )
27. Osam (entrando cerca de Nikopol, Bulgaria )
28. Yantra (río) (entrando cerca de Svishtov )
29. Argeș (entrando en Oltenița )
30. Ialomița
31. Siret (entrando cerca de Galați )
32. Prut (entrando cerca de Galați )

Ciudades y pueblos

El Danubio atraviesa muchas ciudades, incluidas cuatro capitales nacionales (que se muestran a continuación en negrita), más que cualquier otro río del mundo. Ordenado desde la fuente hasta la boca son:

  •  Alemania
    • Donaueschingen en el estado de Baden-Württemberg  : los ríos Brigach y Breg se unen para formar el Danubio
    • Möhringen an der Donau en Baden-Württemberg
    • Tuttlingen en Baden-Württemberg
    • Sigmaringen en Baden-Württemberg
    • Riedlingen en Baden-Württemberg
    • Munderkingen en Baden-Württemberg
    • Ehingen en Baden-Württemberg
    • Ulm en Baden-Württemberg
    • Neu-Ulm en Baviera
    • Günzburg en Baviera
    • Dillingen an der Donau en Baviera
    • Donauwörth en Baviera
    • Neuburg an der Donau en Baviera
    • Ingolstadt en Baviera
    • Kelheim en Baviera
    • Ratisbona en Baviera
    • Straubing en Baviera
    • Deggendorf en Baviera
    • Passau en Baviera
  •  Austria
    • Linz , capital de Alta Austria
    • Krems en Baja Austria
    • Tulln en Baja Austria
    • Viena  - capital de Austria y la ciudad más poblada del Danubio, donde la llanura aluvial del Danubio se llama Lobau , aunque el Innere Stadt está situado lejos del flujo principal del Danubio (está delimitado por el Donaukanal  - 'canal del Danubio') .
  •  Eslovaquia
    • Bratislava  - capital de Eslovaquia
    • Komárno
    • Štúrovo
  •  Hungría
    • Mosonmagyaróvár
    • Győr
    • Komárom
    • Esztergom
    • Visegrád
    • Vacaciones
    • Szentendre
    • Dios
    • Dunakeszi
    • Budapest  - capital de Hungría , la ciudad más grande y la mayor aglomeración del Danubio (alrededor de 3.300.000 personas). Esta sección del río también se llama Danubio Bend .
    • Szigetszentmiklós
    • Százhalombatta
    • Ráckeve
    • Adony
    • Dunaújváros
    • Dunaföldvár
    • Paks
    • Kalocsa
    • Baja
    • Mohács
  •  Croacia
    • Vukovar
    • Ilok
  •  Serbia
    • Apatin
    • Bačka Palanka
    • Čerević
    • Futog
    • Veternik
    • Novi Sad
    • Sremski Karlovci
    • Zemun
    • Belgrade – capital of Serbia
    • Pančevo
    • Smederevo
    • Kovin
    • Veliko Gradište
    • Golubac
    • Donji Milanovac
    • Kladovo
  •  Bulgaria
    • Vidin
    • Lom
    • Kozloduy
    • Oryahovo
    • Nikopol
    • Belene
    • Svishtov
    • Ruse
    • Tutrakan
    • Silistra
  •  Romania
    • Moldova Nouă
    • Orșova
    • Drobeta-Turnu Severin
    • Calafat
    • Bechet
    • Dăbuleni
    • Corabia
    • Turnu Măgurele
    • Zimnicea
    • Giurgiu
    • Oltenița
    • Călărași
    • Fetești
    • Cernavodă
    • Hârșova
    • Brăila – limit of the maritime sector of the Danube
    • Galați – largest port on the Danube
    • Isaccea
    • Tulcea
    • Sulina – last city through which it flows
  •  Moldova
    • Giurgiulești
  •  Ukraine
    • Reni
    • Izmail
    • Kiliya
    • 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
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

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.
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). [19][20] 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).

The Danube in Budapest
Fisherman in the Danube Delta
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Freight 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. 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 (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.[21]

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.[22][23][24] 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".[25]

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.

The trading practices were legal along the river, since Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU in 2007 and Romania became European border with Ukraine and Serbia. "Vamesi" the Romanian Border Officers, were confused with the new trading rules and new borders along the river as long as most of the southern Danube border is shared with Bulgaria.[26]

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 (Odessa 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.[27]

Ecology and environment

Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Romania

The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an organization which 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 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

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.

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 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 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.[28]

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 Vinča culture, (Vinča, Serbia) are sited along the Danube. The third millennium BC 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 BC 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 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 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 lost again.

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

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

  • At Esztergom and Štúrovo, the Danube separates Hungary from Slovakia

  • The 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

  • Combat between Russian and Turkish forces on the Danube in 1854, during the Crimean War (1853–1856)

Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower Danube

Part of the rivers Danubius or Istros was also known as (together with the Black Sea) the Okeanos in ancient times, being called the Okeanos Potamos (Okeanos River). The lower Danube was also called the Keras Okeanoio (Gulf or Horn of Okeanos) in the Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodos (Argon. IV. 282).

At the end of the Okeanos Potamos, is the holy island of Alba (Leuke, Pytho Nisi, Isle of Snakes), sacred to the Pelasgian (and later, Greek) Apollo, greeting the sun rising in the east. Hecateus Abderitas 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.[29]

Rivalry along the Danube

Between the late 14th and late 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire competed first with the Kingdom of Serbia, Second Bulgarian Empire, Kingdom of Hungary, Principality of Wallachia, Principality of Moldavia and later with the Austrian Habsburgs, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Russian Empire for controlling the Danube (Tuna in Turkish), which became 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 most important wars of the Ottoman Empire along the Danube include the Battle of Nicopolis (1396), the Siege of Belgrade (1456), the Battle of Mohács (1526), the first Turkish Siege of Vienna (1529), the Siege of Esztergom (1543), the 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).

Drinking water

Along its course, the Danube is a source of drinking water for about 20 million people.[30][31] In Baden-Württemberg, 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.

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.[32]

Navigation and transport

Fishing from a Zille on the Danube in Lower Austria, 1982

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."[33]

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 Constanța.

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 concerns.

Downstream from the Freudenau locks in Vienna, canalization of the Danube was limited to the Gabčíkovo 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 Cernavodă.

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. However, some of the river's resources have been managed in an environmentally unsustainable manner in the past, leading to damage by pollution, alterations to the channel and major infrastructure development, including large hydropower dams.[34]

The sturgeon stocks associated with the Danube River basin have, over the centuries, formed the basis of a large and significant commercial fishery, renowned throughout the world. The construction of the dams, beside overfishing and river pollution has a significant role over sturgeon population decline because create a barrier for fish migratory species that usually spawn in the upper parts of the river.[35] The spawning areas of migratory fishes species has been dramatically reduced by the construction of hydropower and navigation systems at Iron Gates I (1974) and Iron Gates II (1984)Corda (1988). "Iron gates II design and performance of dams- geotechnical considerations" (PDF). International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering. Cite journal requires |journal= (help). The initial design of these dams has not included any fish passage facility.[36] The possibility of building a man-made fish pass enabling migration for fish species including the sturgeon, is currently under review by projects such as We Pass.[37]

The Upper Danube ecoregion alone has about 60 fish species and the Lower Danube–Dniester ecoregion has about twice as many.[38] 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 largely–or entirely in the case of the European sea sturgeon–disappeared from the river.[38] The huchen, one of the largest species of salmon, is endemic to the Danube basin, but has been introduced elsewhere by humans.[39]

Tourism

Wachau Valley near Spitz, Austria

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, Kopački rit in Croatia, Iron Gate in Serbia and Romania, the Danube Delta in Romania, and the Srebarna Nature Reserve in Bulgaria.

Also, leisure and travel cruises on the river are of significance. Besides the often frequented route between Vienna and Budapest, some ships even go from Passau in Germany to the Danube Delta and back. During the peak season, more than 70 cruise liners are in use on the river, while the traffic-free upper parts can only be discovered with canoes or boats.

The Danube region is not only culturally and historically of importance, but also due to its fascinating landmarks and sights important for the regional tourism industry. With its well established infrastructure regarding cycling, hiking and travel possibilities, the region along the Danube attracts every year an international clientele. In Austria alone, there are more than 14 million overnight stays and about 6.5 million arrivals per year.[40]

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 Schlögener 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.[41]

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 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.[42]

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.[43] The international consortium ARGE Die Donau-Straße der Kaiser und Könige, comprising ten tourism organisations, shipping companies, and cities, strives for the conservation and touristic development of the Danube region.[40]

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 "Schlögener Schlinge", the city of Linz, which was European Capital of Culture in 2009 with its contemporary art richness, the Melk Abbey, the university city of Krems and the cosmopolitan city of Vienna. Before the Route of Emperors and Kings ends, you pass Bratislava and Budapest, the latter 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 Dürnstein 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 were built by the Habsburger along the river. Nowadays they still remind us of the bold architecture of the "Donaubarock".

Today, people can not only travel by boat on the Danube, but also by train, by bike on the Danube Bike Trail or walk on the "Donausteig" and visit the UNESCO World Heritage cities of Regensburg, Wachau and Vienna.[44]

  • Naturpark Obere Donau (Germany)
  • Donauauen zwischen Neuburg und Ingolstadt (Germany) – map
  • Nature protection area Donauleiten (Germany)
  • Nationalpark Donau Auen (Austria) – map
  • Chránená krajinná oblasť Dunajské luhy (Slovakia) – map
  • Danube-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) – map
  • Danube-Drava National Park (Hungary) – map
  • Naturalpark Kopački Rit (Croatia) – map
  • Gornje Podunavlje Nature Reserve (Serbia) – map
  • Fruška Gora National Park (Serbia)
  • Koviljsko-petrovaradinski rit Nature Reserve (Serbia)
  • Great War Island Nature Reserve (Serbia)
  • Đerdap National park (Serbia)
  • Iron Gates Natural Park (Romania)
  • Persina Nature Park (Bulgaria) – map
  • Kalimok-Brushlen Protected Site (Bulgaria) – map
  • Srebarna Nature Reserve (Bulgaria) – map
  • Măcin Mountains Natural Park (Romania)
  • Balta Mică a Brăilei Natural Park (Romania)
  • Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (Romania) – map
  • Danube Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine

  • Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve in Serbia.

  • Golubac Fortress in Đerdap National park, Serbia.

16th-century Danube landscape near Regensburg, by Albrecht Altdorfer – a member of the Danube school.
  • The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz by Austrian composer Johann Strauss, The Blue Danube Waltz (On the Beautiful Blue Danube). This piece is well known across the world and is also used widely as a lullaby. The Waves of the Danube (Romanian: Valurile Dunării) is a waltz by the Romanian composer Iosif Ivanovici (1845–1902); as the Anniversary Song, it has been performed by many vocalists, such as Al Jolson, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Lynn, Tom Jones, and countless others. [It is most commonly known as the Anniversary Waltz, though that is actually a different song and melody.] Joe Zawinul wrote a symphony about the Danube called Stories of the Danube. It was performed for the first time at the 1993 Bruckner festival, at Linz.
  • The Danube figures prominently in the Bulgarian National Anthem, as a symbolic representation of the country's natural beauty. In Lithuanian folklore songs, the appearance of Danube (Dunojus, Dunojėlis) is more common than the appearance of the longest Lithuanian river Neman.
  • The German tradition of landscape painting, the Danube school, was developed in the Danube valley in the 16th century.[citation needed]
  • 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 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.
  • 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.
  • Miklós Jancsó's film the Blue Danube Waltz (1992)
  • The Hungarian sweet speciality Duna kavics ("Danube pebbles") is named after the river.[citation needed]
  • A Hungarian folk ensemble, the Danube Folk Ensemble (Duna Művészegyüttes), 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.[citation needed]
  • There are Hasidic (Chabad Nigunnim) songs called "dunai", dating from around 1800. They are often lullabies and are named after the river Dunay. Farmers around the river used to come to it and sing spiritual songs to thank God for the great beauty which they saw every day.[citation needed]

  • 2006 European floods
  • Between the Woods and the Water, a travel book telling of a Danubian journey in 1934
  • The Ister, 2004 film
  • Executive Agency for Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River
  • List of crossings of the Danube
  • Steamboats on the Danube
  • Black Sea drainage basin

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  22. ^ Piškor, Mate (12 October 2011). "Riječni gusari u Srbiji pljačkaju hrvatske brodove" (in Croatian).
  23. ^ "Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company Says Its Ships Are Being Attacked Frequently in Romanian Part Of River Danube". Un.ua. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  24. ^ Гордієва, Олена (20 January 2012). "Українські кораблі все частіше стають жертвами румунських піратів" [Romanian Pirates Attack Ukrainian Ships More Frequently]. Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian).
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  • Geographic data related to Danube at OpenStreetMap
  • Danube watershed map and information from the World Resources Institute
  • Danube Panorama Project
  • сайт о Дунае (in Russian)
  • Danube and the sport of rowing
  • Danube image pool on Flickr
  • Danube Tourist Commission (in German)
  • danubemap.eu – The Tourist Map of the Danube (archive)
  • International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
  • Bridges of Budapest over the Danube river
  • Description of the Danube estuary in June 1877, The Times of London
  • Old maps of the Danube, Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel