Danube

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This article is about the river. For other uses, see Danube (disambiguation).
Danube
River
Donaustadtbruecke-Praterbruecke-DSC 0024w.jpg
Danube in Vienna
Countries Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria,
Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
Cities Ulm, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Linz, Vienna, Bratislava, Gyor, Budapest,
Dunajvros, Vukovar, Novi Sad, Zemun, Belgrade, Pancevo, Smederevo, Drobeta Turnu-
Severin
Primary source Breg
- location Martinskapelle, Black Forest, Germany
- elevation 1,078 m (3,537 ft)
- length 2,860 km (1,777 mi)
- coordinates 4805'44?N 0809'18?E
Secondary source Brigach
- location St. Georgen, Black Forest, Germany
- elevation 940 m (3,084 ft)
- length 2,860 km (1,777 mi)
- coordinates 4806'24?N 0816'51?E
Source confluence
- location Donaueschingen
- coordinates 4757'03?N 0831'13?E
Mouth Danube Delta
- coordinates 4513'3?N 2945'41?ECoordinates 4513'3?N 2945'41?E
Length 2,860 km (1,777 mi)
Depth 18 m (326 ft)
Basin 817,000 km2 (315,445 sq mi)
Discharge for before delta
- average 7,000 m3s (247,203 cu fts)
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- Passau 580 m3s (20,483 cu fts)
30km before town
- Vienna 1,900 m3s (67,098 cu fts)
- Budapest 2,350 m3s (82,989 cu fts)
- Belgrade 4,000 m3s (141,259 cu fts)
Danubemap.png
Course of the Danube, marked in red
[show][ v t e ]
Danube summary route map
The Danube ('dnju?b DAN-ewb, known by various names in other languages) is
Europe's second-longest river, after the Volga River. It is located in Central and
Eastern Europe.

The Danube was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, and today flows
through 10 countries, more than any other river in the world. Originating in
Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,860 km (1,780 mi), passing through or
touching the border of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea. Its drainage
basin extends into nine more countries. The Danube river basin is the most
biodiverse region in Europe, and is home to hundreds of 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.

Contents [hide]
1 Names and etymology
2 Geography
2.1 Drainage basin
2.2 Tributaries
2.3 Cities and towns
2.4 Islands
2.5 Sectioning
3 Modern navigation
4 Piracy
5 Danube delta
6 International cooperation
6.1 Ecology and environment
6.2 Navigation
7 Geology
8 History
8.1 Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower Danube
8.2 OttomanHungarian and OttomanHabsburg rivalry along the Danube
9 Economics
9.1 Drinking water
9.2 Navigation and transport
9.3 Fishing
9.4 Tourism
9.4.1 Danube Bike Trail
9.4.2 Sultans Trail
9.4.3 Donausteig
9.4.4 The Route of Emperors and Kings
10 Important national parks
11 Cultural significance
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
Names and etymology[edit]
Old European river names derived from a Proto-Indo-European danu. Other river names
from the same root include the Dunajec, DzvinaDaugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper,
Dniestr and Dysna. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, danu means fluid, drop, in Avestan, the
same word means river. In the Rigveda, Danu once appears as the mother of Vrtra. It
is possible that danu in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for river
Dnieper and Dniestr, from Danapris and Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian
danu apara far river and danu nazdya- near river, respectively.[1]

Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros (?st???) a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian
name meaning strong, swift (akin to Sanskrit i?iras swift).[2] In Latin, the Danube
was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The DacianThracian name was
Donaris for the upper Danube and Istros for the lower Danube.[2] The Thraco-
Phrygian name was Matoas,[3] the bringer of luck.[4]

The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names (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,[5] Middle High German Tuonowe[6])
is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe wetland.

The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names related to Danuvius
German Donau (['do?na??]; Bavarian Doana; Silesian Dunaj; Upper Sorbian Dunaj;
Slovak Dunaj (['dunaj]); Hungarian Duna (['dun?]); Serbo-Croatian Dunav ?????
([duna?] or [duna??] Romanian Dunarea (['dun?re?a]); Bulgarian ?????, Dunav (['dun?
f]); Ukrainian ?????, Dunai ([du'n?j]); Czech Dunaj (Czech pronunciation ['d?naj]);
Polish Dunaj (Polish pronunciation ['dunaj]); Slovene Donava (['d?na?a]); French
Danube [da'nub]); Italian Danubio ([da'nubjo]); Spanish Danubio ([da'nubjo]);
Romansh Danubi.
Geography[edit]

The Danube basin

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 2,800 km (1,700 mi),
passing through four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea via the
Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.

Once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, the river passes through or
touches the borders of 10 countries Romania (29.0% of basin area), Hungary (11.6%),
Serbia (10.2%), Austria (10.0%), Germany (7.0%), Bulgaria (5.9%), Slovakia (5.9%),
Croatia (4.4%), Ukraine (3.8%), and Moldova (1.6%).[7] Its drainage basin extends
into nine more.

Drainage basin[edit]

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

Where the Danube Meets the Black Sea (NASA Goddard image).
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%).[7] The highest
point of the drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the ItalySwitzerland
border, at 4,049 metres (13,284 ft).[8]

Tributaries[edit]
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 (in order that they enter)