he Danube (/ˈdænjuːb/ 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 carpand 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]

 1Names and etymology

 2Geography
o 2.1Drainage basin
o 2.2Tributaries
o 2.3Cities and towns
o 2.4Islands
o 2.5Sectioning
 3Modern navigation
 4Piracy
 5Danube delta
 6International cooperation
o 6.1Ecology and environment
o 6.2Navigation
 7Geology
 8History
o 8.1Ancient cultural perspectives of the lower Danube
o 8.2Ottoman–Hungarian and Ottoman–Habsburg rivalry along the Danube
 9Economics
o 9.1Drinking water
o 9.2Navigation and transport
o 9.3Fishing
o 9.4Tourism
 9.4.1Danube Bike Trail
 9.4.2Sultans Trail
 9.4.3Donausteig
 9.4.4The Route of Emperors and Kings
 10Important national parks
 11Cultural significance
 12See also
 13References
 14External links

Names and etymology[edit]

Old European river name derived from a Proto-Indo-European *dānu. Other river names from the
same root include the Dunajec,
Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr, Dysna, Tana and Tuoni. In Rigvedic
Sanskrit, dānu means "fluid, drop", in Avestan, the same word means "river". In
the Rigveda, Dānu once appears as the mother of Vrtra, "a dragon blocking the course of the rivers."
The Finnish word for Danube is Tonava, which is most likely derived from the word for the river in
swedish and german, Donau. Up North there is also a river called Tana. 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.[1]
Known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros (Ἴστρος) a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name
meaning "strong, swift" (akin to Sanskrit iṣiras "swift").[2] In Latin, the Danube was variously known
as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Dacian/Thracian 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 Dānuvius: German: Donau ([ˈdoːnaʊ̯]; (Austro-Bavarian: Doana); Silesian: Důnaj; Upper
Sorbian: Dunaj; Slovak: Dunaj ([ˈdunaj]; Hungarian: Duna ([ˈdunɒ]); Serbo-Croatian: Dunav / Дунав
([dǔnaʋ] or [dǔnaːʋ] Romanian: Dunărea ([ˈdunəre̯a]); [Дунав, Dunav] error: {{lang-xx}}: text has
italic markup (help) ([ˈdunɐf]); [Дунай, Dunai] error: {{lang-xx}}: text has italic markup
(help) ([duˈnɑj]); Czech: Dunaj (Czech pronunciation: [ˈdʊnaj]); Polish: Dunaj (Polish
pronunciation: [ˈdũnaj]); Slovene: Donava ([ˈdóːnaʋa]); Portuguese: Danúbio ([da'nubjo]); French: Dan
ube [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%), Slovaki
a (5.9%), Croatia (4.4%), Ukraine (3.8%), and Moldova (1.6%).[7] Its drainage basin extends into nine
more (ten if Kosovo is included).

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 Italy–Switzerland 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):
1. Iller (entering at Ulm)
2. Lech 18. Tisza
19. Sava (entering at Belgrade)
3. Altmühl (entering at Kelheim)
20. Tamiš (entering at Pančevo)
4. Naab (entering at Regensburg)
21. Great Morava
5. Regen (entering at Regensburg) 22. Caraș
6. Isar 23. Jiu (entering at Bechet)
7. Inn (entering at Passau) 24. Iskar (entering near Gigen)
8. Ilz (entering at Passau) 25. Olt (entering at Turnu Măgurele)
9. Enns 26. Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria)
10. Morava (entering near Devín Castle) 27. Argeș (entering at Oltenița)
 11. Rába (entering at Győr) 28. Ialomița
12. Váh (entering at Komárno) 29. Siret (entering near Galați)
13. Hron (entering at Štúrovo) 30. Prut (entering near Galați)
14. Ipeľ
15. Sió
16. Dráva
17. Vuka (entering at Vukovar)

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

Cities and towns[edit]

The historical source of the Danube in Donaueschingen.

The Donauzusammenfluss, or "Danube confluence", where the Bregand 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, Austria

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 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
 Donaueschingen in the State of Baden-Württemberg – rivers Brigach and Breg join to form
the Danube
 Möhringen an der Donau in Baden-Württemberg
 Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg
 Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg
 Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg
 Munderkingen in Baden-Württemberg
 Ehingen in Baden-Württemberg
 Ulm in Baden-Württemberg
 Neu-Ulm in Bavaria
 Günzburg in Bavaria
 Dillingen an der Donau in Bavaria
 Donauwörth in Bavaria
 Neuburg an der Donau in Bavaria
  Ingolstadt in Bavaria
 Kelheim in Bavaria
 Regensburg in Bavaria
 Straubing in Bavaria
 Deggendorf in Bavaria
 Passau in Bavaria
 Austria
 Linz, capital of Upper Austria
 Krems in Lower Austria
 Tulln in Lower Austria
 Vienna – capital of Austria and the most populous city on the Danube, where the Danube
floodplain is called the Lobau, though the Innere Stadt is situated away from the main flow of
the Danube (it is bounded by the Donaukanal – 'Danube canal').
 Slovakia
 Bratislava – capital of Slovakia
 Komárno
 Štúrovo
 Hungary
 Mosonmagyaróvár
 Győr
 Komárom
 Esztergom
 Visegrád
 Vác
 Szentendre
 Dunakeszi
 Budapest – capital of Hungary, the largest city and the largest agglomeration on Danube
(about 3,300,000 people).
 Szigetszentmiklós
 Százhalombatta
 Ráckeve
 Adony
 Dunaújváros
 Dunaföldvár
 Paks
 Kalocsa
 Baja
 Mohács
 Croatia
 Vukovar
 Ilok
 Serbia
 Apatin
 Bačka Palanka
 Futog
 Veternik
 Novi Sad
 Sremski Karlovci
  Zemun
 Belgrade – capital of Serbia
 Pančevo
 Smederevo
 Kovin
 Veliko Gradište
 Golubac
 Donji Milanovac
 Kladovo
 Bulgaria

Danube at Nikopol, Bulgaria in winter

 Vidin
 Lom
 Kozloduy
 Oryahovo
 Nikopol
 Belene
 Svishtov
 Ruse
 Tutrakan
 Silistra
 Moldova
 Giurgiulești
 Ukraine

0 km, Danube Delta (Ukraine)

 Reni
 Izmail
 Kiliya
 Vylkove
 Romania
 The Danube in Sulina, Romania

 Moldova Nouă
 Orșova
 Drobeta-Turnu Severin
 Calafat
 Bechet
 Dăbuleni
 Corabia
 Turnu Măgurele
 Zimnicea
 Giurgiu
 Oltenița
 Călărași
 Fetești
 Cernavodă
 Hârșova
 Brăila
 Galați – largest port on the Danube
 Isaccea
 Tulcea
 Sulina – last city through which it flows