Danube - wikipedia Danube This article is about the river. For other uses, see Danube ( disambiguation ). Danube River The Danube in Vienna Countries Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine Cities Ulm, Ingolstadt, Regensburg, Linz, Vienna, Bratislava, Győr, Budapest, Dunaújváros, Vukovar, Novi Sad, Zemun, Belgrade, Pančevo, Smederevo, Drobeta Turnu - Severin Primary source Breg - location Martinskapelle, Black Forest, Germany - elevation 1,078 m ( 3,537 ft ) - length 46 km ( 29 mi ) - coordinates 48 ° 05 ′ 44 '' N 08 ° 09 ′ 18 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 48.09556 ° N 8.15500 ° E ﻿ / 48.09556 ; 8.15500 Secondary source Brigach - location St. Georgen, Black Forest, Germany - elevation 940 m ( 3,084 ft ) - length 40 km ( 25 mi ) - coordinates 48 ° 06 ′ 24 '' N 08 ° 16 ′ 51 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 48.10667 ° N 8.28083 ° E ﻿ / 48.10667 ; 8.28083 Source confluence - location Donaueschingen - coordinates 47 ° 57 ′ 03 '' N 08 ° 31 ′ 13 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 47.95083 ° N 8.52028 ° E ﻿ / 47.95083 ; 8.52028 Mouth Danube Delta - coordinates 45 ° 13 ′ 3 '' N 29 ° 45 ′ 41 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 45.21750 ° N 29.76139 ° E ﻿ / 45.21750 ; 29.76139 Coordinates : 45 ° 13 ′ 3 '' N 29 ° 45 ′ 41 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 45.21750 ° N 29.76139 ° E ﻿ / 45.21750 ; 29.76139 Length 2,850 km ( 1,771 mi ) Depth 1 -- 8 m ( 3 -- 26 ft ) Basin 801,463 km ( 309,447 sq mi ) Discharge for before delta - average 7,000 m / s ( 247,203 cu ft / s ) Discharge elsewhere ( average ) - Passau 580 m / s ( 20,483 cu ft / s ) 30km before town - Vienna 1,900 m / s ( 67,098 cu ft / s ) - Budapest 2,350 m / s ( 82,989 cu ft / s ) - Belgrade 4,000 m / s ( 141,259 cu ft / s ) Course of the Danube, marked in red Danube summary route map Legend 2860 Source at Donaueschingen 2587 Limit of navigation at Ulm 2458 Ingolstadt 2411 Rhine -- Main -- Danube Canal 2376 Regensburg 2226 Inn River Germany Austria 2128 Linz 1918 Vienna Austria Slovakia Morava River 1867 Bratislava Slovakia Hungary 1794 Győr 1639 Budapest 1579 Dunaújváros Hungary Croatia 1433 Hungary Serbia 1425 Danube -- Tisa -- Danube Canal 1424 Bezdan Bridge 1382 Drava River 1367 Bogojevo Road Bridge 1366 Bogojevo Railway Bridge 1335 Vukovar 1297 Ilok -- Bačka Palanka Bridge Croatia Serbia 1296 in Serbia 1258 Liberty Bridge 1255 Varadin Bridge 1254 Novi Sad 1254 Boško Perošević Bridge 1253 Danube -- Tisa -- Danube Canal 1232 Beška Bridge 1215 Tisza River 1176 Pupin Bridge 1173 Zemun 1170 Sava River 1169 Belgrade 1167 Pančevo Bridge 1153 Pančevo 1104 Great Morava 1116 Smederevo 1113 Pipeline bridge 1112 Kovin Bridge 1077 Danube -- Tisa -- Danube Canal 1076 Serbia Romania 943 Iron Gate I 930 Drobeta - Turnu Severin 863 Iron Gate II Serbia Bulgaria 846 796 New Europe Bridge Olt River 495 Ruse 489 Danube Bridge Bulgaria Romania 300 Anghel Saligny Bridge 300 Cernavodă Bridge 238 Giurgeni -- Vadu Oii Bridge Romania Moldova Moldova Ukraine Danube Delta 0 Black Sea Note : Distances are in kilometers, rounded to the nearest kilometer. Waterway distances are shown, not towpath distances. Country capitals are shown in bold. The Danube ( / ˈdæn. juːb / DAN - yoob ), known by various names in other languages, is Europe 's second longest river, after the Volga. 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 2,850 km ( 1,770 mi ), passing through or touching the border of Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before draining into the Black Sea. Its drainage basin extends into nine more countries. The Danube river basin is home to fish species such as pike, zander, huchen, wels catfish, burbot and tench. It is also home to a large diversity of carp and sturgeon, as well as salmon and trout. A few species of euryhaline fish, such as European seabass, mullet, and eel, inhabit the Danube delta and the lower portion of the river. Contents 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 Ottoman -- Hungarian and Ottoman -- Habsburg 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 Old European river name derived from a Proto - Indo - European * dānu. Other river names from the same root include the Dunaj, 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. 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. The river was known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros ( Ἴστρος ) a borrowing from a Daco - Thracian name meaning `` strong, swift '' ( akin to Sanskrit iṣiras `` swift '' ). 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. The Thraco - Phrygian name was Matoas, `` the bringer of luck ''. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovenian, ( 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, Middle High German Tuonowe ) 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 ) ) ; Bulgarian : Дунав, Dunav ( ( ˈdunɐf ) ) ; Ukrainian : Дунай, Dunai ( ( duˈnɑj ) ) ; Czech : Dunaj ( Czech pronunciation : ( ˈdʊnaj ) ) ; Polish : Dunaj ( Polish pronunciation : ( ˈdũnaj ) ) ; Slovene : Donava ( ( ˈdóːnaʋa ) ) ; Portuguese : Danúbio ( ( dɐ'nubju ) ) ; French : Danube ( da'nyb ) ) ; Italian : Danubio ( ( da'nuːbjo ) ) ; Spanish : Danubio ( ( da'nuβjo ) ) ; Romansh : Danubi. Geography 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 2,730 km ( 1,700 mi ), passing through four capital cities ( Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade ) before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine. Once a long - standing frontier of the Roman Empire, the river passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries : Romania ( 29.0 % of basin area ), Hungary ( 11.6 % ), Serbia ( 10.2 % ), Austria ( 10.0 % ), Germany ( 7.0 % ), Bulgaria ( 5.9 % ), Slovakia ( 5.9 % ), Croatia ( 4.4 % ), Ukraine ( 3.8 % ), and Moldova ( 1.6 % ). Its drainage basin extends into nine more ( ten if Kosovo is included ). Drainage basin 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 % ). Its total drainage basin is 801,463 km ( 309,447 sq mi ). 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 ). Tributaries 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 ) : Iller ( entering at Ulm ) Lech Altmühl ( entering at Kelheim ) Naab ( entering at Regensburg ) Regen ( entering at Regensburg ) Isar Inn ( entering at Passau ) Ilz ( entering at Passau ) Enns Morava ( entering near Devín Castle ) Rába ( entering at Győr ) Váh ( entering at Komárno ) Hron ( entering at Štúrovo ) Ipeľ Sió Dráva Vuka ( entering at Vukovar ) 18. Tisza 19. Sava ( entering at Belgrade ) 20. Tamiš ( entering at Pančevo ) 21. Great Morava 22. Mlava 23. Karaş 24. Jiu ( entering at Bechet ) 25. Iskar ( entering near Gigen ) 26. Olt ( entering at Turnu Măgurele ) 27. Osam ( entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria ) 28. Argeș ( entering at Oltenița ) 29. Ialomița 30. Siret ( entering near Galați ) 31. Prut ( entering near Galați ) The confluence of the Sava into the Danube at Belgrade. Pictured from Belgrade Fortress, Serbia Cities and towns The historical source of the Danube in Donaueschingen. 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 Danube in Linz, Austria The Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia Basilica of Esztergom ( Hungary ), the third largest cathedral in Europe 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 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 Panoramic image of the Danube and Sava river from Kalemegdan, Belgrade Serbia. Islands Further information : List of islands in the Danube Aerial view of Margaret Island, Budapest, Hungary. There are 15 bridges over the Danube in Budapest. Great War Island, Belgrade, as seen from Zemun, Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube. Adakale 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 Abdülhamid 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 this claim with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. ) The island was submerged during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant in 1970, which also removed the possibility of a potential legal claim by the descendants of Abdülhamid II. Adakale Island Ostrovul Mare, Gogoșu Balta Ialomiței Belene Island Csepel Island Donauinsel Great Brăila Island Great War Island Island of Vukovar Island of Šarengrad Žitný ostrov Szigetköz Island of Szentendre Margaret Island Csepel Island Island of Mohács Ostrovul Ciocănești Ostrovul Mare, Islaz Ostrovo ( Kostolac ) Kozloduy Island Ribarsko Ostrvo, Novi Sad Vardim Island Sectioning Upper Section : From spring to Devín Gate, at the border of Austria and Slovakia. Danube remains a characteristic mountain river until Passau, with average bottom gradient 0.0012 % ( 12 ppm ), from Passau to Devín Gate the gradient lessens to 0.0006 % ( 6 ppm ). Middle Section : From Devín Gate to Iron Gate, at the border of Serbia and Romania. The riverbed widens and the average bottom gradient becomes only 0.00006 % ( 0.6 ppm ). Lower Section : From Iron Gate to Sulina, with average gradient as little as 0.00003 % ( 0.3 ppm ). Modern navigation The Danube in Budapest Fisher in the Danube Delta Play media Freight ship on the Danube near Vienna The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to Brăila in Romania and 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 m / 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. Piracy 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. 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 ''. 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. Danube Delta Main article : Danube Delta The Danube Delta ( Romanian : Delta Dunării pronounced ( ˈdelta ˈdunərij ) ; Ukrainian : Дельта Дунаю, translit. Del'ta Dunaju ) 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 km ( 1,603 sq mi ), of which 3,446 km ( 1,331 sq mi ) are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of Razim - Sinoe ( 1,015 km ( 392 sq mi ) of which 865 km ( 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 km ( 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. International cooperation Ecology and environment Main article : International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River Pelicans in the Danube Delta, Romania The International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River ( ICPDR ) is an organization 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. Today the Commission include riparian and non-riparian states. 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 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 Alp, 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. 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 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 ) 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 in order 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. 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. Ottoman -- Hungarian and Ottoman -- Habsburg rivalry along the Danube This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section 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 ( Turks call it Tuna ), which formed 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 ). Economics Drinking water Along its course, the Danube is a source of drinking water for about 20 million people. 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. 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. '' 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. Fishing from a Zille on the Danube in Lower Austria, 1982 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. The Upper Danube ecoregion alone has about 60 fish species and the Lower Danube -- Dniester ecoregion has about twice as many. 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. The huchen, one of the largest species of salmon, is endemic to the Danube basin, but has been introduced elsewhere by humans. 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. 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. 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 : Donaueschingen -- Passau ( 559 km ) Passau -- Vienna ( 340 km ) Vienna -- Budapest ( 306 km ) 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. Vienna -- Budapest ( 323 km ) 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. 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 - Straße der Kaiser und Könige, comprising ten tourism organisations, shipping companies, and cities, strives for the conservation and touristic development of the Danube region. 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 where 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. Important national parks Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve in Serbia. Golubac Fortress in Đerdap National park, Serbia. 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 ) Small Island of Brăila Natural Park ( Romania ) Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve ( Romania ) -- map Danube Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine Cultural significance This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help 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. Wagenführer. It would be a realisation of the erroneous notion of the Danube having a bifurcation. The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz by Austrian composer Johann Strauss, An der schönen, 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 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. 16th - century Danube landscape near Regensburg, by Albrecht Altdorfer - a member of the Danube school. In 2008, the Finnish indie rock band Wiidakko released a song called Tonava ( Danube in Finnish ) on their second album Asiat joita et voi koskaan saavuttaa. 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, 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. 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 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. Miklós Jancsó '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 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. There are Hasidic ( Chabad Nigunnim ) songs called `` dunai '', dating from around 1800. They are often lullabys 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. See also 2006 European floods Between the Woods and the Water, a travel book telling of a Danubian journey in 1934 The Ister, 2004 film List of crossings of the Danube Steamboats on the Danube References Jump up ^ https://www.britannica.com/place/Danube-River Jump up ^ Mallory, J.P. and Victor H. Mair. The Tarim Mummies : Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West. London : Thames and Hudson, 2000. p. 106. Абаев В. И. Осетинский язык и фольклор ( Ossetian language and folklore ). Moscow : Publishing house of Soviet Academy of Sciences, 1949. P. 236 ^ Jump up to : Katičić, Radoslav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans, Part One. Paris : Mouton, 1976 : 144. Jump up ^ Dyer, Robert ( 1974 ). `` Matoas, the Thraco - Phrygian name for the Danube, and the IE root * madų ''. Glotta. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht ( GmbH & Co. KG ). 52 ( 1 / 2 ) : 91. JSTOR 40266286. Jump up ^ Šašel Kos, Marjeta ( 2009 ). `` Reka kot božanstvo -- Sava v antiki '' ( River as a Deity -- The Sava in Antiquity ). In Barachini, Jožef. Ukročena lepotica : Sava in njene zgodbe ( The Tamed Beauty : The Sava and Its Stories ) ( PDF ) ( in Slovenian and English ). Sevnica : Javni zavod za kulturo, šport, turizem in mladinske dejavnosti. pp. 42 -- 50. ISBN 978 - 961 - 92735 - 0 - 0. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 4 March 2016. Jump up ^ Tonaw in Sebastian Franck, Weltbuch ( 1542 ), 81. Donaw e.g. in Leonhard Thurneisser zum Thurn, Pison ( 1572 ), 186 ; spelling Donau from the 17th century. Jump up ^ Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, 407. ^ Jump up to : `` Countries of the Danube River Basin ''. International Commission for the protection of the Danube River. Retrieved 2010 - 11 - 13. Jump up ^ Complete table of the Bavarian Waterbody Register by the Bavarian State Office for the Environment ( xls, 10.3 MB ) Jump up ^ Danube River Basin District, Part A - Roof Report, IPCDR, p 8 Jump up ^ http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/blanks/assessment/black.pdf Jump up ^ Treaty of Peace with Turkey signed at Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, 24 July 1923, retrieved 6 December 2014 Jump up ^ `` Ada Kaleh ''. alexisphoenix.org. Jump up ^ Riječni gusari u Srbiji pljačkaju hrvatske brodove ( in Serbian ) Jump up ^ `` Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company Says Its Ships Are Being Attacked Frequently In Romanian Part Of River Danube ''. Un.ua. Retrieved 2012 - 06 - 11. Jump up ^ Romanian Pirates Attack Ukrainian Ships More Frequently ( in Ukrainian ) Jump up ^ Pirates on the lower Danube at rivercruiseinfo.com Jump up ^ Reports Of ' Pirates Of The Danube ' Get The Old Heave - Ho at Radio Free Europe Jump up ^ `` Daily hydrological report ''. State Hydrometeorological Bureau of the Republic of Croatia. Retrieved 2010 - 09 - 09. Jump up ^ Dacia Preistorica Archived 7 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine., Nicolae Densusianu ( 1913 ). Jump up ^ `` The Danube ''. International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchement Area. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 2012 - 07 - 28. Jump up ^ `` The Danube, '' The Times, February 13, 1883, page 12 ^ Jump up to : Hales, J. ( 2013 ). Upper Danube. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 25 February 2013. Jump up ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. ( 2013 ). `` Hucho hucho '' in FishBase. February 2013 version. ^ Jump up to : `` Press release of the `` ARGE Donau Österreich '' '' ( PDF ) ( in German ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 01. Jump up ^ `` Die ADFC - Radreiseanalyse 2013 -- Zahlen, Daten und Fakten '' ( in German ). Retrieved 12 March 2014. Jump up ^ `` Donausteig ''. Retrieved 1 April 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Route of Emperors and Kings ''. www.bavaria.by. Retrieved 29 March 2014. Jump up ^ Žmuc, Irena ( 2010 ). `` Sustained Interest ''. In Županek, Bernarda. Emona : Myth and Reality ( PDF ). Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana ; City Museum of Ljubljana. p. 63. ISBN 978 - 961 - 6509 - 20 - 6. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2012. Jump up ^ wiidakko ( 18 November 2013 ). `` Wiidakko - Tonava '' -- via YouTube. External links Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Danube. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Danube. Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Danube. 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 Description of the Danube estuary in June 1877, The Times of London The Danube Countries Germany Austria Slovakia Hungary Croatia Serbia Bulgaria Romania Moldova Ukraine Cities Ulm Ingolstadt Regensburg Passau Linz Vienna Bratislava Győr Budapest Vukovar Novi Sad Belgrade Vidin Ruse Brăila Galați Izmail Tulcea Tributaries Iller Lech Regen Isar Inn Morava Váh Hron Ipeľ / Ipoly Drava Tisza / Tisa Sava Timiș / Tamiš Great Morava Timok Jiu Iskar Olt Osam Yantra Vedea Argeș Ialomița Siret Prut See also List of islands in the Danube List of crossings of the Danube Hydrography of Croatia Rivers Bednja Boljunčica Bosut Cetina Česma Danube Dobra Drava Gacka Glina Glogovnica Ilova Jadro Karašica Karašica Korana Krapina Krka Kupa Kupčina Lika Lonja Mirna Mrežnica Mura Neretva Odra Ombla Orljava Pakra Plitvica Raša Rječina Sava Slunjčica Spačva Studva Sunja Sutla Trnava Una Vuka Zrmanja Lakes Vrana ( Dalmatia ) Dubrava Peruća Prokljan Varaždin Vrana ( Cres ) Krušćica Plitvice Baćina Trakošćan Valleys, estuaries, canyons, wetlands Lim Paklenica Kopački Rit Lonjsko Polje Waterfalls Galovački buk Skradinski buk Roški slap Štrbački buk Large waterfall ( Plitvice ) WorldCat Identities GND : 4012712 - 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Question: where is the start of the danube river
Answer: Martinskapelle, Black Forest, Germany