New-York tribune., 1896-10-04
THE IRON GATES OPEN.
EMPEROR TRAJANs UNDERTAKING COM
p1ETED BY AUSTRIAS KAISER.

pIETED BY AUSTRIAS KAISER.
~..rIv 1000 years have elapsed since the
,or,an Emperor Trajan began the work of re
ting what are known the Iron Gates of
49, ranube His object to permit seagoing
lie 70 ascend the mighty river of central
"a eastern Europe from its mouth to points
tova the ancient town of OrsOVa, which in
,hs days of the Caesars was one of the prin-
,,aI cities of their rich colony of Dacia, but
,hich to-day is the frontier station on the rail-
road connecting Hungary with Rumania True,
the work Of removing these Iron Gates has not
,.en in course of execution through all this
Ianse of centuries. But the enterprise was
,aken up once more some ten or fifteen years
eo and at a cost of S20OO0OOO has now been
broucht 10 a completion. the so-called opening
~ the Iron Gates having taken place on Sun
aav last in the presence of the Emperor OF
Austria and of a vast assemblage of kings and
nrnces mostly sovereisns of States washed
bv the waters Of the Danube.
From an engineering point Of view the feat
10 one worthy of ranking on the same level as
the suez Canal. and the colossal character of the
labor involved may be imagined when it is
stated that one of the channels alone is some
three miles long and four times the width OF
tho Suez Canal. blasted through the hardest
lind Of rock that II is possible 10 fnd In TINS
single channel there is fall of sixteen feet, ana
its construction made necessary the removal OF
NO 900 cubic metres Of basaltic matter from
the channel itself and half as much again from
tho open river The terrific force of the current.
which at times seemed unmanageable. rendered
~. task of extreme difficulty and OF great
danger more than a thousand workmen having
LOST their lives these works during the last
FIVE years alone
T., was this broad cutting through the last OF
~. great banks Of rock constituting the lower
no--al so to speak Of the Gates of the Danube,
,., ena bled the Inauguration to take place with
- -,ucb ponnp and solemnty on Sunday last and
o,s can almost imagine the shadowy spectre Of
=, --oo+ pornan Emperor lowering near the spot
- IN the wear Jos he caused his name and
~, 20 he deeply carved on the face Of the
rs IN. inscription standing forth clear and
neat 10 this very day
The name Of Iron Gates. when was originally
is- 20 this series Of obstructiors TO the naviga-
,ion nj the Danube ny the Turks, mas given rise
N a considerable amount OF mlsconception Most
n>,ple imagine that the Iron Gates were the mar
r,r massage or defe of Kazan. This, however. is
,,- tho unper entrance to the real ties. which
o-a constituted by a series of lodges of rocks ex-
,.,aing across the river almost from shore TO
shore and which at low water are entirely dry,
although frequently. with barely few minutes
warning some freshet above causes them 20 be
,r,-;ed ten and twelve feet deep with seethlhg'
boiling. raging torrent carrying all before it, and
grinding everything 10 pieces against '"e J"sseo
rocks over which il sweeps.
The massage Of the Iron Gates has been until
NOW impossible. save at very high water. and then
only with great difficulty. II was the usual thng
for passengers and their luggage 70 disembark
carriages as tourists obliged 10 do around
the cataracts Of the Nile.
The engineering works just completed extend
from the ruined castle Of Golubac. the entrance
os the Kazan dehle where the Danube is forced
between walls Of granite hundreds Of feet high,
into an extremely narrow channel Of no more
than a hundred yards wide. whirling. boiling,
thrubbing and foaming in a volume more than
oO feet deep yet dotted everywhere by the points
o. jagged-looking rocks down through Success
sion Of quick, sharp turns until, several miles
below the Rumanian frontier. Il turnbles over the
succession Of great lodges Of rock which the
real Iron Gates and through which channels have
been cut In the midst OF all this current, half
WY between the Kazan dehe and the last Of the
ledges. is the island Of Adah Kaeh. where.
through some freak. a Turkish colony has been
permitted TO remain. and whore tourists have an
opportunity Of visiting real mosque and real
Oriental bazaars.
Not only does the removal Of the Iron Gates
open up the Danube itself 10 the navigation Of .
seagoing vessels far Ratisbon, in Bavaria.
which is nearly 1000 miles from it's mouth. but /
also 10 a large number Of big tributary rivers, /
such "a the Save. the Drave the Tneiss and others
which all throw themselves into the Danube 1t !
il difficult 10 overestimate the immense advan- .
tass TO the trade and industry of Central Europe /
which is afforded by this great work. which may
htsy De regarded as the most glorious feature Of
the festivities ir honor Of the one-thousandth |,
anniversary Of the Kingdom Of Hungary.