It is the only major river on the continent that flows from west to east and empties into the Black Sea. The River Danube flows through the most countries in the world – ten in total. These are Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. It also flows through four capital cities: Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Belgrade.
Its catchment area extends beyond these to a further nine countries: Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo.
The Danube has its source on the Baar Plateau in the Black Forest in Germany, where two smaller rivers, the Brigach and the Breg, converge 1.4 km from the village of Donaueschingen; from there onwards, the river is known as the Danube. There is also a theory that the source of the Danube is the Danube stream, which springs from within the grounds of the ‘Fürstlich Fürstenbergisches Schloss’ near Donaueschingen. This karst spring was tapped in the 18th century and its water was channelled through a pipeline beneath the castle. In 1895, Adolf Heer erected a sculptural composition above the circular basin of the Danube stream, depicting Mother Baar pointing the way to the young Danube. A few hundred metres downstream from the stream’s source, it joins the Brigach, which in turn, after a kilometre and a half, joins the Breg to form the Danube.
The Danube has always been a vital link between Western Europe and the Black Sea. In the 3rd century, it formed the northern border of the Roman Empire, and the fortresses built along its banks were used to defend against attacks by the Goths, Huns and Slavs. Later, the River Danube served as a waterway providing access to Constantinople. The Crusaders used the river as a transport artery during their campaigns to the Holy Places in Jerusalem. During the Middle Ages, it facilitated the Turkish incursions into Central Europe.
The River Danube began to be used as a trade route in the 18th century. Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria from the Habsburg dynasty, established a service to regulate navigation on the river. In the 19th century, the Danube became an important trade route between Western Europe and the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.
In 1830, the first passenger transport by steamboat from Austria to Serbia took place. In the summer of 1834, a steamboat line was opened and a regular service established between Hungary, Serbia, Wallachia and Bulgaria. In 1835, a steamship set sail every three days from Pressburg (the former name of Bratislava) to Pest, and from there another departed every 12 days for Moldavia. With the signing of the Treaties of Paris and Versailles, free navigation was declared along the entire length of the river, and the ‘Danube Commission’ was established to control and coordinate navigation on the river as an international waterway. After the Second World War, a new Danube Convention was signed, under which only the Danube riparian states were to participate in this Danube Commission.
Following the construction of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in Germany in 1991, the Danube became part of a trans-European waterway linking the world’s largest port, Rotterdam on the North Sea, with Sulina on the Black Sea, with a total length of 3,500 km. The volume of goods transported along the Danube rose to around 100 million tonnes in 1987.
The Danube is home to many plant and animal species. The riverbed is the largest marshland area in Europe. It is home to the largest concentration of reeds in the world. In the Danube Delta, 1,700 km² are overgrown with reeds. There are also several species of water lily. Along the river’s course there are forests where a wide variety of plants and animals can be found. In the Litya Forest there are dunes 250 m long and 10 m wide. There, some trees reach a height of 10 m.
Many animal species can also be found there. A significant proportion of the world’s bird population lives in the areas along the river. Over 45 species of freshwater fish swim in the Danube Delta. It is known that a large proportion of the European badger population lives on the islands along the river. The forests along the river are also home to some rare species of reptiles. The globally endangered bird species – the Dalmatian pelican – nests exclusively in the Srebarna Nature Reserve.
