RIVER DANUBE
River of Life River Danube
In England it is known as the
Danube, a French word that was
imported into the english
language during the Norman
Conquest of 1066. Elsewhere, it
is the Dunav, Dunaj, Donau,
Duna, Danubio, Donava, Dunare
or Dunarea. The dan- don-, danroot means ‘to flow’ or ‘to run’.
The river originates in the Black
Forest in Germany at the
confluence of two streams, the
Brigach and Brege, which join at
Donaueschingen. At this point,
the Danube (or Donau as it is
there) is born.
The river flows eastwards
(uniquely for a major European
river) for a distance of some
2,857 km (1,771 miles) before
emptying into the Black Sea via
a delta system. The Danube, the second largest river in Europe after the Volga,
collects the waters from some 300 tributaries and runs through the most capital
cities of any river: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary –
pictured below left) and Belgrade (Serbia).
No other river in the world is so international in its reach. The Danube flows
through, or forms a part of the borders of, ten countries: Germany, Austria,
Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine. In
addition, the Danube’s drainage basin includes parts of nine more countries: Italy,
Poland, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, Macedonia, and Albania.
More than 80% of the length of the Danube has been embanked, there are three
major dams and fifty-eight locks and weirs along its length. But in the middle and
lower stretches of the river, and in the spectacular Danube Delta, it is still largely
untamed. Here are some of the richest wetland areas in Europe and these support
unique habitats and globally important species of flora and fauna
In recent years, the political landscape in the Danube basin has changed
dramatically. In 1989, the area was largely were under Communist rule and
Yugoslavia was still intact. Four Danube basin countries joined the European Union
in 2004 (Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia); a further two in 2007
(Bulgaria and Romania) and Croatia is currently a candidate country.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River of Life Danube Cycle Path
The old river towpath has been developed in
to the Danube Cycle Path, which is reputed to
be the most beautiful cycle path in Europe.
Originally, the towpath was used by teams of
up to sixty horses to drag ships laden with salt
and other highly valuable commodities up
against the current of the river. These days,
cyclists pedal the 335 km from the German
border town of Passau (km 2227) to the
Austrian capital of Vienna. The trip is a
leisurely six to eight day ride on wellmaintained, traffic-free paths that slope gently
downhill.
You can continue on by bike from Vienna to
Budapest. The 340 km ride is generally done
in seven days. The cycling gets tougher from
here, but Budapest to the Black Sea, some
1,200 km, is also possible and this can take a
further three weeks.
The first major town on the cycle route is Linz
(km 2135). Like many Danube settlements,
Linz grew rich by charging tolls on river traffic
and for centuries, the town’s prosperity was intimately linked with the river. During
the Nazi era, the riverside was blighted by the construction of large steel and
chemical works that polluted the Danube. Further downstream at Monthausen (km
2112), another ancient toll station, the Nazis erected a concentration camp where
some 335,000 prisoners were held.
One of the most romantic stretches of the Danube is the Wachau valley, which
winds just 30 km between Melk (km 2036) and Krems (km 2003 pictured above).
Sixty castles and palaces lie on this route and some of Austria’s best white wines
are produced here. Photographs from the Wachau region are often used to
illustrate the picturesque Danube to the accompaniment of Johann Strauss’ famous
waltz, The Blue Danube, which was first performed in Vienna in 1867.
Dürnstein (km 2009 below left) is famous for the medieval dungeon where Richard
th
the Lionheart was held prisoner on his return from the Crusades in the 12 century.
The story goes that his faithful manservant Blondel searched by singing his
master’s favourite songs beneath battlement walls. At last he came to Dürnstein
where Richard joined in the chorus. A ransom was paid and Richard was freed.
Once clear of the Wachau hills, the Danube used to flood the flat plains around
Vienna (km 1929). To prevent this, the Donau Canal was built in 1875, diverting the
river through the city’s suburbs. Before the canal, the Danube brought goods and
people from east and west directly into the heart of the city; but after the canal,
Vienna effectively turned its back on the Danube.
Just beyond Vienna there was a buffer zone between what was East and West,
between capitalism and communism, and as a consequence, the area remained
undeveloped. When the Iron Curtain was torn down, this no-man’s land has
become a nature reserve, preserving one of the last pieces of wild Danube
marshland.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River of Life Bratislava to Belgrade
Just 61 km from Vienna is Bratislava
(km 1868), the capital city of Slovakia.
This area was taken from Hungary as
part of the retributions following World
War II and handed to the newly
created nation of Czechoslovakia.
Bratislava’s riverside architecture
displays socialist construction at its
worst: anonymous, poorly built and
depressing. When the Berlin Wall fell
in 1989, hundreds of thousands fled to
find better lives elsewhere. Then, with
independence in 1993, Slovakia
became one of the world’s youngest
countries.
The Nový Most (New Bridge – below
left), otherise known as The UFO
Bridge, because its main suspension
pylon is crowned with a giant saucershaped viewing platform, has since
become the emblem of the reborn city.
Beyond Bratislava is the Gabcikovo
dam (km 1768), which has inundated
huge areas of natural Danube
marshland and been the cause for
considerable friction with neighbouring
Hungary. For long stretches, the
Danube’s banks become inaccessible
thanks to abandoned industrial
installations surrounded by barbed wire fencing.
The town of Esztergom (km 1718) was built around a strategic hill, and was
Hungary’s first capital and royal seat until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.
The area here is characterized by beautiful wooded hills and picturesque towns
and is famous for a hairpin bend in the river, called the Danube Bend. The town of
Szentendre (km 1668), which lies opposite one of the Danube’s biggest river
islands, is pictured above.
The Chain Bridge, constructed in 1840, joined the two riverbank cities of Buda and
Pest and these were subsequently unified to form Budapest (km 1647) in 1873.
More than any other city, Budapest is the city of the Danube. In Vienna, the river
has been relegated to the suburbs, the Sava River is a more significant presence in
Belgrade (see map left) and in Bratislava the historic city is set on higher ground
well back from the river itself. Beyond Budapest is the Puszta, the Great Hungarian
Plain - huge expanses of flat, monotonous landscape.
Belgrade (km 1170) was historically a major crossroad between West and East and
is now the capital and largest city of Serbia with a reputation for a vibrant nightlife.
The city appeals to young men and women travelling on cheap flights for stag and
hen weekend packages. To cater for the party crowds, numerous river barges have
been converted to nightclubs and these line the banks of the Sava and Danube
offering music, dancing and drink into the very early hours.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River of Life Danube Delta
The huge Iron Gates dam and lock complex (km
1059 to 934), the largest hydropower dam on the
Danube, was built between 1960 and 1971.
Before then, the gorge was the most dangerous
and dificult place to navigate on the whole river.
When it was finished, it slowed the river down to a
virtual stand-still, a pace it maintains for the
remaining 940 km before it empties in to the Black
Sea.
The Danube is characterised by its many
hundreds of river islands. Sometimes these
islands are integrated into a flood defense
scheme, occasionally they are locations for
festivals and events, mostly however, they are
valued as refuges from the developed banks of the
main river. They are wildlife sanctuaries and
people use them as beaches and places to fish
and relax. The Belene Islands (km 574) however,
are used for an altogether more sinister purpose.
They were the site of a large prison camp,
modelled on Stalin’s gulags, which housed political
prisoners, dissidents and criminals and it is still in
use as a prison today.
The opening of the Danube-Black Sea Canal in
1984 at Cernavoda (km 300) has shortened the
distance for cargoes to reach the Black Sea from
300 km to just 60. Cernavoda, which means ‘black
water’ is also the site of Romania’s first nuclear power station which opened in
1991. There is big industry downstream too at Galati (km 150) which is Romania’s
largest port on the Danube and also home to its biggest iron and steel works.
At about km 80, the Danube splits into two channels and then, 10 km downstream,
it splits again. A classic triangular-shaped delta is formed with the top branch, the
Bratul Chilia running northeast and this is the border between Romania and
Moldova and the Ukraine. The Bratul Sfantu Gheorge runs southeast and the
triangle is bisected in the middle by the Bratul Sulina which runs east and, thanks
to regular dredging, is the main navigable channel for shipping.
The Delta is the breeding, feeding and resting area for some three hundred bird
species. 70% of the world’s Great White Pelicans (left) summer on the Delta. The
area is very important for freshwater fish and in particular for sturgeon. Otter, stoat,
mink and wildcat are also found on the floating islands and over 3,400 species of
aquatic fauna, representing 98% of the European total.
The Delta is becoming increasingly valued as one of Europe’s last remaining areas
of wilderness, one of its last free flowing stretches of river. But as it is becoming
better known, it is attracting more birdwatchers, fishermen and ecotourists.
Worringly, more and more of the area is being developed as fisheries or exploited
for agricultural purposes. A quarter of the waterways in the delta have been
embanked and over 80% of its wetlands and floodplains have been destroyed.
Pollution from upstream and oil spills from heavy cargo boats on the Black Sea are
an ongoing concern to this fragile environment.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River of Life Caviar & Clams
The Danube river system was
originally home to six types of
sturgeon. But two of these are
now extinct and a further two are
close to extinction. The remaining
two, the Beluga (pictured left) and
the Stellate are highly endangered
and extremely rare.
Sturgeons are found only in the
Northern Hemisphere, from the
coasts of the Atlantic and the
Pacific, the Mediterranean, the
Black and Caspian seas, and also
in large river systems like the
Danube.
The Beluga reaches sexual
maturity between the ages of
fifteen and twenty. During its
spawning season, from spring to
summer, the females lay sticky,
brownish-green eggs. Two weeks
after they hatch, the young
sturgeon is ready to feed. They migrate to the ocean between their first and third
years, always returning to their spawning grounds year after year. Sturgeon can
live up to sixty years of age and can grow to eight metres in length.
There are many reasons for the decline in the numbers of sturgeon in the Danube
basin. The construction of the huge Iron Gates dams in the 1970s and 80s
effectively blocked their migration routes upriver. Another cause for their decline is
that they feed on invertebrates living on the riverbed and these are particularly
vulnerable to the rise in river pollution. But perhaps their greatest threat is overfishing, a direct result of the huge profits to be made from the sale of caviar. Beluga
caviar is the most expensive of all, costing just under £500 per 50g.
Incredibly, the Danube is the European river with the greatest fish diversity. A
recent survey identified 71 separate species. However, some shrimp, clams and
carpets of weeds are unwelcome foreign species that have invaded the Danube
River basin. Dikerogammarus villosus (left) is a voracious predator, also called
‘killer shrimp’ it attacks small fish, killing its prey by biting and shredding them with
its powerful mouthparts.
Asian clams are also highly invasive. They release up to 2,000 one millimetre-long
juveniles per day and more than 100,000 in a lifetime. The clams are particularly
damaging because they can attach themselves in huge quantities to boats, docks
and water pipes and they litter the foreshore.
Water Hyacinth (left) is considered to be one of the worst aquatic weeds in the
world and is now an invasive presence on the Danube. It is a fast growing plant
with populations known to double in as little as 12 days. Infestations of the weed
block waterways, limit boat traffic, swimming and fishing, and prevent sunlight and
oxygen from penetrating the water surface.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Polluted River Dirty Water
Eighty one million people live in the
Danube River Basin and more than a
quarter of these depend directly on the
Danube in one way or another for their
drinking water.
Thanks to Strauss’ famous waltz, the river
is referred to as the Blue Danube, although
its waters are actually a muddy brown. It is
this colour not through the effects of
pollution, but because river eddies and
currents churn up the soft sediments on
the riverbed into a cloudy muck.
The muddy brown Danube is polluted with
raw sewage from cities, pesticides and
chemicals from fields, waste from factories
and bilge oil from ships. Both the river’s
habit of flooding and the filtering action of
its shallow reed beds used to purge the
river of many of these pollutants. But the
Danube has now been dredged to deepen its navigable channel and it is enclosed
for up to to 80% of its course by manmade embankments, so once pollution enters
the Danube it has little chance to escape.
Romania still leads in overall levels of hazardous wastes discharged into the
Danube, although advanced economies like Germany also contribute to pollution
problems downstream. What the Germans save in hazardous pollution they more
than make up by discharging massive quantities of low-level waste.
The Danube’s use as a dumping ground for toxic pollutants ramped up significantly
since World War II. Initially, the Nazis built
heavy industry to fuel their war machine
and then, during the Communist period,
factories were built with little on no regard
for environmental impact. Today, we are all
living with the consequences of this
irresponsibility.
The last 5 years have seen a number of
crises and disasters affect the Danube.
During the 1999 war in former Yugoslavia,
the bombings of chemical factories and
other targets resulted in widespread
contamination. And in January 2000,
unrelated to those hostilities, some 100
tons of highly toxic cyanide spilled into the
Danube from the Tisza River in Romania
following an accident at a gold mine. At
that time, hundreds of dead and dying fish
were seen floating at the junction of the
Danube and the Tisza (see left), 50 km
upstream from the Serbian capital,
Belgrade.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Polluted River Danube Surveys
Between July and November
2005 the German
photographer, Andreas MüllerPohle traced the Danube from
its spring to its mouth. He took
pictures with his camera halfimmersed in the river to capture
both what is above and under
the surface. Each photograph
includes a line of data along the
bottom edge showing the
pollutants found in water. He
assumed that the river would
become more polluted the
closer he got to the delta and
while it is true that there were
higher concentrations of
pollutants after Croatia, the
most nitrate was detected near
the source in Germany, and the
highest quantity of mercury was
found in Vienna.
The Joint Danube Survey 2
(JDS2) was launched in 2007
from Regensburg in Germany. Three ships traveled down the length of the Danube
testing pollution and water
quality and examining its
ecology. Findings confirmed
that water quality was
improving and that there were
significant natural populations
of flora and fauna in the river.
JDS2 made three key
recommendations. Firstly,
more waste water treatment
plants need to be established,
particularly in Budapest,
Belgrade and Bucharest.
Secondly, pollution control
efforts from industry on major
tributaries needs to be
intensified and there must be
a reduction of pollution from
agriculture. Finally, the
positive efforts that have been
made to restore damaged
natural areas, such as the
floodplains east of Vienna and
the Danube Delta need to be
continued if the ecological
condition of the river is to be
improved.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Resourceful River Hydropower
The Danube is a relatively
slow-moving, shallow river
that, in its natural state,
changes course and was
prone to frequent flooding.
The first attempts to contain
the river were the dyke
systems built on the river from
the 16th century. The taming
of the Danube began in
earnest in the early 1800s,
with embankments and other
flood protection works
together with dredging to
create a straighter and deeper
channel to improve
navigation.
Today, over 80% of the
Danube is regulated for flood
control and its power is
harnessed by sixty-two locks,
dams and weirs. Fifty-nine of
these are upriver of Budapest.
The others are in Slovakia
and at the Iron Gates between
Serbia and Romania. On average, on the Upper Danube the river is interrupted by
a dam and accompanying impoundment every 16 kilometres. As a consequence,
very few stretches of the river can be said to be free-flowing.
Perhaps the most controversial dam of all is Slovakia’s Gabcikovo dam (see
above), originally planned as one of a pair, with the other at Nagymaros in
Hungary’s picturesque Danube Bend region. The cross-border barrage aimed to
eliminate regular floodings (like the disastrous ones in 1954 and 1965) and provide
a clean source of electric power. The dams would also allow year-long navigability
in an area that had hitherto been a patchwork of channels and islands.
In 1989, the new Hungarian administration decided to pull out of Nagymaros on
environmental and cost grounds. They were also influenced by the
popular protests against the project and its association with the old
communist regime. Unfortunately, the Slovaks went ahead and
began construction of Gabcikovo. By the time it was completed in
October 1992, they had diverted 80 to 90% of the river into a new
canal. The dam changed the river valley and it ended the natural,
beneficial flooding that added moisture and nutrients to the
surrounding soil. It also reduced the ability of the wetlands and
marshes to filter surface water and trap sediments.
Hydropower generation has come with significant environmental
cost and this has created a point of contention between the two
countries that still sours relations today. On the other hand,
hydropower produces significant clean energy; it accounts for 30%
of national generation capacity in Romania and around 60% in
Austria.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Resourceful River The Iron Gates
The Iron Gates is Europe’s largest
river gorge and makes for one of the
most dramatic landscapes on the
Danube. The gorge is formed in the
meeting of the Balkan mountains and
the Carpathians and the Danube
squeezes through this narrow gap to
reach the low-laying flat lands beyond.
For hundreds of years, the Iron Gates
were the most treacherous stretch of
river to navigate. It was so notoriously
difficult that when the Roman Emperor
Trajan (98 to 117AD) completed a road
through the area he set a carved
marble tablet into the rockface to
commemorate his achievement.
The Iron Gates became properly
navigable only after 1890, when a
channel was blasted through the most
difficult stretch, but even here the current was so strong that, for the next eighty
years, ships had to be dragged upstream by locomotive.
Construction of a pair of dams along the 117 km stretch of the Iron Gates, a joint
Romanian-Yugoslavian project, commenced in 1964. When completed in 1972, the
water level behind the dams rose in places by as much as 35 metres, submerging
whole villages. Around 17,000 people had to be relocated and the island of Ada
Kaleh (below), famous as a smuggler’s nest and for its thousand twisting alleys
and distinctive Turkish architecture was
lost under the rising waters.
The dams have had a major impact on
the environment. They changed the
depth and width of the river and this
altered flow rates and effected the
migration routes of animals. The
spawning routes of several species of
sturgeon were permanently
interrupted.
Although improving navigation on the
Danube was high on the agenda, more
important to the two developing
countries was the huge amount of
hydropower that could be generated.
When construction started in 1960, the
annual output, which was to be shared
equally between the two countries,
amounted to slightly less than the total
output of what was then Yugoslavia
and to just over a third of Romania’s
total output.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Resourceful River Flood / Drought
2005 was a particularly cold year, which saw Eastern Europe and the
Balkans covered in snow for months. The Spring thaw in 2006,
combined with unseasonably heavy rainfall and this led to severe
flooding in southern Germany, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania
and Bulgaria.
In April that year, the Danube in Budapest was over 28 feet higher
than its normal level; in fact it was the highest level for more than a
century. The authorities worked frantically to shore up flood defences
as hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes. City officials
took the drastic step of deliberately flooding farmland and forested
areas to protect urban infrastructrue.
Incidents like this are a regular occurance. May 1999 saw the worst
flooding on the River Danube in decades which forced the evacuation
of a hundred thousand people from their homes in southern Germany.
Authorities in Bavaria put the cost of repairing the damage at more
than three quarters of a billion pounds. Melting snows in the Swiss
Alps and heavy rains were once again blamed for the flooding which
affected towns in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Vienna solved its flooding problems by digging a pair of embanked
channels within which the Danube is now contained. The excavated
material was used to landscape a 21 km long island between the
channels called Donauinsel. To most visitors, this island is known for
its beach facilities, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. But its main
purpose is to be part of Vienna's highly sophisticated flood protection
system.
Flooding yes, but many people would not associate the Danube with
droughts; but in fact, they are a normal and common feature. Droughts
can damage crops and result in water supply shortages. Experts
predict that because of changes in land use, increases in water
demand and the effects of climate change, droughts will become more
frequent and more severe in future.
Following a very hot and dry summer in 1992 there were droughts in
Bulgaria and Hungary causing a severe loss of agricultural production.
In 2003, low rainfall and high temperatures led to the lowest levels on
the Danube for over a century. Ships were stranded and barges
grounded from southern Germany to the Romanian lowlands.
Romania's Cernavoda Nuclear Power plant, which draws coolant
water from the Danube, was forced to shut down for nearly a month.
With so much of the Danube now embanked and regulated, natural
floodplains are extremely rare. The Danube Floodplain National Park,
between Vienna and Bratislava, was artificially preserved for decades
as the no-man's land between the Western and Eastern blocs. Despite
mounting pressure for motorways, bridges, industrial parks and other
developments, the area has been preserved as a nature park. It is the
last intact floodplain on the upper Danube. Today, the park is an
important area for rest and recreation for people from the Austrian and
Slovak capitals.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Working River Romans & Crusaders
Geographically, the Danube is unique in the sense that it is the only major river in
Europe that flows from west to east. As a consequence, it has been used as a
transport artery between northern Europe and Asia Minor since very early times.
Greek records show that the Danube was used as a water road to move goods like
salt, hides, iron and amber. This trade in Danube amber has been traced back to
1400 BC and archeological remains on the Danube, like the world famous
Willendorf Venus (left), date back even further to 28,000 BC.
The Romans arrived in 27 BC, under Emperor Augustus. They called the river
Danuvius in the Middle and Upper Reaches and Ister in its Lower Reaches and it
marked the northern limits of their Empire. The Romans used the river both as a
defensive barrier and as a supply line to feed, equip and move men to their
garrisons stationed along its length. Outposts were established at Castra Regina
(Regensburg – see photo below), Castra Batava (Passau), Lentia (Linz),
Vindobona (Vienna), Posonium (Bratislava) and Aquincum (Budapest).
When the Roman Empire fell, trade along the Danube increased, perhaps because
it was less dangerous during these uncertain times than traveling and trading by
land. Also, without Roman engineers to maintain the roads, they soon became
overgrown and impassable whereas the river always remained open.
From the 4th century, the Danube plain was overrun by fearsome hordes of Goths,
Attila’s Huns and Avars. Emperor Charlemagne drove them out in the 8th century,
but they were followed by Magyars. Settlements grew up beside the Danube and
towns were awarded lucrative rights to levy tolls on vessels wanting to moor as
river trade became well established.
Hungary’s conversion to Christianity in 975 makes the Danube a safe overland
route for pilgrims going to
the Holy Land. Many
French and German
Crusaders choose it in
1096 for their pillaging
progress through Austria
and Hungary to “save”
Constantinople and
Jerusalem from Islam.
In 1396, an army of
100,000 Germans,
French, Hungarians,
Poles, Bohemians,
Italians and Spaniards
congregates at Budapest
and advances down the
Danube to meet crushing
defeat by the Turks at
Nicopolis (pictured left)
now Nikopol in Bulgaria.
Rather appropriately, the
name Nicopolis is from
the Greek meaning ‘Cry
of Victory’.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Working River Ottoman Rule
In the 16th century, the Danube became the route
of a “crusade” in reverse, as Suleiman the
Magnificent’s Ottoman Turks carried Islam west
from the Black Sea. By 1521, they had taken
Belgrade. They defeated the Hungarians in 1526
and three years later advanced to the walls of
Vienna. They captured Budapest in 1541, holding
the city for the next 150 years. A second siege of
Vienna is repelled in 1683, and after that the Turks
were expelled from the Upper and Middle Danube.
Land previously occupied by the Turks was given
as a reward to noblemen who offered troops to
help drive out the Ottoman Empire. The vacated
land needed to be settled and farmed so the
Austro-Hungarian aristocrats promised work and
wealth to craftsmen, labourers and farmers willing
to make the journey east. In the 18th century, the
German town of Ulm became an embarkation
point for thousands of people who set off looking for a better life downstream. In an
exodus that has been compared to the North American gold rush, more than
200,000 set off on crude box-like boats, known as Ulm Boats (pictured above).
In the new territories these pioneers created their own communities, rarely
intermarrying and keeping their own folk traditions and language alive. As a result,
German became the lingua franca of the Danube. During this period, the river is
personified by Noeck (pictured below), the Prince of the Danube and his daughters,
the Donauweibschen. Noeck is an ugly hybrid, half old man, half giant fish. He lives
in a palace at the bottom of the river and entices travelers with promises of jewels
and gold and then drowns them in the swift-flowing currents. The Donauweibschen,
as if to make up for his ugliness and
unnatural ways, are beautiful girls who
like to flirt whenever they can.
By the turn of the 19th century, there
were some two million ethnic
Germans living in pockets of Central
and Eastern Europe. Most felt
allegiance and loyalty to the
Fatherland rather than to the countries
they were living in. Early 20th century
Nazism fuelled their patriotism, they
were a bridgehead into these lands
and were eager recruits into the SS,
Hitler’s personal guard. Unsurprisingly
there were fierce retributions after the
war and these Germans living on
another’s soil were ostracized from
their adopted land. When the Berlin
Wall collapsed in 1989, many
thousands flocked back to Germany
where, despite their absence for over
150 years, they had full claim to
pensions and benefits.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Working River Cargo to Cruise
Right up to the age of steam in the mid 19th
century, the vast majority of trade and travel
was a one-way route, going with the flow of
water from west to east. Most was done on
crude rafts, loaded with cargo and
passengers, which drifted downriver to their
destinations and were then unloaded and
broken up for timber. Only valuable cargoes
like salt, which increased in value over 400%
from source to destination, warranted the
huge cost of being hauled upriver by teams of
horses against the river flow.
The first Danube steamship company, the
DDSG, was established in Vienna in 1829.
They dominated Danube transport for over a
century (the poster on the left is from 1899)
and they are still in business today. Steam
revolutionized river transport and paddle
steamers become popular in the 1830s and
40s. Even by the mid-19th century there was
no railway line linking one end of Europe with
the other. Travel by river was faster and a
good deal more civilized than travel by road.
Since the Danube at this time was largely
undredged, and water levels could vary
significantly from season to season, a paddle
system of propulsion was preferred to
propellers and they were built right up to the
beginning of World War II. After that, boats
had steerable propellers enclosed in a cylinder that squirted out a jet of water and
protected the blades from snagging in shallow waters.
After World War II, the Danube was effectively divided between West and Eastern
Bloc countries with the Upper Danube in the west and the Red Danube in the east.
River trade and travel continued, but the Danube became better known as a
frontier: between Austria and Czechoslovakia (8 km), Czechoslovakia and Hungary
(140 km), Yugoslavia and Romania (230 km), Bulgaria and Romania (470 km) and
Romania and Russia (120 km). With the collapse of the Communist government in
1989 and the escalating civil war in the Balkans, the river economy collapsed. The
Danube carried 92 million tones in 1987 and only 20 million in 1994.
In 1999, NATO bombs destroyed three bridges in Novi Sad (see left) and five more
Danube bridges elsewhere. The debris from Novi Sad blocked the river for four
years, bringing Danube shipping to a complete halt. During this period, a temporary
pontoon bridge allowed traffic to cross the river for a couple of hours a day and
this, together with the remains of the bridge, was finally removed in 2005.
With all the countries en route now open for business, cruising on the Danube is
now the biggest growth area in shipping terms. There are services between
Passau on the German border with Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade and
through the Iron Gates dams to the Black Sea and beyond with many variations
between.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
Working River Deeper Waters
These days, the Danube is navigable by ocean-going
vessels from the Black Sea to Brăila in Romania and by
river ships for a distance of 2,411 km or 87% of its length
to Kelheim in Germany; smaller craft can navigate further
upstream to Ulm, although conditions can be impeded by
ice in winter and by seasonally varying water levels.
The opening of the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in 1992,
just upriver of Regensburg, forged a 3,500 km
connection from the Black Sea via the Danube and
through the canal to the Rhine and then on to the Port of
Rotterdam on the North Sea. However, the canal and the
German reaches of the Upper Danube still runs at a
fraction of its freight capacity because water levels can
be so low as to prevent navigation. There is a stretch of
the river here that cannot be dredged to increase its
depth because it has been designated a nature reserve.
Its preservation as the last piece of free-flowing Danube left in Bavaria is fiercely
protected by environmentalists.
To cut costs and be more competitive, river freight is now managed by a push-tug
system. Barges are chained to the
tug’s bows and controlled from the
pusher’s bridge. These barges can
carry the same volume of goods as 93
railway wagons or 173 trucks.
On the Middle and Lower Danube, the
return of peace to the Balkans has
allowed unhindered travel from the
Black Sea to Germany and this is
propelling a new golden age of Danube
shipping. The number of freight ships
plying the river is increasing by about
10 percent per year. Bigger ships and
new navigation facilities have helped
increasing amounts of freight move
from road to river.
The European Commission is
predicting that freight on inland
waterways will grow by 44 percent in
the next 10 years. But the new
container ships need deeper water.
Just east of Vienna, the Danube flows
through one of the last true natural river
stretches: the Donau Au National Park
(see left) and here the river is shallow,
causing delays and danger for
shipping. Just as in Bavaria,
environmentalists believe plans to
deepen the river to suit the new ships
will damage the fragile environment of
the forests and flood plains.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River City Bridging Buda and Pest
The Romans arrived in the area currently caleld Budapest in 14 BC.
They named their settlement Aquincum after the abundant thermal
springs they found there. Around their fortified military camp, the
Romans constructed roads, amphitheaters, baths and houses with
heated floors. For them, the Danube (or Danuvius), marked the
northern limits of their Empire and, although they campaigned in the
hostile lands beyond, they often retreated back to the safety of
Aquincum on the south side of the river frontier.
Barbarian tribes eventually sacked Aquincum in 206AD and then the
Goths took control in 409, followed by the Magyar in 896 who ruled
interrupted only by the 1242 Mongol invasion until 1526, when their
25,000 strong army was annihiliated by the Ottoman Turks. For over
150 years, Buda was a Turkish city. Then, in 1686, Buda fell to the
Austrians and became absorbed into Austria-Hungary, an empire
which extended across to Transylvania and incorporating bits of
what are now the Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, the Czech
Republic and even Italy.
The 19th century was dominated by the Hungarians' struggle for
independence and modernization. The Chain Bridge (left) was
opened in 1849, linking the riverside cities of Buda and Pest. In
1873, these two were officially merged with Óbuda (Ancient Buda),
creating the new metropolis of Budapest. During the last 30 years of
the 19th century Budapest, Vienna and Prague were the economic
and cultural centres of Eastern Europe.
World War I brought the Golden Age to an end. In 1918 AustriaHungary lost the war, collapsed and declared itself an independent
republic. But punitative measures exerted by the British, French and
American allies at the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 resulted in the
country's partition and Hungary lost over two-thirds of its territory.
Seeking restitution of its land, Hungary sided with
Hitler and Fascist Italy in the 1930s. When it
came, World War II was just as disasterous for
Hungary as the 1914-18 war. The Germans
departing gift was to dynamite all the bridges over
the Danube. The war had destroyed or severely
damaged three quarters of Budapest’s historic
buildings. In 1949, Hungary was declared a
communist People's Republic. In 1956, mass
demonstrations led to the collapse of the Stalinist
dictatorship, but Soviet tanks entered Budapest to
contain the uprising and the Hungarian Revolution
was crushed.
After forty years, socialist rule began to unravel
and in July 1989, Hungary demolished the
electrified fence separating it from Austria.
Towards the end of that year, the communists
agreed to give up their monopoly on power,
paving the way for free elections in spring 1990.
Hungary joined the European Union in May 2005.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River City Margaret Island
The 13th century King Bela promised that if ever Hungary
emerged victorious from the war with the Mongols he would build a
convent on one of the city’s river islands and have his daughter
Margit raised as a nun. Victory came, the convent was built and
Margit duly despatched. She grew into an extremely beautiful
young woman and was much admired by the King of Bavaria. Bela
tried to persuade his pious daughter to marry the king, but Margit
refused, saying she would rather cut off her nose and lips than
leave the convent. And so she stayed on the island and died there
at the tender young age of twenty-eight.
In 1541, when the Turks began their occupation of Budapest, they
converted the convent into a harem from which all infidels were
barred. After the Ottoman period, the island was named after King
Bella’s beautiful yet virtuous daughter.
There were disasterous floods in March 1838 and as a result, river
embankments were constructed to protect the facing riverside
cities of Buda and Pest. Although these were substantially
destroyed in World War II they have been subsequently rebuilt and
restored to their former glory and are now officially recognized by
UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. After heavy rains or thaws
upstream, the river can still swell to twice its volume and flood
riverside streets in Budapest. The worst flood in recent years was
in April 2006 when Margaret Island was completely inundated.
The island has been a public park since the mid-19th century and
is linked to the mainland by Margaret Bridge to the south and Árpád Bridge to the
north. Of Budapest’s nine bridges, Margaret Bridge is unique in that it doglegs in
order to stand at right angles to the Danube.
The island has a hotel complex, one of Budapest’s most modern thermal spas, a
Japanese Garden and many
shaded walkways and parks. The
island is a great place for sports
with cycling tracks, two swimming
pools and an urban beach. Margaret
Island Crystal Water, one of the
more popular brands of mineral
water in Hungary, is sourced and
bottled here.
Within the city boundaries, the river
encircles a number of other islands.
Csepel Island is the largest and
Luppa is the smallest. The Roman
Emperor Hadrian built a palace on
Óbuda Island and today developers
are following suit with entertainment
complexes, apartment buildings,
hotels, casinos and a marina. It also
hosts one of Europe’s biggest music
events, the Sziget Festival, which
attracts over 400,000 people.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River Culture The Danube Bend
Shortly after the
Danube enters
Hungary from
Slovakia, the river
makes an abrupt
turn south. The
Danube Bend, as
this region is
known, has long
been famous for its
beautiful rolling hills
and historic villages
and is one of the
most important and
popular tourist
destinations for the
country.
Even though some
300,000
international
passengers arrive
in Hungary each
year on luxury
riverboats, most
travelling south via
Vienna and
Bratislava, and many smaller cruisers take thousands tourists from Budapest to the
towns upstream along the Danube Bend like Szentendre, well known for its local
arts and crafts, tourism on the Danube Bend is down. People tend to flit in and out
whereas the locals want tourists, both foreign and domestic, to stay in the region
for longer. While low cost airlines are bringing more foreigners into Budapest, local
businesses on the Danube Bend argue that doesn't mean more tourists are visiting
them since most just come to Hungary for one or two days.
Businessmen from the picturesque town of Szentendre are looking carefully at their
near neighbours in Esztergom who have invested in a modern, luxury spa and
health centre near the riverfront. The hope is that initiatives like this will capitalise
on Budapest’s spa reputation and encourage tourists to visit the area for longer.
Budapest is one of the richest cities in the world in terms of thermal and spa
waters. Some hot spring facilities on the Buda side date back to the Roman times.
The 150-year Ottoman rule left its mark in bathing culture too, when real hamams
were built for Ottoman pashas and bashas (high-ranking leaders). The number of
baths increased again in the middle of the 19th century and Budapest became a
destination for those seeking a treatment for arthritis, circulation problems, asthma,
chronic bronchitis and other complaints. Today, there are 118 natural thermal
springs within the boundaries of the capital.
Hungary is working rapidly to develop health tourism since it is not subject to the
vagaries of seasonal weather and tourists tend to stay longer and have time to visit
other places. These days, there are some 25 four-star hotels with spa facilities in
Hungary whereas six years ago, there were only four.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River Culture Danube Day
Even more
important than the
size of the Danube
basin, which is
nearly 10% of the
total surface of the
European
Continent, is the
fact that it
comprises nineteen
different countries,
which makes it the
world’s most
international river
basin. Only through
a shared
commitment and a
joint effort can
environmental
problems be
addressed.
Recognizing this
the Danube River
Protection
Convention was
signed in 1994 in
Sofia, Bulgaria.
Danube Day was
initiated at the 10th
anniversary of this
convention whose signaturies include: Germany, Austria, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, BosniaHerzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and
Ukraine.
Held annually on 29 June, Danube Day is an international day
honouring the Danube and the rivers that flow into it, paying tribute
to the vital role they play in providing water, food, power, recreation
and livelihood. It aims to raise awareness about the Danube through
festivals on the riverbanks, public meetings and educational events.
Holding events across all its member countries demonstrates the
need for countries and organizations to join forces and work
together. Celebrating Danube Day helps to ensure that the Danube
and its tributaries are protected, so that they can be used and
enjoyed by generations to come.
Over 169 events in 14 countries involving tens of thousands of
people took place in 2008. Danube Day celebrations in Vienna are
pictued above. Highlights included the simultaneous blowing of river
boat horns along the entire length of the Danube at precisely 2pm as
well as the continuation of the popular Danube Art Master school
competition (pictured left) which attracted 4,000 students whose
water-themed artworks were displayed along the river banks.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org
RIVER DANUBE
River Culture
Danube Festivals
The Bridge Festival (below) takes place on and around
Szechenyi Chain Bridge, arguably Budapest’s most beautiful
bridge. When it opened in 1849, it was the first permanent
crossing between Buda and Pest and the aristocracy, previously
exempt from any taxation, were scandalized to learn that they too
had to pay a toll to use it just like everyone else.
The Chain Bridge is closed to traffic in August and on each
weekend, there are activities for children and adults like jugglers,
musicians, dancers and street artists. There are stands serving
cold drinks, gastronomic specialties, chimney cakes, bread
dough and ice-cream. As well as many stalls selling the products
of Hungarian craftsmen and folk artists.
The Sziget Festival (left), a week long festival held annually in
August is now one of Europe’s largest rock festivals, attracting
upwards of 400,000 music fans. Like Glastonbury and other
progressive music festivals, Sziget programmes acts from many
different musical genres and there’s also other attractions like
cinema tents, theatre and dance arenas, craft and food stalls and
an abundance of alcohol. The festival is popular with young
people from all over Europe.
Donauinselfest in Vienna is a free rock festival attended by an
astonishing three million visitors. Like Sziget, it takes place on
one of Danube’s river islands. It takes place at the end of June
(Friday through Sunday) on a 6½ km site in the middle part of the
island. There are
some 21 areas
(called islands),
each with a stage,
many of which
are sponsored by
local radio
stations and
newspapers.
Although all
concerts are free,
financial experts
calculate that
Vienna's
economy profits
from this event by
almost forty
million euros,
mostly due to
increased
tourism.
River Danube was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2009
Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British Council’s
Connecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programme
www.riversoftheworld.org