It flows through or past ten countries, more than any other river on Earth
Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine
Geography · Physical geography
The Danube
about 2,850 km long
Europe's second-longest river — Black Forest to the Black Sea through ten countries
Europe's second-longest river after the Volga, running some 2,850 kilometres from the Black Forest in Germany to a great delta on the Black Sea. It passes through or along the borders of ten countries, more than any other river in the world, and flows through four national capitals. For centuries it was the northern frontier of the Roman Empire and the main artery of central and south-eastern Europe.
How to spot them
- ▸The river flowing through more countries than any other, and past four capital cities
- ▸Quiz clue: 'Donaueschingen', 'Iron Gates', 'Wachau', 'Delta', 'Breg and Brigach'
- ▸Europe's second-longest river, and one of the few major rivers flowing west to east
- ▸Its delta is shared between Romania and Ukraine and is a World Heritage Site
Key facts
Four national capitals stand on its banks
Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade
It rises where two Black Forest streams, the Breg and the Brigach, meet at Donaueschingen
A spring in the palace grounds is traditionally called the source
A gorge on the Serbian–Romanian border, once the most dangerous stretch for shipping, was tamed by two dams
The Iron Gates; the works drowned the island of Ada Kaleh in 1970
Johann Strauss II gave it a waltz in 1866 that became Austria's unofficial second anthem (1866)
An der schonen blauen Donau — 'The Blue Danube'
Its three-armed delta on the Black Sea is Europe's best-preserved, listed by UNESCO in 1991 (1991)
The Chilia, Sulina and Sfantu Gheorghe arms, shared by Romania and Ukraine
For much of the imperial period it formed the northern limit of Roman power, studded with legionary forts
The Danubian limes; Vindobona and Aquincum became Vienna and Budapest
Since 1992 a canal in Bavaria has linked it to the Rhine, allowing barges to cross Europe sea to sea (1992)
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, from Bamberg to Kelheim
Quick-fire facts
- •Length about 2,850 km — second in Europe only to the Volga
- •It rises in the Black Forest at the confluence of the Breg and Brigach at Donaueschingen
- •It empties into the Black Sea through a delta in Romania and Ukraine
- •Ten countries lie on it, more than for any other river
- •Four capitals stand on it: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade
- •The Iron Gates gorge divides the Carpathians from the Balkan mountains on the Serbian–Romanian border
- •The Danube Delta was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1991
- •The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, completed in 1992, connects the North Sea to the Black Sea
- •Its major tributaries include the Inn, the Drava, the Tisza, the Sava and the Morava
- •In German it is the Donau, in Hungarian the Duna, in Romanian the Dunare
Drill it — 8 cards
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Sources
- EU Strategy for the Danube Region — About the Danube Region
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Danube River