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The "Blue Danube River" and distant Austrian Castle
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The Danube is Europe's second longest river and one of the
principal traffic arteries on the continent. It is the only major
European river to flow from west to east. It rises in the Black
Forest region of Germany and flows in a generally easterly
direction, emptying on the Romanian coast into the Black Sea. The
delta of the Danube is a region of desolate marshes and swamps,
broken by tree-covered elevations. Important cities on the river
include Linz and Vienna, in Austria; Ulm, Regensburg, and Passau,
in Germany; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Belgrade,
Serbia; and Galati and Bràila, in Romania. Canals link the Danube
to the Main, Rhine, and Oder rivers. The Danube Valley between
Linz and Vienna, Austria, (as seen in this photo) is noted for its
beautiful scenery.
The Danube has always been an important route between western
Europe and the Black Sea. It served as an artery for the
Crusaders into Byzantium (Constantinople) and from there to the
Holy Land. Later, beginning at the end of the 14th century it
helped the Ottoman Turks gain access to western and central
Europe. In the 19th century it became an essential link between
the growing industrial centers of Germany and the agrarian areas
of the Balkans.
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