Which countries the Danube crosses

The Danube is a unique river, silent witness to European history, which inspired writers, musicians and painters. The Danube River covers a total of ten European countries, its waters are born in Germany and reach Romania, ending at the Black Sea, where there is a biosphere reserve. This European river is certainly exceptional but, nevertheless, it does not receive the care it deserves. If you want to know more about this river, read this article from .com, in which we tell you which countries the Danube goes through, what its history has been and why its good state is in danger.

The 10 countries that the Danube crosses

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe, second only to the Volga, a river that crosses the Russian Federation. The course of this river passes through ten countries, specifically the 10 countries that crosses the Danube are the following:

  1. Germany
  2. Austria
  3. Slovakia
  4. Hungary
  5. Croatia
  6. Serbia
  7. Bulgaria
  8. Ukraine
  9. Moldova
  10. Romania

But that is not all, since the path of its basin has reached Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Italy.

The Danube river is a unique river but named differently according to the country, runs almost 2900 km, from its source in the mountain range of the Black Forest of Germany to empty into the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. The Germans call it Donau, in Slovenia they know it as Donava river, while in Croatia they call it Dunav. You will wonder what is the origin of 'Danubio', this name that is more familiar to us. Although there is no conclusive answer, everything indicates that it comes from the term 'danu', which in Celtic languages ​​means to fly.

In its long journey, the river crosses four beautiful European capitals: Budapest (Hungary), Bratislava (Slovakia), Belgrade (Serbia) and Vienna (Austria). Precisely the passage of this river through Austrian lands inspired the most famous waltz of all time: The Blue Danube, composed by Johann Strauss in the year 1867.

The Danube in history

In addition to knowing which countries the Danube crosses, it is good to know something about its history. If we go back to antiquity, before the birth of Christ, the Danube River already played a fundamental role due to its long route and the richness of its waters. In that sense, it was vital in the development of peoples and cultures such as Vinka and Vucedol, in central and southern Europe. Then, around 200 AD along with other major rivers, such as the Rhine, it was part of what we know as "natural borders" of what was the Roman Empire, until the fourth century AD. At that time, on its banks numerous fortifications used by Germanic peoples to prevent the Roman advance.

In addition, the Danube River served as the natural route of the Crusades (religious military campaigns led by the Pope), in order to access the Middle East, where the Holy Land is located, more quickly. But it was not only the crossed armies that used the Danube to move, but also numerous nomadic peoples as well as armies from feudal to imperial times. This river was a silent witness of battles, wars and invasions.

Historians point out that over the centuries the different countries that are crossed by the Danube have acted as masters of their waters. For that ambition and to preserve the integrity of the Danube, in modern times two treaties have been signed: the first in Paris, in 1856 and then the Treaty of Versailles, in 1919. Later a special body was created, responsible for veiling for the good state of the Danube, it is the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube (CIPD), created in 1998 .

Nowadays the river offers water for around 10 million Europeans and by its characteristics it serves as a route for the commerce of the whole continent.

The care of the Danube

Without fear of making mistakes we could say that the Danube river is a plurinational river like few others. Its long route culminates in the Black Sea, on the coasts of Romania and it is there, in that final stretch, where the Danube Delta is formed, a region that has a unique ecological value in Europe. In the delta of the Danube there are marshes and marshes with little or no human population, which due to its characteristics has received the recognition of Unesco, the United Nations Organization for Science and Culture, declaring it a biosphere reserve in 1990.

But despite this recognition and the creation of the ICPD, the river suffers a very high degree of pollution, the most serious in its history. The University of Vienna revealed in 2014 that the Danube is used as a deposit for industrial remains, especially plastics. More than 4 tons of waste per day go to the Black Sea due to industrial irresponsibility and the inaction of the countries involved.

Two of the main culprits, according to the report, are Germany and Austria, where the extensive Danube route starts and begins. In these two countries, large industries throw the waste from their production into the waters of the Danube with impunity. This not only represents a danger to human life, but also to a wide variety of fish and other species that confuse plastic waste with food.

In total, 1, 500 tons of all types of industrial waste run through the waters of the Danube, until they reach the Black Sea. The report says that this fact affects no less than 80 million human beings. But until now nobody has taken charge of this and the contamination continues.

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