The Danube ( ; see also other names) is a river in Europe, the second-longest after the Volga. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest of Germany south through the Danube Delta in Romania into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire. In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Its drainage basin amounts to and extends into nine more countries.
The Danube's longest headstream, the Breg, rises in Furtwangen im Schwarzwald, while the river carries its name from its source confluence in the palace park in Donaueschingen onwards. Since ancient times, the Danube has been a traditional trade route in Europe. Today, of its total length are navigable. The Danube is linked to the North Sea via the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, connecting the Danube at Kelheim with the Main at Bamberg. The river is also an important source of hydropower and drinking water.
The Danube river basin is home to such fish species as pike, zander, huchen, wels catfish, burbot and tench. It is also home to numerous diverse carp and sturgeon, as well as salmon and trout. A few species of euryhaline fish, such as European seabass, mullet, and eel, inhabit the Danube Delta and the lower portion of the river.
Names and etymology Today the river carries its name from its source confluence in Donaueschingen, Germany, to its discharge into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.
The river was known to the ancient Greeks as the () from a root possibly also encountered in the ancient name of the Dniester ( in Latin, in Greek) and akin to Iranic 'swift' and Sanskrit () 'swift', from the PIE , 'to flow'.
In the Middle Ages, the Greek was borrowed into Italian as and into Turkic languages as ; the latter was further borrowed into Romanian as a regionalism ().
The Thraco-Phrygian name was , "the bringer of luck".
The Middle Mongolian name for the Danube was transliterated as Tho-na in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat.
The modern languages spoken in the Danube basin all use names derived from the Latin name :
LanguageNamePronunciation (IPA)Flow sequenceLatinDanubius, DānuviusN/AGermanDonau 1 Germany 2 AustriaBavarianDoanaN/ASilesianDōnajN/AUpper SorbianDunajN/ACzechDunajN/ASlovakDunaj 3 SlovakiaPolishDunajN/AHungarianDuna 4 HungarySlovenianDonavaN/ASerbian Bosnian CroatianDunav / Дунав 5 Croatia6 SerbiaMacedonianДунавN/ARomanianDunăre,definite form Dunărea, 7 Romania9 MoldovaBulgarianДунав (Dúnav) 8 BulgariaUkrainianДунай (Dunáy)10 UkraineGreekΔούναβης (Doúnavis)N/AFrenchDanubeN/AItalianDanubioN/APortugueseDanúbioN/ASpanishDanubioN/ARussianДунай (Dunáy)N/ATurkishTunaN/ARomanshDanubiN/AAlbanianDanub,definite form: DanubiN/A
Etymology Danube is an Old European river name derived from the Celtic 'Danu' or 'Don'Triad 35. Bromwich, Trioedd Ynys Prydein, pp. 280–285. (both of them being Celtic deities), which itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European . Other European river names from the same root include the Dunajec, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr, Dysna and Tana/Deatnu. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, Danu (दनु) means "fluid, dewdrop" (which is also a Vedic goddess) and Danuja (दनुज) means "born from Danu" or "born from dewdrops". In Avestan, the word Dānu means "river". The Finnish word for Danube is , which is most likely derived from the name of the river in German, . Its Sámi name means "Great River". It is possible that in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": Dnieper and Dniestr, from Danapris and Danastius, are presumed to continue Scythian "far river" and "near river", respectively..
In Latin, the Danube was variously known as , , or Hister. The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovene (the name of the Rhine is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German (Early Modern German , , in e.g. in Spelling from the 17th century. Middle High German ) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the suffix -ouwe "wetland".
Romanian differs from other surrounding languages in designating the river with a feminine term, (). This form was not inherited from Latin, although Romanian is a Romance language. To explain the loss of the Latin name, scholars who suppose that Romanian developed near the large river propose that the Romanian name descends from a hypothetical Thracian . The Proto-Indo-European root of this presumed name is related to the Iranic word ""/"", while the supposed suffix is encountered in the ancient name of the Ialomița River, Naparis, and in the unidentified Miliare river mentioned by Jordanes in his Getica. Gábor Vékony says that this hypothesis is not plausible, because the Greeks borrowed the Istros form from the native Thracians. He proposes that the Romanian name is a loanword from a Turkic language (Cuman or Pecheneg).
Geography
Classified as an international waterway, it originates in the town of Donaueschingen, in the Black Forest of Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Brigach and Breg. The Danube then flows southeast for about , passing through four capital cities (Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade) before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.
International status Once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire, the river passes through or touches the borders of 10 countries. Its drainage basin extends into nine more (ten if Kosovo is included).
Flowseq.CountryBasinareaLocalnamePoints of interest1Germany7%DonauDonaueschingen – source2Austria10%Vienna – capital3Slovakia5.9%DunajBratislava – capital4Hungary11.6%DunaBudapest – capital5Croatia4.4%Dunav6Serbia10.2%Belgrade – capital7Romania29%DunăreaDanube Delta – Black Sea8Bulgaria5.9%Дунав9Moldova1.6%Dunărea10Ukraine3.8%ДунайDanube Delta – Black Sea
Drainage basin In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the drainage basin includes parts of nine more countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.6% of the basin area), the Czech Republic (2.9%), Slovenia (2.0%), Montenegro (0.9%), Switzerland (0.2%), Italy (<0.15%), Poland (<0.1%), North Macedonia (<0.1%) and Albania (<0.1%). The total drainage basin is in area, and is home to 83 million people. The highest point of the drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina at the Italy–Switzerland border, at . The Danube river basin is divided into three main parts, separated by "gates" where the river is forced to cut through mountainous sections: Upper Basin, from the headwaters to the Devín Gate. Middle Basin, usually called the Pannonian Basin or Carpathian Basin, between the Devín Gate and the Iron Gates. It includes the Hungarian plains Kisalföld and Alföld. Lower Basin, from the Iron Gates to the river mouth, including the Danube Delta.
Discharge
+Year Mean annual discharge in m3/s (cu ft/s)ReniIsacceaSilistraPristolBatinaBezdanNagymaros SzobBratislavaWolfsthalUntergries-bach20002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025Source:
+Station Discharge (m3/s)Discharge (cu ft/s)MinMeanMaxMinMeanMaxCeatal Izmail1,8896,48914,673Reni, Isaccea1,8056,56414,820Zimnicea, Svishtov1,4116,01814,510Orșova1,6725,57213,324Veliko Gradište1,4615,55014,152Pančevo1,4545,31013,080Bogojevo9592,8898,153Bezdan, Batina7492,3537,043Mohács6672,3367,227Nagymaros, Szob6282,3337,057Bratislava6332,0597,324Vienna5061,9176,062Krems an der Donau5961,8455,986Linz4681,4514,783Hofkirchen2116381,943Regensburg1284441,330Ingolstadt83312965Ulm638153Source: + Period (CE) Scenario P T Q S mm in °C °F m3/s cu ft/s metric tons(millions) short tons(millions) LIA 1530–1540 Cool/dry 1650–1660 Cool/wet 1709–1719 Warm/wet 1770–1780 Warm/dry Modern 1940–1950 Cool/dry 1960–1970 Cool/wet 1975–1985 Warm/wet 1990–2000 Warm/dry P – Simulated average precipitation in the Danube basin; T – Simulated average temperature in the Danube basin; Q – Simulated average discharge in the river Danube at delta; S – Simulated sediment load in the river Danube at delta;Source:
Discharge chronology
+ Historical average flow to the present day; Measured and reconstructed average water flows from 1742. The reconstructed and observed streamflow (Q – m3/s) at Ceatal Izmail for the 1742 to 2025. Year m3/s cu ft/sYear m3/s cu ft/sYear m3/s cu ft/sYear m3/s cu ft/sYear m3/s cu ft/sYear m3/s cu ft/sVery lowLowNormalHighVery high Normal: 5,500–7,200 m³/s • Low: 4,500–5,500 m³/s • Very low: 3,340–4,500 m³/s • High: 7,200–9,000 m³/s • Very high: 9,000–10,700 m³/s;Reconstructed17421751176117711781179117431752176217721782179217441753176317731783179317451754176417741784179417461755176517751785179517471756176617761786179617481757176717771787179717491758176817781788179817501759176917791789179917601770178017901800180118111821183118411851180218121822183218421852180318131823183318431853180418141824183418441854180518151825183518451855180618161826183618461856180718171827183718471857180818181828183818481858180918191829183918491859181018201830184018501860186118711881189119011911186218721882189219021912186318731883189319031913186418741884189419041914186518751885189519051915186618761886189619061916186718771887189719071917186818781888189819081918186918791889189919091919187018801890190019101920Observed19211931194119511961197119221932194219521962197219231933194319531963197319241934194419541964197419251935194519551965197519261936194619561966197619271937194719571967197719281938194819581968197819291939194919591969197919301940195019601970198019811991200120112021198219922002201220221983199320032013202319841994200420142024 1985199520052015202519861996200620162026 19871997200720172027 19881998200820182028 19891999200920192029 19902000201020202030 Multiannual average discharge 1742 to 2025: ~ Source:
Tributaries
The land drained by the Danube extends into many other countries. Many Danubian tributaries are important rivers in their own right, navigable by barges and other shallow-draught boats. From its source to its outlet into the Black Sea, its main tributaries are (as they enter):
Iller (entering at Ulm) Lech Altmühl (entering at Kelheim) Naab (entering at Regensburg) Regen (entering at Regensburg) Isar Inn (entering at Passau) Ilz (entering at Passau) Enns (entering at Enns) Morava (entering near Devín Castle) Rába (entering at Győr) Váh (entering at Komárno) Hron (entering at Štúrovo) Ipeľ Sió Drava (entering near Osijek) Vuka (entering at Vukovar) Tisza (entering near Titel) Sava (entering at Belgrade) Timiș (entering at Pančevo) Great Morava (entering near Smederevo) Mlava (entering near Kostolac) Karaš (entering near Banatska Palanka) Jiu (entering at Bechet) Iskar (entering near Gigen) Olt (entering at Turnu Măgurele) Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria) Yantra (entering near Svishtov) Argeș (entering at Oltenița) Ialomița Siret (entering near Galați) Prut (entering near Galați)
Gallery
Cities and towns
The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals (shown below in bold), more than any other river in the world. Ordered from source to mouth they are: Germany Donaueschingen in the State of Baden-Württemberg – rivers Brigach and Breg join to form the Danube Möhringen an der Donau in Baden-Württemberg Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg Sigmaringen in Baden-Württemberg Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg Munderkingen in Baden-Württemberg Ehingen in Baden-Württemberg Erbach, Baden-Württemberg in Baden-Württemberg Ulm in Baden-Württemberg Neu-Ulm in Bavaria Günzburg in Bavaria Dillingen an der Donau in Bavaria