The
Danube (Donau in German; Dunaj in Slovak; Donava in Slovene;
Duna in Hungarian; Dunav in Croatian and Serbian; Dunav
in Bulgarian; Dunare in Romanian; Dunay in Ukrainian;
Danuvius in Latin is Europe's second-longest river (after
the Volga). It rises in the Black Forest in Germany as
two smaller rivers – the Brigach and the Breg –
which join at Donaueschingen, and it is from here that
it is known as the Danube, flowing south-eastwards for
a distance of some 2850 km (1771 miles) before emptying
into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania. The
Danube has been an important international waterway for
centuries, as it remains today. Known to history as one
of the long-standing frontiers of the Roman Empire, the
river flows through – or forms a part of the borders
of – ten countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia,
Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova,
and Ukraine. |
