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61-615: In the 1920s, the Czechoslovakian naval forces operated river craft inherited from the Austro-Hungarian Empire . These being obsolescent, in the late 1920s plans were made to build two new large river patrol craft. Only one of these, President Masaryk , was built. The design of President Masaryk was based on the Austrian monitor Catfish ( German : Wels ). It was designed at the Škoda Works and built at

122-579: A convoy , the vessel was damaged by planes of the Red Air Force . After repairs, it was returned to service at Visegrád , Hungary. Later it returned to Linz, where (since 66 mm ammunition was no longer being manufactured) its four 66-millimetre (2.6 in) guns were replaced with two 88-millimetre (3.5 in) naval guns with light shields. Bechelaren then participated in combat operations in Yugoslavia and Hungary. In 1944 it supported

183-515: A hypothetical Thracian * Donaris . The Proto-Indo-European root of this presumed name is related to the Iranic word " don- "/" dan- ", while the supposed suffix -aris 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

244-626: A small part of its border), its naval forces were small and consisted only of riverine craft operating on the Danube (and briefly on the upper Elbe ). The Czechoslovak Legion in the Russian Far East possessed in 1918 a maritime section of two steamers and an icebreaker , based at Vladivostok , which were used for transport. Later that same year the Legion seized two steamers on Lake Baikal , which were armed with howitzers . Engaging with

305-535: Is 4,152 km (1,603 sq mi), of which 3,446 km (1,331 sq mi) are in Romania. If one includes the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1,015 km (392 sq mi) of which 865 km (334 sq mi) water surface), which are located south of the delta proper, but are related to it geologically and ecologically (their combined territory is part of the World Heritage Site),

366-664: 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. 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

427-612: Is divided into three main parts, separated by "gates" where the river is forced to cut through mountainous sections: Mean annual discharge on the hydrological stations (period from 2000 to 2023); 1 - Reni , Isaccea ; 2 - Silistra ; 3 - Pristol ; 4 - Batina , Bezdan ; 5 - Nagymaros , Szob ; 6 - Bratislava , Wolfsthal ; 7 - Untergriesbach Multiannual average, minimum and maximum discharge (water period from 1876 to 2010) Simulated water and suspended sediment results from climate-driven decadal study (with STD through specific decade): P – Simulated average precipitation in

488-604: Is estimated that the Danube upper course will one day disappear entirely in favor of the Rhine, an event called stream capturing . The hydrological parameters of Danube are regularly monitored in Croatia at Batina , Dalj , Vukovar and Ilok . The Danube basin was the site of some of the earliest human cultures. The Danubian Neolithic cultures include the Linear Pottery cultures of the mid-Danube basin. Many sites of

549-686: Is to implement the Danube River Protection Convention by promoting and coordinating sustainable and equitable water management, including conservation, improvement, and rational use of waters and the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the Danube Strategy . The Danube Commission is concerned with the maintenance and improvement of the river's navigation conditions. It was established in 1948 by seven countries bordering

610-701: The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodos (Argon. IV. 282). At the end of the Okeanos Potamos , is the holy island of Alba (Leuke, Pytho Nisi, Isle of Snakes ), sacred to the Pelasgian (and later, Greek) Apollo, greeting the sun rising in the east. Hecateus Abderitas refers to Apollo's island from the region of the Hyperboreans, in the Okeanos. It was on Leuke, in one version of his legend, that

671-470: The Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine . 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). In addition to the bordering countries (see above), the drainage basin includes parts of nine more countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina (4.6% of

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732-576: The Bystroye Canal . In 2022, there was a major heat wave in Europe. As a result, there was less water flowing in the rivers. As the water level decreased, a number of ship wrecks from World War II emerged in the Danube River. Many of the ships were from Nazi Germany 's Black Sea Fleet and had been scuttled to stop them from falling into enemy hands. The International Commission for

793-588: The Celtic ' danu ' or ' don ' (both Celtic gods), which itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European * deh₂nu . Other European river names from the same root include the Dunaj, Dzvina/ Daugava , Don , Donets , Dnieper , Dniestr , Dysna and Tana/Deatnu . In Rigvedic Sanskrit , danu (दनु) means "fluid, dewdrop" and danuja (दनु-ज) means "born from danu " or "born from dew-drops". In Avestan ,

854-758: The Danube River from its base in Bratislava for the rest of the First Czechoslovak Republic's existence. President Masaryk was the only Czechoslovakian ship able to match the best ships of the other Danubian powers ( Yugoslavia , Romania, and Hungary) in the 1930s. After the German invasion of 1939, the ship was used by the Germans. Until 1941 it was based in Linz and continued to patrol

915-713: The Danubian Limes was the northeastern border of the Empire, with occasional interruptions such as the fall of the Danubian Limes in 259. The crossing of the Danube into Dacia was achieved by the Imperium Romanum , first in two battles in 102 and then in 106 after the construction of a bridge in 101 near the garrison town of Drobeta at the Iron Gate. This victory over Dacia under Decebalus enabled

976-787: The Red Army based on the port of Mysovaya , Legion naval forces sank the icebreaker Baikal . By 1920, though, the Legion was finished as a military force in Russia. At first, the First Czechoslovak Republic operated river craft inherited from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From 1919 until 1921 the Czechoslovak naval forces consisted of an Elbe Section (based at Litoměřice ) and a Danube Section (based at Bratislava ). These sections were separated,

1037-431: The Danube basin; T – Simulated average temperature in the Danube basin; Q – Simulated average discharge in the Danube River at delta; S – Simulated sediment load in the Danube River at delta ; Historical average flow to the present day; Measured and reconstructed average water flows from 1742. The reconstructed and observed streamflow (Q – m /s) at Ceatal Izmail for the 1742 to 2022: The land drained by

1098-1040: 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): 18. Tisza (entering near Titel ) 19. Sava (entering at Belgrade ) 20. Timiș (river) (entering at Pančevo ) 21. Great Morava (entering near Smederevo ) 22. Mlava (entering near Kostolac ) 23. Karaš (entering near Banatska Palanka ) 24. Jiu (entering at Bechet ) 25. Iskar (entering near Gigen ) 26. Olt (entering at Turnu Măgurele ) 27. Osam (entering near Nikopol, Bulgaria ) 28. Yantra (entering near Svishtov ) 29. Argeș (entering at Oltenița ) 30. Ialomița 31. Siret (entering near Galați ) 32. Prut (entering near Galați ) The Danube flows through many cities, including four national capitals (shown below in bold), more than any other river in

1159-641: The Danube has been a traditional trade route in Europe. Today, 2,415 km (1,501 mi) 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

1220-643: The Danube was variously known as Danubius , Danuvius , Ister 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 Donau ( Early Modern German Donaw , Tonaw , Middle High German Tuonowe ) is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing

1281-610: The Danube's, today subsurface rivers carry much water from the Danube to the Rhine. On many days in the summer, when the Danube carries little water, it completely oozes away noisily into these underground channels at two locations in the Swabian Alb, which are referred to as the Donauversickerung ( Danube Sink ). Most of this water resurfaces only 12 km (7.5 mi) south at the Aachtopf , Germany's wellspring with

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1342-574: The Danube. In 1941 it was transferred downriver to the area of Yugoslavia (which had been overrun by the Germans). In 1943 the vessel was returned to Linz and underwent extensive modernization. The hull was lengthened by 30 centimetres (12 in), the shape of the stern was changed, and new machinery was installed, with the boilers and engines replaced with two MAN submarine diesel engines with an output of 1,800 horsepower (1,300 kW) each. The stacks were removed and replaced with exhaust pipes on

1403-522: The Danube. Today the Commission include riparian and non-riparian states. Although the headwaters of the Danube are relatively small today, geologically, the Danube is much older than the Rhine , with which its catchment area competes in today's southern Germany. This has a few interesting geological complications. Since the Rhine is the only river rising in the Alps mountains which flows north towards

1464-621: The Elbe and Danube not being connected. The larger ships were deployed on the Danube, the Elbe section being more suited to transport, reconnaissance, and engineering support roles rather than combat. In 1921 these sections were consolidated by eliminating the Elbe section. The remaining (Danube) section was placed under the 4th Engineer Regiment. This Danube flotilla consisted of a headquarters section, bridging engineer section, transport section, mine warfare section, replacement section, and arsenal. The old Austrian craft being considered obsolescent by

1525-643: The German counterattack toward Budapest and at Melk in Austria it fought Soviet gunboats . This was Bechelaren ' s last combat mission. On May 11, 1945, Bechelaren ' s crew surrendered the ship to the United States Army in Linz. In 1947 the ship was returned (without weapons) to Czechoslovakia and taken to Bratislava, where in 1951 it was restored to working condition, but was never re-armed. The Czechoslovakian Army having no further use for

1586-753: 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 ). 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 2,730 km (1,700 mi), passing through four capital cities ( Vienna , Bratislava , Budapest , and Belgrade ) before emptying into

1647-731: The North Sea, an invisible line beginning at Piz Lunghin divides large parts of southern Germany, which is sometimes referred to as the European Watershed . Before the last ice age in the Pleistocene , the Rhine started at the southwestern tip of the Black Forest, while the waters from the Alps that today feed the Rhine were carried east by the so-called Urdonau (original Danube). Parts of this ancient river's bed, which

1708-610: The Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is an organization that consists of 14 member states (Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine) and the European Union . The commission, established in 1998, deals with the whole Danube river basin, which includes tributaries and groundwater resources. Its goal

1769-648: The Province of Dacia to be created, but in 271 it was abandoned by emperor Aurelian . Avars used the river as their southeastern border in the 6th century. Part of the rivers Danubius or Istros was also known as (together with the Black Sea) the Okeanos in ancient times, being called the Okeanos Potamos (Okeanos River). The lower Danube was also called the Keras Okeanoio (Gulf or Horn of Okeanos) in

1830-702: The Serbian and the Romanian stretches of the Danube. However, the transgressions may not be considered acts of piracy, as defined according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , but rather instances of "river robbery". On the other hand, media reports say the crews on transport ships often steal and sell their own cargo and then blame the plundering on "pirates", and the alleged attacks are not piracy but small-time contraband theft along

1891-610: 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 801,463 km (309,447 sq mi) 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 4,049 m (13,284 ft). The Danube River Basin

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1952-471: The distance to the Black Sea by 400 km (250 mi); the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal is about 171 km (106 mi), finished in 1992, linking the North Sea to the Black Sea. A Danube-Aegean canal has been proposed. Danube River cruise for sightseeing is popular, especially between Passau , Germany, to Budapest , Hungary. In 2010–12, shipping companies, especially from Ukraine, claimed that their vessels suffered from "regular pirate attacks " on

2013-755: The gorge) by the Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station . On 13 April 2006, a record peak discharge at Iron Gate Dam reached 15,400 m /s (540,000 cu ft/s). There are three artificial waterways built on the Danube: the Danube-Tisa-Danube Canal (DTD) in the Banat and Bačka regions ( Vojvodina , northern province of Serbia); the 64 km (40 mi) Danube-Black Sea Canal , between Cernavodă and Constanța (Romania) finished in 1984, shortens

2074-533: The hero Achilles was buried (to this day, one of the mouths of the Danube is called Chilia). Old Romanian folk songs recount a white monastery on a white island with nine priests. Between the late 14th and late 19th centuries, the Ottoman Empire competed first with the Kingdom of Serbia , Second Bulgarian Empire , Kingdom of Hungary , Principality of Wallachia , Principality of Moldavia and later with

2135-423: The highest flow, an average of 8,500 L/s (300 cu ft/s), north of Lake Constance —thus feeding the Rhine. The European Water Divide applies only for those waters that pass beyond this point, and only during the days of the year when the Danube carries enough water to survive the sinkholes in the Donauversickerung. Since such large volumes of underground water erode much of the surrounding limestone, it

2196-405: The late 1920s, plans were made to build two new large river monitors . One of these, President Masaryk , was built, being commissioned in 1932. With four 66-millimetre (2.6 in) guns, President Masaryk was the flagship and most powerful ship of the Danube flotilla. President Masaryk was the only Czechoslovak ship able, to some degree, to match the best ships of the more powerful fleets of

2257-482: The latter was further borrowed into Romanian as a regionalism ( Turlă ). The Thraco- Phrygian name was Matoas , "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 Danubius : Danube is an Old European river name derived from

2318-726: The members of the Warsaw Pact signed a resolution whereby defense of the Danube was given over to the Soviet Navy's Danube Flotilla . In 1959 the Czechoslovak naval forces were disbanded, and the inland waters security forces were transferred to the Ministry of the Interior, forming a naval contingent of the Border Guard Service. Ottokar Prohaska, fictional protagonist of John Biggins 's Ottokar Prohaska novels,

2379-430: The naval forces was the former Sicherungsboot 43 (English: Security Boat 43 ), inherited from the Germans. This vessel was armed with a 75-millimetre (3.0 in) gun in a Panzer IV medium tank turret, and four 20mm anti-aircraft guns. In 1950 the 52nd Maritime Regiment was formed at Bratislava, and the 14th Naval Engineer Battalion was subsumed into this unit. Further reorganization occurred in 1957. By this time it

2440-409: The northern barbarian Thracian and Illyrian tribes by advancing from Macedonia as far as the Danube in 336 BCE. Under the Romans, the Danube formed the border of the Empire with the tribes to the north almost from its source to its mouth. At the same time, it was a route for the transport of troops and the supply of settlements downstream. From 37 CE to the reign of the Emperor Valentinian I (364–375)

2501-441: The other Danubian powers ( Yugoslavia , Romania , and Hungary ) in the 1930s. The flotilla also included various other craft. The gunboats MD-1 and MD-2 , originally ordered for Austria-Hungary as torpedo retrievers , were equipped with 2 single mount Škoda 75-millimetre (3.0 in) cannon, two machine guns, and mines. The OMH class launches were also ordered by Austria but not completed until 1924; their only armament

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2562-411: The river are four national capitals: Vienna , Bratislava , Budapest , and Belgrade . Its drainage basin amounts to 817,000 km (315,000 sq mi) and extends into nine more countries. The Danube's longest headstream 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,

2623-465: The river has been part of a trans-European waterway from Rotterdam on the North Sea to Sulina on the Black Sea, a distance of 3,500 km (2,200 mi). In 1994 the Danube was declared one of ten Pan-European transport corridors , routes in Central and Eastern Europe that required major investment over the following ten to fifteen years. The amount of goods transported on the Danube increased to about 100 million tons in 1987. In 1999, transport on

2684-481: The river was made difficult by the NATO bombing of three bridges in Serbia during the Kosovo War . Clearance of the resulting debris was completed in 2002, and a temporary pontoon bridge that hampered navigation was removed in 2005. At the Iron Gate , the Danube flows through a gorge that forms part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania; it contains the Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station dam, followed at about 60 km (37 mi) downstream (outside

2745-426: The river. The Danube Delta ( Romanian : Delta Dunării pronounced [ˈdelta ˈdunərij] ; Ukrainian : Дельта Дунаю , romanized :  Del'ta Dunayu ) is the largest river delta in the European Union . The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odesa Oblast). The approximate surface

2806-443: The river. Members include representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Serbia; it meets regularly twice a year. It also convenes groups of experts to consider items provided for in the commission's working plans. The commission dates to the Paris Conferences of 1856 and 1921, which established for the first time an international regime to safeguard free navigation on

2867-491: The same word means "river". The Finnish word for Danube is Tonava , which is most likely derived from the name of the river in German , Donau . Its Sámi name Deatnu means "Great River". It is possible that dānu in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": Dnieper and Dniestr , from Danapris and Danastius , are presumed to continue Scythian * dānu apara "far river" and * dānu nazdya- "near river", respectively. In Latin,

2928-400: The ship did not perform to specifications, so it was returned to the shipyard for major modifications. Among other changes, the single stack was replaced with dual stacks, one for each engine. These modifications being completed, and the ship's speed increased from 13.8 knots (25.6 km/h) to 16.7 knots (30.9 km/h), President Masaryk was commissioned in 1932. After this it patrolled

2989-442: The sides of the vessel. The single rudder was replaced with two. Using space freed up by the changes in propulsion machinery, a quadruple mount with four 20 mm flak guns was installed. A separate 20 mm cannon on the stern was replaced with a 37 mm flak gun, and the machine gun turret at the front was removed. In 1944 Bechelaren was returned to duty on the lower Danube. On the night of April 5–6, 1944, while escorting

3050-427: The sixth-to-third millennium BCE Vinča culture (Vinča, Serbia), are sited along the Danube. The third millennium BCE Vučedol culture (from the Vučedol site near Vukovar , Croatia ) is famous for its ceramics. Darius the Great , king of Persia , crossed the river in the late 6th century BCE to invade European Scythia and to subdue the Scythians . Alexander the Great defeated the Triballian king Syrmus and

3111-415: The suffix -ouwe "wetland". Romanian differs from other surrounding languages in designating the river with a feminine term, Dunărea ( IPA: [ˈdunəre̯a] ). 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

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3172-490: The total area of the Danube Delta reaches 5,165 km (1,994 sq mi). The Danube Delta is also the best-preserved river delta in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1991) and a Ramsar Site . Its lakes and marshes support 45 freshwater fish species. Its wetlands support vast flocks of migratory birds of over 300 species, including the endangered pygmy cormorant ( Phalacrocorax pygmaeus ). These are threatened by rival canalization and drainage schemes such as

3233-441: The vessel, it was sold to the civilian sector in 1955. The hull then served as a hulk for storage and workshops at the Komárno Shipyard . In 1978 President Masaryk was scrapped . Czechoslovakian naval forces The Czechoslovak Naval Forces ( Československé válečné loďstvo ) were the naval arm of the former Czechoslovak state. Czechoslovakia being landlocked and with no large rivers flowing through it (the Danube formed

3294-431: The world. Ordered from the source to the mouth they are: The Danube is navigable by ocean ships from the Black Sea to Brăila in Romania (the maritime river sector), and further on by river ships to Kelheim , Bavaria , Germany; smaller craft can navigate further upstream to Ulm , Württemberg , Germany. About 60 of its tributaries are also navigable. Since the completion of the German Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in 1992,

3355-456: The Škoda shipyard in Komárno . The flat-bottomed hull was divided into 15 watertight compartments. Various Czechoslovakian (and other) companies contributed components to the vessel: Poldi Kladno supplied steel plates, the Škoda works at Plzeň the engines, and the Hamburg company Zeis the marine propellers. Yarrow boilers were installed on the vessel. The ship was laid down in August 1929 and launched in 1930 or 1931. Trials showed that

3416-479: Was clear that the main issue facing naval forces on the Czechoslovak Danube was not defense against external aggression, but preventing citizens from fleeing to Austria. Also by the late 1950s it was becoming evident that riverine forces, while suited to patrol duties on large backcountry rivers (such as in Africa or South America), would probably fare poorly in the crucible of a full-scale mechanized war, being particularly vulnerable to air forces. Accordingly, in 1958

3477-406: Was for a time Commander in Chief of the Czechoslovak Danube Flotilla. Danube The Danube ( / ˈ d æ n . j uː b / DAN -yoob ; see also other names ) is the second-longest river in Europe , after the Volga in Russia . It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe , from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea . A large and historically important river, it

3538-450: Was known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros ( Ἴστρος ) from a root possibly also encountered in the ancient name of the Dniester ( Danaster in Latin, Tiras in Greek) and akin to Iranic turos 'swift' and Sanskrit iṣiras ( इषिरस् ) 'swift', from the PIE * isro- , * sreu 'to flow'. In the Middle Ages, the Greek Tiras was borrowed into Italian as Tyrlo and into Turkic languages as Tyrla ;

3599-414: Was much larger than today's Danube, can still be seen in (now waterless) canyons in today's landscape of the Swabian Alb . After the Upper Rhine valley had been eroded, most waters from the Alps changed their direction and began feeding the Rhine. Today's upper Danube is thus an underfit stream . Since the Swabian Alb is largely shaped of porous limestone , and since the Rhine's level is much lower than

3660-401: 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 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria , Slovakia , Hungary , Croatia , Serbia , Romania , Bulgaria , Moldova , and Ukraine . Among the many cities on

3721-425: Was two machine guns. Two small minelayers were the last warships to be commissioned by the flotilla, the first entering service in 1938. The flotilla expired along with the Republic in 1939, and President Masaryk was pressed into service by the Germans in World War II. In 1946, the 14th Naval Engineer Battalion was created at Bratislava, with some minelayers and other vessels in its equipment. The largest boat in

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