Flowing through History: The legacy of the Danube River

by Laura Chavanne from Currents

It is known as the most “multinational” river in the world, touching ten different countries and passing through four capital cities. It is the second-longest river in Europe (after the Volga), covering more than 1,700 miles from the Black Forest in Germany to the Black Sea in Romania. And ever since Roman times, it has served as both a connector of cultures and a physical boundary between them—facilitating both trade and transport and the preservation of cultural diversity.

More than just the place where “East meets West,” the Danube River is home to a unique mélange of historical influence that spans nearly 2,000 years.

The rise and fall of Rome

At the height of the Roman Empire, a series of fortifications known as the Limes Germanicus (Latin for “Germanic Frontier”) separated the Roman civilization from the so-called “barbarian” Germanic tribes who lived to the north. The creation of this boundary began around AD 9, when Emperor Augustus was shaken by a devastating Roman defeat at the hands of Germanic warriors.

By the third century AD, the Danube marked Rome’s northernmost border—but the empire was already in decline. Some Germanic tribes were permitted to settle south of the river, within Roman territory—but this initial attempt at diplomacy eventually gave way to revolts. Between AD 400 and 454, a wave of Germanic invasions crossed the Danube and infiltrated the weakened empire, which greatly contributed to its complete collapse by AD 476.

Today, the remains of the Limes Germanicus can still be seen along the banks of the Danube. In the center of Regensburg, the ruins of the Porto Praetoria are among the largest remaining Roman constructions in Germany. Dating from AD 179, this gate once marked the path from the Danube River into the Castra Regina military camp. Such dramatic physical evidence may not exist in the great cities of Vienna, Belgrade, and Budapest—yet they all grew out of Roman settlements on the Danube.

Commerce and conquerors

In September 2012, Hungarian archaeologists discovered a curious object at the bottom of the Danube, about 18 miles north of Budapest. Partially buried in mud near the riverbank was the form of a sunken ship—and a medieval-era pot was found among the wreckage. While the wreck has yet to be excavated, archaeologists are hopeful that its contents will offer new insight as to the nature of traffic and commerce along the Danube during the Middle Ages.

Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Danube became an important trade route that connected first the Byzantines and later the Ottomans with the kingdoms of Western Europe. It also offered Western Crusaders a pathway to the Holy Land via the Black Sea. And until the 19th century, it was a crucial naval channel for various Central European empires and nations. The Treaties of Paris and Versailles—in 1856 and 1919, respectively—recognized the waterway’s significance, promoting free navigation along the river and establishing it as an international waterway.

While it’s rare today for a river to be considered international waters, the Danube still retains this designation. All of the countries it flows through or borders—in particular, the otherwise landlocked nations of Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia—rely on the Danube for fishing, hydropower, irrigation, and freight. In the 20th century, two canals were completed to help facilitate traffic on the Danube: the Danube-Black Sea Canal, which provided a more direct route to the Black Sea through Romania in 1984; and the Main-Danube Canal, which linked the Danube with the Rhine via Germany in 1992.

Taming the rapids

The German poet Friedrich Hölderlin famously wrote of the Danube’s changing personality, calling it “a refreshing, melodious river, sometimes foaming with high spirits, at other times dreaming serenely.” Until the 19th century, its spirits foamed notably higher than they do today. A series of dams, locks, and artificial channels has helped to tame its wilder passages—with the most ambitious located along the border between Romania and Serbia.

This channel between the Carpathian and Balkan mountains once threatened sailors with areas of rapids that roiled between narrow gorges. Begun in 1964 and completed in 1984, the Iron Gates hydroelectric project raised the water level by 130 feet. Two dams and two hydroelectric power stations flank this swollen section of river that now flows peacefully through spectacular gorges—which may not be as dramatic as they were before the project, but are beautiful nonetheless.

Connectors of cultures

Just as the Danube is known as the queen of Europe’s rivers, Budapest is the undisputed Queen of the Danube. A first-century Roman settlement that later played host to Huns, Mongols, and Turks, Budapest is one of Europe’s oldest cities—but in a sense, it is also one of the youngest. Modern Budapest didn’t exist until 1873, when historic Buda on the west bank of the Danube joined with industrial Pest on the east under the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. From World War II to Soviet occupation and the fall of the Iron Curtain, the city has seen riots and revolution, reclamation and resurrection.

And just as the Danube flows peacefully today, Budapest has thrived under democracy. It is celebrated as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities, and an emerging industrial and economic center.

In many ways, the city is a microcosm of the river that flows through it: a cultural connector, linking Eastern and Western Europe … bringing together historical influences from ancient times to the present … and flowing steadily toward the future.