Did you know..? Interesting facts about the Danube

Where is the source of the river Danube?

The Danube begins as a small mountain stream deep in the Black Forest near Donaueschingen, Germany. That small stream soon becomes the second largest river in Europe (the Volga is the largest one).

The Upper Danube is home for how many capital cities?

four: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Budapest (Hungary), and Belgrade (Serbia)—more than any other river in the world. 

Through how many countries does the Danube flow?

Ten: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine 

The length of the Danube:

1,777 miles

Where does it end?

In the Black Sea.

Did You Know?

• The Danube Delta was first declared a nature reserve in 1938 by the Council of Ministers and recognized as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1992. The area is home to 12 habit types, 300 bird species and 45 freshwater fish species.
• The Danube is mentioned in the title of a famous waltz by Austrian composer Johann Strauss, "An der schönen blauen Donau" (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), composed as Strauss was traveling down the Danube River. This piece is well known across the world and is also used widely as a lullaby. Listen to Herbert von Karajan conducting "An der schönen blauen Donau" with the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTqlLKBKFhg
• Another famous waltz about the Danube is "The Waves of the Danube" by the Romanian composer Ion Ivanovici (1845–1902), and the work took the audience by storm when performed at the 1889 Paris Exposition.
• The German tradition of landscape painting, the Danube school, was developed in the Danube valley in the 16th century.
• The Parliament House in Bucharest is the world's largest parliament building at a whopping 3.55 million square feet.
• The Blue Danube was the name of the first nuclear weapon of the British army.