The Danube River

river · Europe · geography

Connects Ten Countries. The Danube is like a watery highway that connects or borders Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine, and Germany. No other European river brings together so many nations.

Four Capital Cities. Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade are all national capitals that sit right on the Danube's banks. These ancient cities grew powerful partly because of the river's importance for trade and travel.

Super Long Journey. The Danube stretches 2,850 kilometers (1,770 miles) as it flows southeast from the Black Forest in Germany all the way to the Black Sea. That makes it Europe's second-longest river after the Volga in Russia.

Roman Empire Border. Long ago, the Danube was the edge of the mighty Roman Empire. It acted like a natural wall that helped protect Roman lands from invaders coming from the north and east.

Huge Drainage Basin. The Danube collects water from 817,000 square kilometers of land spread across 19 different countries. This enormous catchment area feeds the river with water from mountains, forests, and plains across half of Europe.