Danube River Iron gates Serbia (July 2018) The Danube is the second largest river on the European continent, the only bigger river is the Volga. The Danube springs in the Black Forest in south Germany and flows into the Black Sea. On its 2 860 km long route, the Danube flows through 10 countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine). The Danube flows through Serbia for a total of 588 km. The Danube is a river that charming with its beauty throughout its course but if we have to single out the most beautiful part then it is certainly the Djerdap Gorge.
It is the longest gorge in Europe with its 100 km length. Djerdap is today a national park that mostly covers the gorge. The Danube has always been an important European communication. Since the Roman occupation of present-day Serbia, the Danube has become a frontier (Limes), dividing the rich Roman provinces (the civilized world) from the Barbaricum (the other side inhabited by numerous barbarian tribes). Roman limes resisted the attacks of barbarians for almost V centuries, and how important he was, we know that because the Romans build numerous fortifications on the Danube.
Serbia and Romania are honored to have the widest and narrowest places on the border of these two countries (6.5 km in Golubac and 140 m in Kazan). In the same section, we call the Kazan’s are where the Danube is deepest (90 m). There are two dams on this mighty river today, Djerdap I and Djerdap II.
Many river cruises sail across the Danube, passing through the Iron Gates and leaving their passengers breathless as they try to preserve the beautiful moments with the cameras while the mighty river cuts through the Carpathians. A visit of Kazan is often organized as a day trip to Tekija and then we take a boat to reach the most beautiful part of the gorge, where balloon stations were once needed to safely pass boats in the narrowest part of the river. Anyone who has sailed the Djerdap Gorge at least once has the beauty of the landscape created by the river as it passes through the mountain ranges.
