List of tributaries of the Danube
The Danube is Europe's second-longest river. It starts in the Black Forest in Germany as two smaller rivers—the Brigach and the Breg—which join at Donaueschingen, and it is from here that it is known as the Danube, flowing generally eastwards for a distance of some , passing through several Central and Eastern European capitals, before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania.
Danube-Auen National Park
Until the 19th century the Danube was an untamed river. In the 19th century, extensive engineering began to alter the natural balance of the river landscape dramatically. Many side-channels were dammed so that they now carry water from the Danube only at flood stages. Ever more intrusive engineering interventions were accompanied by decades of heavy forestry use in many parts of lowland forests. In the 1950s, development began of an nearly unbroken chain of hydroelectric power plants and associated dams on the Austrian section of the Danube River.