Danube
"Danube" is an Old European river name derived from a Proto-Indo-European "*dānu". Other river names from the same root include the Dunaj, Dzvina/Daugava, Don, Donets, Dnieper, Dniestr, Dysna, Tana and Tuoni. In Rigvedic Sanskrit, "dānu" means "fluid, drop", in Avestan, the same word means "river". In the Rigveda, "Dānu" once appears as the mother of Vrtra, "a dragon blocking the course of the rivers." The Finnish word for Danube is Tonava, which is most likely derived from the word for the river in Swedish and German, "Donau". Its Sámi name "Deatnu" means "Great River". It is possible that "dānu" in Scythian as in Avestan was a generic word for "river": "Dnieper" and "Dniestr", from "Danapris" and "Danastius", are presumed to continue Scythian "*dānu apara" "far river" and "*dānu nazdya-" "near river", respectively.
Wien Nordwestbahnhof
In the period before the regulation of the winding Danube, the territory was still unspoilt because of the recurring floods. In 1614, Emperor Matthias had built a small castle for hunting in the Wolfsau (older name of Brigittenau), a part of the former imperial hunting area, which at that time was still an untouched landscape. The area was not only unsafe because of the water, but also military. During the Second Vienna Turkish siege in 1683, the facilities in Augarten were destroyed.
The growth of the city of Vienna also made the tributaries of the river more important for shipping. The station grounds are located in the area of the Fahnenstangenwasser (flagpole water). At this branch of the Danube timber delivered via the river was unloaded. The flagpoles showed the landing stages to the ships and rafts. The site was a peripheral area of the Augarten belonging to the 2nd district. At that time, the Nordwestbahnstraße was still called Augartendamm. The branch of the Danube disappeared with the regulation of the Danube from 1868 onwards. Thus land was won for the station and industrial companies. In the middle of the 19th century due to the lower taxes and the lack of space, public amusement opportunities were established outside the city walls. The area was also popular for carrying out illegal dogfights of rich industrial sons. There were also large amusement centres. The most famous was the "Universum". The owner Ferdinand Bachmaier (1826-1903) demanded the enormous sum of 100,000 Austro-Hungarian gulden as compensation for the railway construction.