Henry Trotter

“ After its junction with the Save the Danube follows a south-easterly direction for 200 m. until it is joined on the right bank of the Drave at Belgrade, above which it receives on the left bank the Theiss or Tisz., the largest of its Hungarian affluents. From Belgrade the Danube separates Hungary from Servia. It flows eastward until it has passed through the stupendous Kazan defile, in which its waters (at Semlin 1700 yds. wide and 40 ft. deep) are hemmed in by precipitous rocks to a width of only 162 yds., with a depth of 150 ft. ”

“ Six miles farther on is the Greben section, the most difficult part of the works of improvement. A spur of the Greben mountains runs out below two shoals where the river suddenly narrows to 300 yds. at low water, but presently widens to 11/2 m. Seven miles lower down are the Jucz Rapids, where the river-bed has a fall of 1 in 433. At the Iron Gates, 34 m. below the Greben, the Prigrada rocky bank nearly blocked the river at the point where it widens out after leaving the Kazan defile. The general object of the works was to obtain a navigable depth of water at all seasons of 2 metres (6.56 ft.) ”

“ Russia was also authorized to levy tolls intended to cover the expenses of any works of improvement that might be undertaken by her. Art. VII. of the same treaty declared that the regulations for navigation, river police, and superintendence drawn up on the 2nd of June 1882 by the European commission, assisted by the delegates of Servia and Bulgaria, should be made applicable to that part of the Danube situated between the Iron Gates and Braila. In consequence of Rumania’s opposition, the proposed Commission Mixte was never formed, and these regulations have never been put in force. ”

“ These have shortened the length of the Sulina canal by 11 nautical m., eliminated all the difficult bends and shoals, and provided an almost straight waterway 34 m. in length from Sulina to St George’s Chatal, with a minimum depth of 20 ft. when the river is at its lowest.
In the early days of the commission, i.e. from 1857 to 1860, the money spent on the works of improvement, amounting to about £150,000, was advanced as a loan by the then territorial power, Turkey ”

“ At this point it changes its direction to the south-east, and passing along the southern slopes of the Bavarian Forest enters Austria at Passau (height 800 ft.) . In its passage through Bavaria it receives several important affluents on both banks, notably on the right the Alpine rivers Lech, Isar and Inn, the last of which at the junction near Passau exceeds in volume the waters of the Danube. ”

“ Its effects are felt as far south as Sulina, and tend to necessitate the farther extension into the sea of the guiding piers of that port.
In the course of the 19th century, more especially during its latter half, much was done to render the Danube more available as a means of communication. In 1816 Austria and Bavaria made arrangements for the common utilization of the upper portion of the river, and since then both Navigation. governments have been liberal in expenditure on its improvement. In 1844 the Ludwigs Canal was constructed by King Louis of Bavaria. It is 110 m. in length and 7 ft. ”

“ From the Iron Gates down to Braila, which is the highest point to which large sea-going ships ascend the river, there have been no important works of improvement. From Braila to Sulina, a distance of about 100 m., the river falls under the jurisdiction of the European commission of the European commission of the Danube. Danube, an institution of such importance as to merit lengthened notice. It was called into existence under Art. ”

“ The canal was opened for traffic on the 1st of October 1898. It was designed of sufficient width, as was supposed, for the simultaneous passage of boats in opposite directions; but on account of the great velocity of the current this has been found to be impracticable. ”

“ G. B. Rennie, Suggestions for the Improvement of the Danube (1856) ; Sir C. A. Hartley, Description of the Delta of the Danube (1862 and 1874) ; Mémoire sur le régime administratif établi aux embouchures du Danube (Galatz, 1867) ; Desjardins, Rhône et Danube, a defence of the canalization scheme (Paris, 1870) ; Carte du Danube entre Braïla et la mer, published by the European Commission (Leipzig, 1874) ; Peters, Die Donau und ihr Gebiet, eine geologische Studie (1876) ; A. F. Heksch, Guide illustré sur le Danube (Vienna, 1883) ; F. D. Millet, The Danube (New York, 1893) ”