Countries

The Danube is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga and the only major European river to flow from the West to the East. Its official source lies in the Black Forest Mountains of Germany from where the river travels 2,850 km into the Black Sea on the Romanian/Ukrainian coast. Along the way, the Danube flows through ten countries (Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine) playing a major role in their economic, social and cultural existence. Such important tasks as freight transportation, hydroelectricity, water supplies, irrigation and fishing, not to mention cruise ships, cultural and historic heritage among the countries are carried out by the Danube.