DANUBE. 



575 



Danube, length of its course has been calculated at 1620 miles. 

 *— ~v— — ■- The Danube has its origin near the small town of 

 Doneschingen, or Donaueschingen, in Suabia, in the 

 court-yard of the palace of the princes of Furstenberg. 

 Some small rills of water spring from the ground, and 

 form a basin of water about 30 feet square, from 

 which issues a brook, that afterwards falls into the 

 united rivers of Bribach and Brege. * After passing 

 by the towns of Ulm, Newburg, Ratisbon, Straubing, 

 Passau, Linz, Crems, Vienna, Presburg, Buda, Belgrade, 

 and Widdin, the Danube discharges itself, by several 

 mouths, into the Black Sea, in the province of Bessarabia. 



From several towns on the Danube, but particularly 

 from Ulm and Ratisbon, there set out, every Sunday, a 

 humber of boats, which convey goods and passengers to 

 Vienna. At Ratisbon, there are lG or 17 licensed pro- 

 prietors of boats, who perform this duty in rotation. 



From its source, till it reaches Ratisbon, the Danube 

 funs in a north-easterly direction. After having quit- 

 ted the vineyard and fields of Ratisbon, and the beau- 

 tiful ruins of Donaustauff, the boat generally casts 

 anchor near Pforter, opposite to Worth. The next 

 morning it passes the bridge of Straubing, which 

 is reckoned the most dangerous part of the voy- 

 age. The church near Poyen seems as if it were 

 about to fall upon the heads of the passengers, and the 

 small islands which here occur, and the gloomy forests 

 of pine, give a new character to the landscape. The 

 banks of the river rise like an amphitheatre, till the 

 ruins of the castle of Natternberg come in sight. At 

 Deckendorff the Danube receives the waters of the 

 Iser, and at Vilshofen it is crossed by a wooden bridge 

 of 16 arches, and is joined by the Vils, famous for 

 its trouts and salmon. The Danube now assumes a 

 melancholy and picturesque character, which continues 

 till it reaches Passau. The windings of its course are 

 constantly interrupted by rocks, both above and below 

 the surface, which occasion a great noise, and require all 

 the skill of the pilot to avoid them. Passau is situated 

 upon an isthmus, formed by the Danube and the Inn, 

 which now discharges its water into the former. The 

 Inn is about 100 feet broader than the Danube at their 

 confluence, f and from this cause the Swiss writers 

 have contended that the Inn is the finest river, and 

 consequently that the Danube has its origin in Swit- 

 zerland. Here is a splendid view from the citadel of 

 Passau, and the town is celebrated for having afforded 

 to Salvator Rosa some of the finest subjects for his pen- 

 cil. The Danube now becomes more rapid, and, for a 

 considerable distance below Passau, its banks are high 

 hills and rocks covered with box-wood and spruce fir. 



Behind Passau, the Danube forms some delightful lit- 

 tle islands. The small villa of Krempenstein has a 

 picturesque situation upon the summit of a mountain ; 

 and, in turning from the north to the south, a sudden 

 view is obtained of the chateau of Furstenstein, on a 

 height upon the right bank. The boat now passes at 

 the foot of a rock adorned with a small chapel, which 

 forms the frontier between the territory of Passau and 

 that of Austria. Hafnerzell, as its name imports, is in- 

 habited only by potters, who supply several countries 

 with crucibles of black lead, and even export them to 

 the Indies. At a considerable distance on the left is 

 seen a fine old tower, not far from Engelhardzell or 

 Ingelhartzeil. At this town is the first Austrian cus- 

 tom-house, where a rigorous examination of the boats 



takes place. The two remarkable chateaus of Reinach Danube? 

 and Marsbach are deserving of notice, and on the left 

 is an insulated dungeon, celebrated in the romances of 

 Mrs Radcliffe. The situation of Neuhaus and Aschau 

 are greatly admired. Towards Linz, the Danube runs 

 almost due east, through a flat country, with high 

 mountains in the distance, clothed with wood. The 

 beautiful situation of Linz ; its fine bridge of 20 wide 

 arches ; the magnificent church of Bostelfeld, the ap- 

 pearance of Ufer-Linz ; the vineyards ; the cultivated 

 fields ,• the alps of Salzbourg, in the distance, covered 

 with snow, form a spectacle which is reckoned one of 

 the finest in Europe. The beautiful town of Ens now 

 appears on the right hand, and the rivets Trauen and 

 Ens throw themselves into the Danube. The course of 

 the river is now very irregular, and sometimes winds 

 to the south, and at other times to the north-east. 

 Sometimes it resembles a sea, with scarcely any land 

 in sight, and at other times it is broken into small 

 streams by numerous islands. The ruins of Speilberg 

 attract the traveller's notice, and after having passed the 

 beautiful chateau of Waldsee, that of Greyn next ap- 

 pears, wildly situated upon rugged rocks. The noise 

 of the breakers at its foot has procured for it the name 

 of Greynes-Schwall. A dreadful noise, like that of 

 thunder, soon announces the famous waterfall and 

 whirlpool of Stroudel. It has frequently proved fatal to 

 boats drawn into its vortex ; but if the boatmen are not 

 intoxicated, and the water is not too low, there is no 

 risk of any accident. This whirlpool is produced by a 

 rugged island of rock, which *ises in the middle of the 

 river. The boats pass to the left of this island, above a 

 rocky bottom, and where the rocks and heaps of stones 

 raise themselves out of the water. The Empress Maria 

 Theresa expended considerable sums of money in im- 

 proving the navigation of this part of the Danube. 

 About a quarter of a league farther is the whirlpool of 

 Wirbel, still more dangerous. The impetuous waves of 

 the Danube, which here dash against an inclined pro- 

 montory of rock, are driven back in rapid circles across 

 the narrow strait confined between two lofty banks. Be- 

 fore they enter, :and after they quit these two whirl- 

 pools, the boatmen regularly say their prayers. 



The small village of Ins, the chateau of Besenberg, 

 and another chateau in ruins, form a picturesque trian- 

 gle. Maria Taferl, who drew more than 10,000 foreign 

 pilgrims annually, crowns the summit of an insulated 

 rock. The Abbey of Melk has a grand appearance, 

 with its towers and walls ; and beyond this place, the 

 country grows more and more wild. A natural wall 

 of rocks, called the Devil's Watt, prevents the sun 

 from being seen ; and above this wall are situated 

 Spietz, and its rich vineyards, one of which, under the 

 name of Spitzam Platz, produces annually a thousand 

 muids of wine. The traveller now approaches the su- 

 perb and romantic ruins of the chateau of Thierstein, 

 the prison of Richard Cceur de Lion, the brave king of 

 England. At the sight of this the boatmen cry out 

 O Richard ! O mon Iioi ! and bless the memory of his 

 faithful servant. Above the chateau there is a large 

 convent. At Stein, which is on the left of the river, 

 there is a wooden bridge of 25 wide arches. Behind die 

 town of Mautern appears, upon a high mountain, the 

 vast abbey of Gottwich, celebrated for its fine buildings, 

 its ancient manuscripts, and the learning and hospitali- 

 ty of its monks. Kloster-Neuburg next appears, and 



" M. Nicolai maintains that the Danube has its origin at Saint-Georgen, a convent and manufacturing town in the Black Forest. 

 t The breadth of the Inn is here 890 feet, and that of the Danube only 780. 



