The New Danube (German: Neue Donau) is side channel of the Danube in Vienna, Austria, situated parallel to the east of the main river. It was built as part of the flood protections of the city.
| New Danube | |
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 The New Danube in the front, facing north-west. | |
  New Danube | |
| Location | Vienna |
| Coordinates | 48°14′0″N16°24′20″E / 48.23333°N 16.40556°E |
| Max. length | 21.1 km |
| Max. width | 200 m |
| Surface area | 4.2 km² |
| Max. depth | 6.5 m |
The New Danube extends for approximately 21 kilometers, beginning in Langenzersdorf, a town just north of Vienna, after branching off from the main stream. It rejoins the river at the Danube-Auen National Park in the southeast of the city.
The New Danube stretches approximately 21.1 kilometers in length, with an average width of around 200 meters, covering a surface area of between 330 and 420 hectares. The depth ranges from 1.6 to 6.5 metres. It has a maximum flow rate of 5,200 cubic meters per second.
As the river is cut off from the Danube and only fed through ground water, it is essentially a lake. This gives the water a much higher quality compared to the main river. It is usually much bluer than the comparatively grey Danube. [1]
Throughout Vienna's history, the city has suffered multiple devastating floods, such as in 1897, 1899 and 1954. In September 1969, the Vienna City Council decided to improve the flood protection of Vienna. The planned measures included the construction of a 21-kilometer relief channel, separated from the main river by a man-made island, to help prevent overflowing.
The project was approved in July 1970, and construction began in March 1972. The construction process took 16 years, during which approximately 30 million cubic metres of material were excavated, which was used to construct the Donauinsel (Danube Island). The island now also serves as a park and recreation area. [2]
When the Danube starts overflowing, the two weirs on either end open, allowing water to flow in. This overflow happens when the water level of the Danube reaches 5.2 metres. At this point the flood service staff are deployed and a swimming ban is put in place. [3] To be able to accommodate sufficient water as a narrower overflow channel during high water, the bed of the New Danube is lower than that of the main stream. The project was referred to by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) as "the first truly multipurpose fully sustainable flood protection scheme." [4]
The system helped protect Vienna during the 2024 Central European floods, with the city coming away relatively unscathed. Austrian hydrologist Günter Blöschl claimed the damage Vienna avoided was far higher than the investment in flood protection. [5]
The river can be used for swimming, with many public beaches on both sides of the river, as well as rowing and other aquatic activities. It is also home to the world's largest floating trampoline park. [6]
The river can be accessed by the U1, U2 and U6 metro-lines, which stop at the Donauinsel, Donaustadtbrücke, and Neue Donau stations respectively, as well as by S-Bahn, trams and buses.
A series of articles on regulation of the Danube in chronological order:
Vienna is the capital, most populous city, and one of nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country's population. Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political center of the country, the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union, and the most-populous of the cities on the Danube river.
The Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, is a canal in Bavaria, Germany. Connecting the Main and the Danube rivers across the European Watershed, it runs from Bamberg via Nuremberg to Kelheim. The canal connects the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean to the Black Sea, providing a navigable artery between the Rhine delta, and the Danube Delta in south-eastern Romania and south-western Ukraine. The present canal was completed in 1992 and is 171 kilometres (106 mi) long.
The Lobau is a Vienna floodplain on the northern side of the Danube in Donaustadt and partly in Großenzersdorf, Lower Austria. It has been part of the Danube-Auen National Park since 1996 and has been a protected area since 1978. It is used as a recreational area and is known as a site of nudism. There is also an oil harbour, and the Austrian Army used the Lobau as a training ground. In addition to the water coming from the Alps through the Wiener Hochquellenwasserleitung, the Lobau is a source of groundwater for Vienna.
The districts of Vienna are the 23 named city sections of Vienna, Austria, which are numbered for easy reference. They were created from 1850 onwards, when the city area was enlarged by the inclusion of surrounding communities. Although they fill a similar role, Vienna's municipal districts are not administrative districts (Bezirke) as defined by the federal constitution; Vienna is a statutory city and as such is a single administrative district in its entirety.
The Donauinsel is a long, narrow artificial island in central Vienna, Austria, lying between the Danube and the New Danube. The island is 21.1 km (13.1 mi) in length, but is only 70–210 m (230–689 ft) wide. It was constructed from 1972 to 1988 primarily as a measure for flood protection.
Donaustadt is the 22nd district of Vienna, Austria . Donaustadt is the eastern district of Vienna.
Brigittenau is the 20th district of Vienna. It is located north of the central districts, north of Leopoldstadt on the same island area between the Danube and the Danube Canal. Brigittenau is a heavily populated urban area with many residential buildings.
Donau-Auen National Park covers 93 square kilometres in Vienna and Lower Austria and is one of the largest remaining floodplains of the Danube in Middle Europe.
The Donaukanal is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel, within the city of Vienna, Austria. It is 17.3 kilometres (10.7 mi) long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere Stadt, where the Wien River (Wienfluss) flows into it.
The Reichsbrücke is a major bridge in Vienna, linking Mexikoplatz in Leopoldstadt with the Donauinsel in Donaustadt across the Danube. The bridge is used by 50,000 vehicles per day and carries six lanes of traffic, U-Bahn tracks, two footpaths, two cyclepaths and two utility tunnels.
Donau City, or Vienna DC, is a new part of Vienna's 22nd District Donaustadt, next to both the Reichsbrücke and the left bank of the Danube's 21.1 km new channel, Neue Donau.
The Vienna Danube regulation refers to extensive flood-control engineering along the Danube river in Vienna, Austria during the last 150 years. The first major dams or levees were built during 1870-75. Another major project was constructed during 1972-88, which created the New Danube and Danube Island (Donauinsel). Prior to regulation, the Danube in Vienna had been an 8-kilometre (5 mi) wide wetlands, as a patchwork of numerous streams meandering through the area.
The Danube is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important river, it was once a frontier of the Roman Empire. In the 21st century, it connects ten European countries, running through their territories or marking a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for 2,850 km (1,770 mi), passing through or bordering Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Ukraine. Among the many cities on the river are four national capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. Its drainage basin amounts to 817,000 km2 (315,000 sq mi) and extends into nine more countries.
For a long time, it was not necessary to build a Harbour in Vienna, because the existing natural landing points were sufficient for the level of trade on the Danube. It was only when steamships began to arrive in great numbers that a harbour offering safe berths became essential. Even then however, goods were for the most part loaded and unloaded at an unenclosed river harbour that was established at the end of the 19th century.
The Nussdorf weir and lock are works of hydraulic engineering located in the Viennese suburb of Nussdorf at the point where the Donaukanal leaves the Danube. Designed by Austrian architect Otto Wagner, The weir and lock were built following the adoption of a new law in July 1892, which also authorised the construction of the Vienna Stadtbahn and the transformation of the Donaukanal into a winter harbour.
Icebreaker Eisvogel is an icebreaker employed by the Port of Vienna, Austria. Eisvogel clears ice in all three of Vienna's harbors. She is employed when the ice becomes a few centimetres in thickness. In 1985 she cleared ice that was 60 centimetres (24 in) thick.
The DC Towers also known as the Donau City Towers is a mixed-use skyscraper complex in Vienna's District Donaustadt. The towers are designed by French architect Dominique Perrault. Werner Sobek AG was responsible for the structural engineering as well as the facade and height access planning of DC Tower 1.
Hochhaus Neue Donau also known as the Seidler Tower is a mixed-use high-rise building in the Donau City district of Vienna, Austria. Built between 1999 and 2001, the tower stands at 120 m (390 ft) tall with 34 floors and is the current 11th tallest building in Austria.
The Old Danube is an oxbow lake of the Danube in Vienna, Austria. Situated northeast of the New Danube, it is a remnant of the river's former course, now separated from the main stream and the New Danube.
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