Donauinsel
The Donauinsel (Danube Island) is a long, narrow
It has since become the most popular recreational area of the city.[1]
Recreation and festival venue
To most visitors, the island is known as a recreational area with bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It has sports opportunities from
The
Reliable flood protection
The main purpose of the island however is to be part of Vienna's highly sophisticated flood protection system. As the river Danube crosses the city (before major extensions: passed nearby), this has been a constant concern over hundreds of years. The first notable protective measures were taken between 1870 and 1875. A central bed, 280 m, was dug out, and an inundation area of 450 m was created at the river's left bank.
In 1970, a new plan was conceived and soon executed: digging an additional channel to replace the former inundation area, and using the spoil to build up the remaining strip of land between the straightened bed from the 19th century flood defense schemes and the newly created one. The new channel is called the Neue Donau (New Danube). After the completion of the works it was envisaged that the resulting island should eventually be used for recreation. The flood control system is designed to protect from flash floods bringing river flows of up to 14,000 m3 per second. This has only happened once in Vienna's history; in 1501. The heavy 2002 flood brought flows of 10,000 m3 per second. It includes the
The works were started in March 1972 and finished in 1988. The power plant was added from 1992 to 1998.[1]
Notes
- ^ a b c "Flood control on the Danube – Facts and figures" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
- ^ "Donauinselfest 2010 doch im Juni - oesterreich.ORF.at" [Donauinselfest 2010 will take place in June after all]. wiev1.orf.at (in Austrian German). 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
- ^ Verbesserter Sluice (German).
References and other external links
- Donautech, Donauinsel datasheet, webpage: Official datasheet (German).
- Danube Island Vienna Informations and photographs from the Citymagazin www.wien-konkret.at
- Copa Cagrana at night (JPG, 22k)
- Danube Island Free Festival – Official information, English.
Maps
- Vienna map showing Danube Island (English): 2008, webpage: MapAustria-Vienna.
- Simple Interactive Vienna tourist map linked to a short English descriptions of Danube Island and other Vienna tourist spots.
- Better Map of the island, by Vienna magistrate; it consists of 8 GIFs, c.100k each.