The Danube: A Cultural History

by Andrew Beattie

The Danube is the longest river in western and central Europe. Rising amidst the beautiful wooded hills of Germany's Black Forest, it touches or winds its way through ten countries and four capital cities before emptying into the Black Sea through a vast delta whose silt filled channels spread across eastern Romania. From earliest times, the river has provided a route from Europe to Asia that was followed by armies and traders, while empires, from the Macedonian to the Habsburg, rose and fell along its length. Then, in the middle of the twentieth century, the Danube took on the role of a watery thread that unified a continent divided by the Iron Curtain. In the late 1980s the Iron Curtain lifted but the Danube valley soon became an arena for conflict during the violent break up of the former Yugoslavia. Now, passing as it does through some of the world's youngest nations, including Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Moldova, and Ukraine, the river is a tangible symbol of a new, peaceful, and united Europe as well as a vital artery for commercial and leisure shipping. Andrew Beattie explores the turbulent past and vibrant present of the landscape through which the Danube flows, where the enduring legacies of historical regimes from the Romans to the Nazis have all left their mark.

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction

266 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent accompaniment to a Danube journey. The book is broken up into sections of the river which allows the traveller to understand the history and culture of each town, city, region or country as she sails east towards the Black Sea. It is lacking in photographs and those it does have are not identified. I would have liked more detailed maps too. It's the best book on the Danube I've read though and I'm looking forward to reading it again on my journey in September 2012.

[Andrew]

I’m a long-time fan of Mitteleuropa culture (see any number of rapturous reviews on this here website for evidence of the same), but this just didn’t do it for me. It just felt like a travel guide… “continue down the highway and take a right at the Courtyard by Marriott,” it felt like. Beattie references Patrick Leigh Fermor, Claudio Magris, and The Ister, but seems to have failed to take the most important notes. Refer to those instead.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating history of a river, starting at its source in Bavaria and working downstream through Vienna and Budapest to the Black Sea. At each major city or bend, time is taken to review the important historical events that happened there, particularly with an eye to the Danube and its role in that history. The author is full of interesting and sweeping historical insight, and he wears his heart on his sleeve somewhat-- he has convinced me that I will prefer Budapest to Vienna. Who thought?! I must admit I got this book from inter-library loan, and had to return it before finishing the last section of the book. But I made it through Budapest, which was my goal, in preparation for a trip we will take down the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest in just a few weeks, Lord willing. I have never read this kind of geographical/historical/travelogue before, but found it enjoyable. If you are travelling to this part of the world, or as just interested in the long and rich history there, it would be well worth your time.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never read a book about a river before! This was pretty good. I can’t help myself, I have to admit it was “meandering” (sheepish grin) but of course that is completely appropriate to the subject matter. I’m going to be visiting a part of the Danube, and this book gave me some good historical and cultural/political context. There are a few small black and white photos, it would have been nice if there had been more and better pictures. But the text was fine.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I agree with Fiona it's a good travel book. I liked Beattie's explanation re: the derivation of Budapest's name. The obvious combination of Buda and Pest occurring after the Magyars took over from the Romans and renamed Aquincum. Chieftan Buda being the name of Arpad's brother,the twin founders of Hungary and Pest coming from the Slavic word Pec. Don't ask me why but the combination reminds me of goulash, spicy. I agree with Fiona that there should be more illustraions: in particular, photos with captions and maps. Overall, a helpful introduction and am looking to supplement it with Danube: A Journey Through the Landscape, History and Culture of Central Europe by Claudio Magris and translated by Patrick Creagh.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent some time in Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary in 2019, and was interested in learning more about this river, which, though majestic and powerful, isn't very blue.
The cultural history is so interesting. So many explorers used the Danube for their travels, even in ancient times, and before there were dams and locks its passages could be quite dangerous, often deadly. Now there are cruises exploring the Danube, so I guess those treacheries are gone, but now the great European rivers are dwindling with drought.
There are photos of the Danube winding through the Black Forest, Bavaria, Linz, Austria, Burgenland, Slovakia, Bratislava, the Slovak-Hungarian Borderlands, Budapest and the heart of Hungary, the former Yugoslavia, Eastern Serbia and the Gorges, Bulgaria, and Eastern Romania. Castles, palaces, dams, forts, mountains, parliament buildings, bridges... it's an amazing geography.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Even the name of the country echoes its riparian status: Ister was the name by which the Greeks and Byzantines knew the Histerichi, whose country generally became known as Osterreich, the German name for Austria. (A rival claim to the derivation of the country's name is less beguiling: it was simply Charlemagne's eastern Reich, his Oster Reich, which formed a distant province of that ruler's great Frano-German Empire.)" (66-7)

[Sheri Fresonke Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful introduction to places along the Danube River of interest to visitors including literary references, history, points of interest in towns, etc. I think it might be one I take on a cruise if I have enough room.

[Anna Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book because we were going on a river cruise..I love the way he makes the river a character in its own biography. he is very good at make synopsis of history and keeps the flowing down the river..

[Nancy Cormier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Danube: A Cultural History (landscapes of the Imagination) by Andrew Beattie is an excellent read if one is looking for the history behind this river. The Danube is the longest river in western and central Europe. The past and present is explored. Well done.

[Jim Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preparing for a trip

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read what I want to read before our trip up the Danube upcoming; will bring the book with me.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather dull. Life is too short to bother finishing it.

[Romanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect book to orient me in place and time before cruising the Danube.

[Cindy Bonner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this while cruising up the Danube. Before we arrived at the next port of call, I would read a chapter about the area we were visiting. It certainly added a lot of information I would not have had otherwise, and also provided a lot of good commentary about each destination. Well written, descriptive, and a compelling read.

[Iulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still waiting for the book that will do justice to the lower course of the river, though.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this book on both of our cruises down the Danube (from Nuremberg to Bucharest). It was very useful, and it makes for interesting reading.

[Charles Puskas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focus on the river and those who have traveled it, nifty travel guide, informative.