Pan-European transport corridor No. 7 North sea and Black sea

Pan-European transport corridor 7 The Pan-European transport corridor No. 7 is one of the ten Pan-European transport corridors, which connects North sea with the Black sea through the river channel Rhine - Main - Danube. Danube is the second longest river in Europe and has main geopolitical significance for the countries it flows through: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and partially through Switzerland, Italy and Poland. The Bulgarian part of the river is 471 km long and it comprises the area from Lower Danube (the Iron Gates gorge) until the mouth where the river flows into the Black sea. On Bulgarian territory some major ports on Danube are: Ruse, Vidin, Lom, Svishtov. Although the European corridors have been established in 1994, ever since 1774 the rules that guarantee to all countries the free use of the river as well as navigation started to get settled in terms of international agreements.

Danube – the river that flows through a major number of countries.

The Danube river The Danube flows through the remarkable four capitals. These are Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. For this exactly reason it has always been an important trade route which connected the Black Sea region with the Central Europe. Ancient Greeks believed that Danube is a brother of Nile, son of the titan Ocean and the Goddess of the sea Tetida. Thracians called the river Istros, Romans called it Danister and Danubius, Greeks called it Dunavis, Germans and Austrians called it Donau, Hungarians called it Duna, Romanians called it Dunarea, Russians called it Dunay, Slovaks called it Dunava, Bulgarians and Serbians called it Dunav.

Vienna

Budapest

Bratislava

Belgrade

Rhine River Crossing 1320 km of Central Europe, from Switzerland to the North sea, Rhine does not belong to Germany only (don’t tell Germans that). The part of it that flows through Germany, especially the 80-kilometer long Middle Rhine, flowing between Mainz and Koblenz is the place where the river gets its historical significance and discloses its most beautiful sights, where along the banks one can see lots of vineyards, thick woods, rocks with castles on top, as well as small villages of wine producers with their fachwerk houses.

Basel

Cologne

Rotterdam

Main River

Rhine – Main - Danube The Rhine – Main – Danube channel (in German: Rhein- Main-Donau-Kanal, RMD), also known as Main – Danube channel, is situated in Germany, in the province of Bavaria. It connects Main River to a tributary of Rhine and to Danube as well. It provides a river transport connection between the Atlantic ocean, North sea and the Black sea. Its length is 171 km, the width is 55m and it is 4 metres deep. Some parts of the channel have been made as concrete aqueducts. The channel is supplied with 16 sluices; 11 of them are situated in the basin of Rhine and 5 sluices are in the basin of Danube. The construction of the channel as it looks today has started in 1960. It was opened on 25 September 1992.

The Rhine – Main – Danube channel

Map of the Pan-European transport corridor No. 7

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION! From the students of the VI А grade