Viennese regulation of the Danube

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The Danube in Vienna; from right to left: Old Danube , New Danube , Danube (main bed, gray) and Danube Canal (to the left the city center)

The course of the Danube through Vienna was carefully regulated twice in order to reduce the risk of flooding for the city: In the 1870s, today's main stream was created, the so-called Danube piercing; The Danube Canal and the Old Danube in particular have been preserved from the former poor . From the 1970s onwards, the inundation or flood area created in the 1870s next to the main river was replaced by the New Danube (structurally: relief channel).

The unregulated Danube

Vienna and the unregulated Danube on the Josephine land survey around 1790

In Vienna the Danube was practically completely unregulated until 1870 and looked for its own riverbed . Although Hans von Gasteiger had developed the first plans to regulate the Danube as early as 1555 , only the side arm closest to the city center, now known as the Danube Canal , in the Prater floodplain was opened in the 1830s Years straightened.

During flooding, the unregulated current particularly endangered villages such as Jedlesee , Floridsdorf and Stadlau in the area of ​​a 5 km long Donauau to the left (north) of today's main bed.

There were repeated severe flood damage along the Danube. After the Leopoldstadt was badly flooded in 1744, Landlady Maria Theresia spoke out in favor of flood protection measures, which ultimately did not take place. In the years 1776 to 1785, the "Cameral engineer" Johann Sigismund Hubert built a protective dam in the Floridsdorf area , which was supposed to prevent floods from penetrating the Marchfeld , but did not withstand the next flood in 1787. Today's Hubertusdamm is reminiscent of the engineer Hubert.

The first regulation (from 1870)

Plan of the Danube breakthrough from 1870 to 1875 in a contemporary illustration
Danube regulatory bond for 100 guilders dated April 1, 1870
Opening of the regulated Danube in 1875

In 1810, court building director Joseph Schemerl von Leythenbach proposed regulation in the form of a new river bed, but his plans were not implemented. The next proposals came from Ludwig Forgach in 1840 and from Lieutenant Colonel Zitta in 1847. Both proposals envisaged a breakthrough that would have been closer to the city center than the one realized later.

From 1850 a “Danube Regulation Commission” advised on the implementation of flood protection. Different variants were examined. For economic and urban planning reasons it would have been beneficial to carry out the Danube breakthrough as close as possible to the city center, roughly in the area of ​​the Prater. This was opposed by the fact that they did not want to destroy the Prater recreational area.

Most of the committee members were in favor of a variant further away from the city, as was actually carried out later. Commissioner Florian Pasetti (1793–1875) even pleaded for a breakthrough in the area of ​​today's Old Danube ; this would have been the cheapest option, and it was also supported by the German commissioner Gotthilf Hagen (1797–1884). This dispute paralyzed the Commission for almost 20 years. Only after Pasetti's retirement in 1868 could an agreement be reached. According to the exposé compiled by Government Councilor Wilhelm von Engerth , which essentially followed the planning ideas of the British James Abernethy (1814-1896) and the Karlsruhe expert Georg Sexauer , the work began shortly afterwards, after Emperor Franz Joseph I with a resolution of September 12th Had given his approval in 1868.

In the years 1870 to 1875 the Danube was regulated accordingly. For this purpose, a 450-meter-wide floodplain (also: inundation area ) was created on the left bank with the Hubertusdamm in today's municipal districts of Floridsdorf and Donaustadt . The new main bed, which is also used for shipping , was laid out 280 m wide, and the old main arm, the old Danube, was preserved. A map assembly (as a comparison of the situation between 1820 and today) by the former curator in the Floridsdorf district museum Johann Orth clearly shows how strong the interventions on this northern bridgehead in Vienna were. The work was carried out by the French company Castor, Couvreux et Hersent , which had also worked on the Suez Canal and relocated the corresponding machines to Vienna.

From 1892 the Danube Regulation Commission was represented in the then newly founded Commission for Transport Systems in Vienna in order to be able to expand the Danube Canal into a commercial and winter port parallel to the construction of the Vienna light rail .

As part of the regulation, five new bridges across the Danube were built. The Nordwestbahnbrücke (today: Nordbrücke ) served the Nordwestbahn , the Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Brücke (today: Floridsdorfer Brücke ) for road traffic, the Kaiser-Ferdinand-Nordbahnbrücke (today: Nordbahnbrücke ) for the Kaiser-Ferdinand-Nordbahn , the Crown Prince Rudolf -Brücke (today: Reichsbrücke ) to the road traffic and the Stadlauer Staatsbahnbrücke (today: Stadlauer Ostbahnbrücke ) to the railway traffic of the Ostbahn to the north and east.

In 1916 the responsible board member of the hydraulic engineering section in the imperial ministry for public works , Ernst Lauda , was raised to the knighthood for the Danube regulation. In the 20th district, Brigittenau , four streets are named after members of the Danube Regulation Commission: Pasettistraße , Wehlistraße , Wexstraße and Engerthstraße .

The second regulation (from 1972)

View from Kahlenberg to the Danube; the Danube Island between the New Danube (relief channel) on the left and the Danube (main arm) on the right

Despite the regulation, major floods in 1897, 1899 and 1954 led to floods, which mainly affected the right bank of the Danube at Handelskai . This showed that the Danube regulation was not yet sufficient.

After many years of studies, a new flood protection project was started in 1972. By 1988, a new, 210 m wide relief channel was created within the flood plain. With the excavated material, the Danube Island was heaped up between the Danube itself and the relief channel . The relief channel or New Danube is protected by weir systems and is only traversed during floods. It is designed for a flow rate of 5,000 m³ / s. Overall, the Danube regulation is designed for a capacity of up to 14,000 m³ / s, that is the flow of the flood of 1501 , with the highest water level ever recorded in Vienna. The water volume would be divided into 5,200 m³ / s on the New Danube and 8,800 m³ / s on the main stream. In fact, around 10,000 m³ / s were measured in each case in 1899 , 1954 , 1991 , 2002 , and 11,000 m³ / s in 2013 (normal mean water flow rate 1,900 m³ / s) - the system proved itself in the latter cases.

The Danube Island and the New Danube now also serve as popular recreational areas for the Viennese population.

Transport links

The Danube is accessed by several underground stations in the Vienna area :

In the Viennese road network, the regulated Danube is accompanied by high-level roads on the left bank parallel to the New Danube ( Donauuferautobahn , mostly since 1989) and on the right bank parallel to the Danube ( Handelskai , since 1875).

Significant floods

Flood 1975, Reichsbrücke

According to historical reports, the largest flood in the Vienna area occurred in 1501, the level and volume of which were reconstructed by the Vienna Central Hydrographic Office at the time . The highest actually measured or calculated value for the water level of the Danube took place on June 5, 2013; At 21:15 CEST, the Danube reached a flow rate of 11,050 m³ / sec at the Korneuburg gauge , which is the key today (the Reichsbrücke gauge is still calculated for Danube navigation over the Vienna Zero ).

There were major floods in Vienna:

year Amount of water
in m³ / sec		 Level at the
Reichsbrücke
00 08.1501 14,000 10.30 m
02/04/1862 9,860
05/01/1883 8,160
09/18/1899 10,500 8.66 m
07/14/1954 9,600 8.61 m
07/04/1975 8,560 8.04 m
08/04/1991 8,800 8.00 m
08/15/2002 10,400 8.63 m
07.09.2007 8,010
06/25/2009 8,240
06/05/2013 11,050

literature

  • Report and proposals from the committee appointed by the Commission for Danube Regulation near Vienna. Plenary assembly on July 27, 1868 , KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1868 ( archive.org or online in the Google book search)
  • L .:  The Danube Regulation. In:  Die Presse , Local-Anzeiger der "Presse" , No. 3/1875 (XXVIIIth year), January 3, 1875, p. 7 f. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / maintenance / apr.
  • The shipping opening in the new Danube bed. In:  Neue Freie Presse , Abendblatt, No. 3865/1875, May 31, 1875, p. 2 f. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / nfp.
  • Peter Mohilla, Franz Michlmayr: Danube Atlas Vienna / Atlas of the Danube River Vienna: History of the Danube Regulation with maps and plans from four centuries. A History of River Training on Maps and Plants of four Centuries. Österreichischer Kunst- und Kulturverlag, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85437-105-5 (German and English).

Web links

Media and materials:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Schediwy: City on the river - history of the Danube regulation. In: Städtebilder: Reflections on the change in architecture and urbanism. P. 320ff, p. 321. accessed on March 11, 2010.
  2. ^ Communal affairs. Danube regulation. In:  Die Presse , Local-Anzeiger der "Presse" . No. 287/1867 (XXth year), October 19, 1867, p. 10 (unpaginated), middle. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / maintenance / apr.
  3. ↑ Report and motions of the Comités appointed by the Commission for Danube Regulation near Vienna, presented to the plenary assembly on July 27, 1868 and unanimously adopted by the same . KK Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna 1868 ( online in the Google book search or at archive.org ).
  4. ↑ The press. (...) Vienna, July 28th. Danube regulation. In:  Die Presse , No. 207/1868 (XXI. Volume), July 29, 1868, p. 4 (unpaginated), top right. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / maintenance / apr.
  5. ↑ Not official part. Austria. In:  Wiener Zeitung , No. 221/1868, September 18, 1868, p. 1 center. (Online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / Maintenance / wrz.
  6. ↑ [1] Board Mount Floridsdorf 1820 to the current situation - by Johann Orth Museum District Floridsdorf
  7. ↑ a b Disaster floods ( memento of the original from June 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wien.gv.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . wien.gv.at > Environment> Hydraulic engineering> Flood protection ;
    Waters - statistics and explanations of water statistics ( memento of the original dated December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )     Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wien.gv.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , both wien.gv.at > Statistics> Habitat and Culture> Waters .
  8. ↑ Hardly any flood in Vienna thanks to the "billion thing" . Andrea Heigl in derStandard.at, June 4, 2013;
    Floods in Vienna still had leeway , derStandard.at, June 7, 2013.
  9. ↑ various sources, including Frederick Watzik: Hochwasser. In: Office of Upper Austria. State government. Kulturreferat: The Danube: Facets of a European river. Catalog for the Upper Austrian State Exhibition 1994 in Engelhartszell, Landesverlag, Linz January 1, 1994, pp. 63–68.
    According to Christian Rohr: Extreme natural events in the Eastern Alps. 2007, sources in the Alpine region , footnote 63, p. 90;
    Christian Rohr also criticizes the values: Measuring the frequency and intensity of floods of the Traun River (Upper Austria), 1441-1574. In: Hydrological Sciences Journal. 51, 5, 2006, p. 835 (full article p. 834-847).
  10. ↑ Korneuburg water level ( Memento of the original from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.noel.gv.at archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , noel.gv.at