Cruising the Danube from the Black Sea to the North SeaApril-May 2023: Day 11

Cruising the Iron Gates on the Danube

Introduction

From Rousse we had a quiet day of cruising up the Danube, past small villages and farms. We entered two sets of locks, our first, each with a hydroelectric station (Iron Gates I and Iron Gates II). We were still in Romania. Late afternoon we reached a section of the Danube with a narrow gorge, known as the Iron Gates. At the entrance of the gorge is the carved statue of King Decebalus. By 4am the next morning we had reached Belgrade in Serbia, our third country of the cruise. .

The Danube from Rousse to the Iron Gates

Early morning was clear and bright. We3 passed under a large bridge and sailed past farms and small villages. This morning we also saw a lot more river traffic with large barges going in both directions. We reached our first lock of two at around 9.30am. Each lock was part of a large dam with a hydroelectric station (known as Iron Gates I and Iron Gates II). We were still in Romania. Late afternoon we reached the narrow gorge, known as the Iron Gates. The gorge separates the Carpathian Mountains to the north and the Balkan Mountains to the south. At the northern entrance to the gorge is the carved rock sculpture of Decebalus (AD 87-106), the last of King Dacia, who fought off two Roman emperors, thus preserving the independence of his country, now corresponding to Romania. The carving is 55m tall and 25m wide, and was finished in 2004.

Early morning on the Danube