Danube Island, Austria
View of Danube Island, artificial island in the river Danube in Vienna, Austria. (Wikimedia/Marco Aldeia)
A long, narrow island, in central Vienna, Austria, between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel Neue Donau ("New Danube"), Danube Island (or Donauinsel) is home to clubs, bars and restaurants and a popular music festival. While locals flock to the artificial island to enjoy open-air events, the Danube Island was built as part of Vienna's highly sophisticated flood protection system. As the Danube river crosses the city, flooding has long been a concern for Vienna.
Construction of the island began in early 1970s. Excavation material was dumped between the New Danube and the existing river bed to create 13 miles of artificial island. The flood control system is designed to protect from flash floods bringing river flows of up to 14,000 cubic meters per second. This has only happened once in Vienna's history in 1501; the heavy 2002 flood brought flows of 10,000 cubic meters per second.
Close to 2 million trees and bushes were planted between 1974 and 1988. Today, the island is divided into three section, natural areas in the north and south and a city-park area in the center.
View of Danube Island, an artificial island in the river Danube, in Vienna, Austria. (Wikimedia/My Friend)
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