The Historic Iron Gates of the Danube River Between Serbia and Romania

The Iron Gates of the Danube River originally consisted of four narrow gorges and three wide basins spread over several miles of the river dividing Romania and Serbia. The term "Iron Gate" was first used by The Times of London in 1853 and while some consider the entire 83-mile stretch of the river to be the Iron Gates, most define it as only the section with the four narrow gorges. 

In the 1960's, the government built a massive lock and dam to help control the speed of the river and make navigation safer. Before the Danube River was dammed, commercial boats transferring goods dreaded navigating the rapids of the narrow Iron Gates section of the river. After completion of the dam project, the river flowing through the Iron Gates calmed and the water rose 130 feet higher than before the dam and power station were built. The two locks, spread more than 50 miles apart, anchor each end of the Iron Gates and the impact of the dam can be felt for over 100 miles; over 23,000 residents living along the river needed to be resettled after the dam was completed.

Danube River cruises in eastern Europe sail through the Iron Gates in daytime, and the scenery is spectacular, though not as dramatic as it was over 50 years ago. Most river cruise travelers consider the Iron Gates area and the Wachau Valley in Austria as the most scenic parts of the Danube River.

Eastern European river cruises on the Danube typically run between Budapest and Bucharest or the Black Sea. Those wishing to cross Europe from the Black Sea to the North Sea at Amsterdam can combine an eastern Europe Danube River cruise with a "Grand European" river cruise between Budapest and Amsterdam.

In this photo, the Roman emperor Trajan laid a marker to commemorate the construction of the road to Dacia nearly 2000 years ago.