Tag: Danube

Magnificent Djerdap Gorge, better known as the Iron Gates is the longest and the deepest gorge in Europe The Danube in the Celtic language means river or water. It is not known when the first wave of the Pannonian sea began to deepen the massifs between the Balkans and the Carpathians, opening the Iron Gates and creating today's Djerdap. To this wondrous nature, the Persians gave the name Girdap or vortex. Roman soldiers, according to the order of the emperor Trajan, crossed the path through the Djerdap walls. It had great strategic and economic significance for the Roman Empire. The Djerdap National Park (the Iron Gates) lies in eastern Serbia, on the border with Romania. The magnificent gorge, better known as the Iron Gates is the longest and deepest in Europe. It stretches for a distance of around 100 km. It is composed of a whole series of gorges: Golubac, Gospodjin Vir, Kazan, and Sip, separated by three valleys. Djerdap is a natural fortification that abounds in historic and cultural localities, some of which were inundated when the Djerdap Dam was constructed. Others, such as the Lepenski Vir archaeological site and the Trajan’s Table were relocated. The National Park extends for 100 km along the Danube, between the towns of Golubac and Karatas. In this area, the Danube is the widest (sometimes even up to 2 km from where the artificial lake now lies). It is also the deepest and the narrowest (only 150 meters at Kazan). The fauna and flora of this small area have not changed since Pliocene, with ancient plants and animal groups that survived the Ice Age. There is a special kind of tulip that grows only there and is therefore called the Djerdap tulip. The animal species are also very old and diversified. There are