The Danube: River of Empires

22 hrs. 26 min.

Miscellaneous

Language Russian

Author Andrei Shary

Narrator Mikhail Roslyakov

Description

Three thousand kilometers of the Danube, the second-longest river of the Old World—three thousand years of human history. River travel from the German source to the Ukrainian-Romanian mouth through the territories of Austria and Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria is a journey into the past of mighty empires and the present of a new Europe. Throughout all times, the Danube inspired feats and achievements of commanders and politicians, poets and artists, composers and sculptors. Today’s trips along the Danube confirm: this river marks the most important political and cultural arc of the Old World—the zone of rivalry and cooperation among peoples, the sphere where their languages and customs permeate one another. For humans and for humanity, the Danube has been and remains a path, a goal, a shore, a frontier, a dream. As the poet said, in the Danube waters “both joy and sorrow are melted.” But what is more important: to build a fortress by the river, or to throw a bridge across it?

A. Sharoy’s work has no analogues in domestic literature. In terms of the scope of historical, cultural, and geographical material, the boldness of its thought, and the elegance of the text’s processing, this interdisciplinary study gives strong competition to the best European examples of the “Danube genre.” The author shares unique experience in studying the Danube’s mythology and impressions from journeys along the great river. A separate chapter is devoted to the role of the Danube in Russian history.