European Sojourn 2013: Scenic Cruising & Iron Gate

Wednesday, April 10th

Today, we enjoyed scenic cruising as we travelled through one of the most picturesque areas of the Lower Danube. The Iron Gate is one of Europe’s most dramatic natural wonders, a spectacular narrow gorge with enormous white limestone cliffs.

The Great Kazan (kazan meaning "vat" or "reservoir") is the most famous and the most narrow gorge of the whole route: the river here narrows to 150 m and reaches a depth of up to 53 m (174 ft).

The Statue of Decebalus is the tallest sculpture in Europe which is carved in rock. 40 meters high statue is located at Danube rocky coast near the town Orşova in Romania. Decebalus was Dacian King who was famous for fighting three wars against Roman empire. He ruled the Dacians from 87 to 106 AD. At the end he killed himself, not allowing Romans to capture him alive.
Sculpture is idea by the Iosif Constantin Drăgan – Romanian historian. Building began in 1994 and finished in 2004. They needed a 12 sculptors and over 1 million dollars to finish it.
Under the Decebal face, carved in the stone is inscription on Latin language “DECEBALUS REX – DRAGAN FECIT” which means “King Decebal – Made by Drăgan

The Iron Gates is a gorge on the Danube River. It forms part of the boundary between Romania and Serbia. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 134 km (83 mi); in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orşova, that contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station and Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station.

Before 1972, the current through the Iron Gates was so strong that it was dangerous for ships traveling this portion of the Danube.In fact, most ships were dragged upstream by locomotion. The waters were finally tamed with the completion of the first dam in 1972 and a second in 1984. Two hydroelectric power stations were also built, providing energy to both Romania and Serbia.