Donaukanal

The Donaukanal ("Danube Canal") is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel (since 1598), within the city of Vienna, Austria . It is 17.3 km (10.7 mi) long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere Stadt, where the Wien River (Wienfluss) flows into it.

The Donaukanal bifurcates from the main river at the Nußdorf weir and lock complex, in Döbling, and joins it again just upstream of the "Praterspitz", at the Prater park in Simmering. The island thus formed between the Donaukanal and the Danube holds 2 of the 23 districts of Vienna: Brigittenau (20th District) and Leopoldstadt (2nd District). The canal is crossed by 15 road bridges and 5 train bridges.

Because in German, the name Kanal, which has been used since about 1700, evokes associations of an open sewer, attempts at renaming the Donaukanal have been made (one suggestion was Kleine Donau—Little Danube) but have not met with success.

The name "Donaukanal" ("Danube Canal"), has been used since 1686, for the southern branch of the River Danube in Vienna. Originally a natural branch, during 1598-1600, it was regulated for the first time by Baron von Hoyos.

In the 19th century, the Schwimmtor, a movable floating barrier, was constructed near the upstream entrance to the canal. It was designed to protect the canal from floods and drift ice, and entered service in 1873. The Nußdorf weir and lock complex were constructed between 1894 and 1899, and provide a greater degree of flood control than the Schwimmtor. However the Schwimmtor remained in use until World War I, and was not scrapped until 1945.

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