Source of the Danube

The Danube is conventionally taken to be formed by the confluence of the two streams Brigach and Breg just east of Donaueschingen. Known as the source of the Danube (Donauquelle) is the source of the Donaubach in Donaueschingen itself. Hydrologically, the source of the Danube is the source of the Breg as the larger of the two formative streams, which rises near Furtwangen.

There was an active rivalry between the municipalities of Furtwangen and Donaueschingen for the claim of being home to the "official" source of the Danube since the 1950s, sometimes with the involvement of the government of the state of Baden-Württemberg. Thus, in 1981 the state government granted Donaueschingen the request that the source in Furtwangen should no longer be labelled Donauquelle in official maps. The history of the dispute was documented by Claudio Magris in his Danubio (1986).

The waters of rivers collect in a barely comprehensible number of headwaters, which gradually merge. The numerous merger points of each greater upstream river build the backbone of this type of drainage system and with that the source of the entire river. The main point or backbone of a river is sometimes defined by further features such as length, drainage area or steady flow direction. For a long time, unique springs which differed in size or the starting point of a certain headwater also had a mythological meaning. This was reflected in holy springs/ water sanctuaries or in the worship of Naiads. This was also the case with the source of the mightiest river in the Roman Empire. The Danube river emanating from the Abnoba mountains was considered to be a river or spring goddess. In contrast to the more mythological role, the hydrological significance of the source of the Danube is uncommonly small. This is because the Danube gives an important part of its water to the Rhine both above and below Tuttlingen. As a consequence, it dries up most time of the year. Near Ulm, in terms of hydrology, the Danube gets a tributary to the Iller which is more water-rich. It even gets surpassed by the Inn.

The Donaubach rises on the castle grounds near the left corner of the front face of the castle Donaueschingen in a karst spring. This karst spring has an embankment of 15 to 70 l/s and enters into the Brigach after flowing 90 meters belowground. The Brigach and the Breg become the Danube after 1.5 km. The source is one of 22 sources in the area of the junction of Brigach and Berg. All of these sources are fed by both water which trickles away above them and rainfall which trickles away on the karstified downs of a landscape called Baar. Together, the Brigach and the Breg empty out between 400 and 1000 l/s.

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