Old Danube (Dunărea Veche)

The Old Danube (Dunărea Veche) is the local name for the former course, with wide meanders, of the Sulina branch of the Danube Delta, in Crișan commune, Tulcea County. It branches off to the left of the Sulina canal and passes the village of Mila 23, which stands on its right bank where the Stipoc and Eracle canals join; from Mila 23 its course runs south-east to near Crișan village. Until 1857 the Sulina branch had a sinuous natural course of about 83 km. Between 1858 and 1902 the European Commission of the Danube turned it into a canal navigable by sea-going ships, cutting off the largest meanders. The two wide bends near Crișan, known as the "Great M", were bypassed by the straight canal between miles 8 and 18; the old course, past Mila 23, remained known as the Old Danube. In 1928 the geologist Ion Simionescu noted that an obelisk near Crișan recalled the hard work of cutting the "great M". The rectified "Maliuc" and "Great M" meanders are still studied today by the GeoEcoMar institute, to follow how water and sediment move between the canal and the old loops. The Old Danube is travelled in small boats. It is used by the official DDBRA routes 1 (Tulcea → Șontea channel → Mila 23 → Crișan → Tulcea, with the variant Tulcea → Gorgova → Mila 23 → Crișan → Tulcea) and 10 (Crișan → Mila 23 → Lake Trei Iezere → Crișan). Trips usually start from Tulcea, Crișan or Mila 23, with boats of local people or authorised operators. Any visit to the Biosphere Reserve requires the access permit issued by the DDBRA; it can be bought online (ddbra.ro), by SMS, at SelfPay terminals or at the DDBRA information centres in Crișan, Sulina and Murighiol. Children, pupils, students and pensioners receive it free of charge. Camping is allowed only at authorised sites. The Old Danube lies within the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO site since 1991, Ramsar site) and in the Natura 2000 sites ROSCI0065 Danube Delta and ROSPA0031 Danube Delta and Razim-Sinoie Complex. Did you know that Crișan village, at the south-eastern end of the Old Danube, stands on a ridge raised with the earth and sand dug out of the Sulina canal? The village's founding act of 1900 says the place was so high "from the earth and sand that was dug out" that even the great flood of 1897 had not covered it.