Danube Island

42 kilometres of beach and a nature reserve right in the middle of a European metropolis: Danube Island is much more than a part of Vienna's flood protection system. It is great for leisure seekers and a key habitat for plants and animals alike.

The New Danube's primary function is to reinforce Vienna's flood protection system. Another main idea behind the Danube Island project was to provide easily accessible facilities for both sports and leisure activities. In addition to bathing areas with flat beaches, the island boasts an extensive network of paths for strollers, joggers, cyclists and roller-skaters, as well as barbecue and picnic areas, meadows, playing fields with markings, hard courts for tennis and separate courts for beach volleyball. A variety of bars and restaurants completes the range of leisure facilities.

Danube Island on the online city map

All attractions and facilities on Danube Island - such as bathing areas, bars and restaurants, boat and sports equipment rentals as well as first aid stations - are included in the online Vienna city map as part of the data layer "Art and Leisure".

In addition to gastronomic facilities, a range of other commercial enterprises has been set up on the island, including a bike rental, a windsurfing school, a waterslide, a water-ski lift, a scuba school, a rowing centre and rental shops for paddleboats, rowboats and electric boats.

Harbours with slipways for sailboats are located in the north and south of the Island.

Danube Island Information Centre

The team at the Information Centre will be happy to give directions and provide any information you need on Danube Island and its various facilities for all ages. A water playground, info area and exhibition space are located right next to the Information Centre.

Contact Information

• Danube Island Information Centre (German)
• Danube Island, 1220 Vienna, about 350 metres downriver of Reichsbrücke bridge
  Public transport information
• Telephone: +43 1 4000-96500
• E-Mail: inselinfo@ma45.wien.gv.at

Pocket map and Folder

The booklet "Danube Island Vienna - holidays right on your doorstep" offers information on recreational activities on Danube Island, such as sports facilities, boat rental or barbecue spaces. Thanks to its extra-small size it fits in every pocket. It includes a folding map of the Island. The map is available in German only.

To order call +43 1 4000-96520.

Download map (5 MB PDF - German)

The brochure "Flood Control on the Danube, Vienna" provides an illustrated overview of the topic. Numerous technical data and facts ensure that the brochure is also relevant for experts. A historical retrospect and insights into the importance of the Donauinsel (Danube Island) as an ecological niche as well as Vienna's most popular recreation area complete the brochure.

Download Folder (5,4 MB PDF)

Free WiFi

With StadtWien-PublicWLAN users can access local information and benefit from free internet access on the Danube Island between Floridsdorfer Brücke and Kaisermühlenbrücke.

StadtWienPublicWLAN hotspots on Danube Island

Large-scale events

The grounds and facilities on and around Danube Island provide Vienna with a suitable venue for a number of international activities such, as large-scale cultural and sporting events. The Danube Island Festival, held in the area between Floridsdorfer Brücke and Reichsbrücke, has become a fixture on the annual event calendar over the past 30 years. Today it is Europe's largest outdoor event.

Ecology

A number of biotopes have been created by preserving cut-off meanders of the Danube, excavating ponds and developing special surface structures on Danube Island.

Areas like Toter Grund and Zinkerbachl, with their old stands of poplars, date back to the time before the first regulation of the Danube. Two ponds, Hüttenteich and Endelteich, were created with the water used to irrigate reforested areas. Sand martins and solitary bees have settled at Schwalbenteich, an artificial pond just like Tritonwasser.

All these bodies of water provide habitats and spawning grounds for various species of amphibians such as newts, toads and frogs. Certain areas of the island and its embankments are managed only extensively, encouraging the growth of plant species like thistles, sorrel, poppies and larkspur, which in turn serve as habitats for small game animals, butterflies, lizards and other fauna.

The necessary maintenance work includes clean-ups after floods, mowing and watering the island and its embankments, as well as cutting aquatic weeds in the New Danube. The city of Vienna has purchased special mowing boats for this purpose.