A New Waterway Route on the Danube
22-05-1851, Petrovaradin (today part of Novi Sad, Serbia)
1 Sheet, manuscript and coloured drawing on paper, 49 × 32 cm
Historical Archive of Vojvodina of Novi Sad (Serbia)
RS 002 F. 373 190
Rivers have been used for transport since time immemorial. Long before the modern and efficient networks of highways and even before ancient roads, rivers were used as routes for trade and the movement of people and goods.
The main rivers traversing Europe have been significant waterways since ancient times, including of course the Danube, the second longest river of Europe. Originating in Germany, the Danube crosses Central and Eastern Europe, flowing today through 10 countries before draining into the Black Sea. It was one of the most important trade routes in Europe, crossing a collection of important towns that included four capital cities (Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade).The Danube is 2,850 kmin length, and most of it (2,415 km) is navigable.
Economic development and ever-greater industrialisation generates a dramatic increase in the levels of river traffic. Various bodies and institutions were created to regulate river transportation and to determine routes which had to be approved and controlled in the interests of safety and efficiency.
The document here shows the plans for a new waterway route on the Danube, near the pontoon bridge, between Petrovaradin and Bruckschantz (today part of Novi Sad, Serbia), dated 22 May,1851.
It is the protocol for a new steamboat route, requested by the Command of the Fortified place of Petrovaradin. The new waterway route is indicated by a dashed line on the map.