Donau

The river that flows across Europe from west to southeast is viewed in many ways. Sometimes it appears as a place of longing and the blissful spirit of the waltz, sometimes as the blue ribbon of the continent, sometimes as a lifeline for people, goods and ideas.

At the same time, the Danube is a border and a transport route, where prosperity and poverty meet. Its banks carry fractures and contrasts, and yet many voices can be recognized in them, from Hölderlin to Canetti and on to Magris.

What stories does the river tell when you view it from the bank, and what connects people who write about it so differently?