The mighty Danube River flows from its springs in Germany's Black Forest to the Black Sea. Just before reaching the sea it forms the second largest and best preserved of Europe's deltas: 2,200 square miles of rivers, canals, marshes, tree-fringed lakes and reed islands. The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast's (especially a bird watcher's) paradise.

The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador. More than half of the Delta Biosphere Reserve is virtually intact. The Danube Delta is also inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The area was first attested by Herodot of Halicarnas (484 – 425 B.C.).