Located in the northeast of Serbia, on the very boarder with neighbouring country Romania. This national park lies at the right shore of the river Danube, covering the area of almost 64.000 hectares, which makes it Serbia's largest national park. Established in 1974, it is often called 'river national park' because the Danube makes up a significant portion of the park. As for its natural beauties and cultural heritage, it is important on a European level.
The Đerdap gorge
Map of the Đerdap (Iron Gate) gorge
Đerdap National Park was named after the Đerdap gorge, the largest and longest breakthough gorge in Europe. Know also as the Iron Gate, it consists, in total, of 4 gorges (Golubačka, Ljupkovska, Gospođin vir, Donjomilanovačka) and 3 ravines (Veliki and Mali kazan, Oršavska, Sipska). Veliki kazan, where the Danube is at its narrowest and at the same time, reaches the maximum depth on its course (90 meters), is the most attractive part of the whole area.
Park is inhabited by more than 1.100 plant species and majority of them are relict. For that reason, the Đerdap area was and still is quite intriguing for botanists. Some of these interesting plants are smoke tree, bellflower, lilac, hellebore... More than 64% of the park is covered by forest.
Beside its abundant flora, this national park characterizes extremely rich fauna. Well-preserved and intact habitats made perfect conditions for different kinds of animals to coherently exist in it for centuries. Exceptionally important habitats are those of the river Danube and its tributaries, forests, meadows, ravines and canyons. This remarkable gorge is a true botanical garden in the open, where around 150 birds live throughout the year. However, the most numerous animals are mammals - deer, wild boar, lynx, wild cat, mountain goat, wolf, jackal...
What makes this national park different from other national parks in Serbia, are its rich heritage monuments, that this area is well-known for. It is a park with the largest number of historical monuments from the Roman limes on the Danube as well as Europe's largest natural history museum and archaeological museum.
First there is the Lepenski Vir archaeological site, on which were found the remains of the earliest neolithic settlement (houses with hearthstones and around 54 similar fishlike sculptures), created over 8.000 years ago. After the construction of the damm, the site had to be relocated, so it doesn't get flooded by the rising level of the Danube.
Lepenski Vir
Then there is Tabula Traiana (Trajan's table), located in the end of the Kazan gorge. On this table stands, carved into a rock, an inscription in latin dedicated to the Roman emperor Trajan. It is part of a group of classical monuments on the Roman road, that also includes the remains of the bridge once built by Trajan across the Danube. Opposite of the Trajan's table, at the romanian side of the Danube, there is a 40-meter high stone sculpture of the dacian king Decebel, Trajan's lifelong enemy.
Trajan's table
Decibel's sculpture
Monument that also stands out is definitely the Golubac fortress. It lies on the Danube's right bank at the very entrance to the Iron Gates, located 4 km downstream from the modern-day town of Golubac. To this day, it is still unknown how old the fortress actually is and who first began its construction. The only thing that has been established for certain is that the first fortification in Golubac on the Danube was built by Romans in the 1st century AD.
Golubac fortress had tumultuous history, repeatedly changing hands between Blgarians, Turks, Hungarians, Serbs and Austrians until it was finally (in 1867) turned over to the serbian knez Mihailo Obrenović III. Today it is a popular tourists attraction and an inevitable destination on many Danube boat tours.
Golubac fortress
At the very exit of the Đerdap gorge. on a high cliff above the Danube called the Karataš, there is one more fortress - Diana. Built during the reign of Emperor Trajan, it represents one of the largest and best preserved forts on the Danube. Its primary task was serving as a military fortification and today it remains an importan archaeological site. Numerous marble and bronze sculptures and everyday items discovered in Diana indicate that, beside being a crucial Roman fortification, the castle was also a major economic centre and port.
Remains of Diana fortress
Diana also stands close to the hydropower Đerdap I (around 300 m downstream), that is part of the Đerdap hydropower system. This system consists of two hydropowers built on the river Danube - already mentioned - Đerdap I and 80 km distant - Đerdap II. They are located on the Serbo-Romanian border, so they belong both to Serbia and Romania. Plants Đerdap I and Đerdap II are accounted for around 20% of the total electricity production in Serbia.
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