This mighty river is exceedingly rich in historical and political
associations. For a long period it formed the frontier of the Roman
Empire, and along its course are still found many notable Roman remains.
Traces of the great wall erected by the Emperor Trajan are to be seen on
the south side of the Hungarian Danube. At Turn Severin, east of the
Carpathians, a tower and several piers of Trajan’s Roman bridge, a
splendid piece of ancient engineering, are still standing; while his
more marvelous road in the rocky Kazan defile is marked by a Roman
tablet still visible.
The struggles of races and peoples in the lands bordering the Danube
have been among the fiercest and strongest in all history. Finns, Kelts,
Germans, Slavs, Greeks, Italians and Turks have all vied with one
another in the race of conquest and possession; and even today the
Balkan countries are still in the seething cauldron of new struggles for
domination or independence.
The Lake Region of Europe lies round the Baltic. _Ladoga_, in
Russia, is the largest fresh-water lake in Europe, as wide across as
the English Channel, between Portsmouth and Cherbourg. _Onega_, and
Peipus (Russia) are also of great size, as well as the lakes of
Finland and Sweden, and some of those of the Alps. Chief of these
are Wetter and Mœlar in Sweden; the myriad lakes of Finland; the
beautiful lakes of the folds of the Alps, Geneva, Neuchatel, and
Constance on the north side; and Maggiore, Como, and Garda in the
Italian valleys. They will be noticed further under the countries to
which they belong.