Donauinsel

Geschichte

The Donauinsel is a long, narrow island in central Vienna, Austria, lying between the Danube river and the parallel excavated channel Neue Donau . The island is 21.1km in length, but is only 70- wide. The New Danube waterway is practically an elongated lake, technically a diluvian bed.Recreation and festival venueTo most visitors, the island is known as a recreational area with bars, restaurants and nightclubs. It has sports opportunities from rollerblading, cycling and swimming to canoeing. There is one beach that, in its beginning, felt so exotic that it was soon nicknamed the "Copa Cagrana" as a humoristic allusion to Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana: Kagran is the part of the 22nd District of Vienna next to that beach. In the southern and northern parts of the island, there are extensive (and free) nude beaches.The Donauinselfest is an internationally well-known annual open air festival, and Europe's biggest event of this kind, with over 3 million visitors. It takes place at the end of June (Friday through Sunday) - except for 2008 (September 5 - 7), due to Austria (and Switzerland) hosting the European Football Championship. On September 23, 2008, Madonna gave her first concert in Austria there in front of a crowd of 57,000.