"Passau where the River Inn meets the Danube." Top 5 Page for this destination Passau by dabidc

Passau Travel Guide: 163 reviews and 295 photos

City centre in a water world

The river Danube or Donau rises in S.W Germany and flows east on its way to the Black Sea. One of the tributaries is the Inn, which rises in Switzerland as the Enn and flows into Austria near Landeck, in turn it enters Germany near Rosenheim.

The photo shows the Danube on the left looking brown compared to the lighter colour of the Inn.

The older section of Passau is built on a narrow section of land between the two rivers. Over the years there have been many times when the buildings were flooded.

There is a pleasant river walk along the Inn and the Danube, an excellent place on a warm day to watch the commerce on the river.

The view downstream is one of wooded hills and shows no buldings, but the view is of the very western part of Austria that is on the Danube.

Danube floods over the centuries.

Floodwater levels

The Rathaus complex is close to the Danube and on one wall of the building the levels of previous floods and the year the flood occurred, have been marked.

I do not recall which years had the highest water levels nor the actual depth of the water. Suffice it to say that the height of the people shown could be just under 2 m, or the top of the arch be 5 m from the ground. Then it may be the greatest depth was possibly 7 m above the present river level. The depth guage does not account for the flood s since 1997. I believe there was a major flood in the last 3 or 4 years.

Pros and Cons

Pros:City of historic buildings, Cruise port, cosmopolitan
Cons:No negatives for me.
In a nutshell:A great place to return to.

Last visit to Passau: Aug 1997
Intro Updated Apr 13, 2004
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Reviews (4)

Mid day Organ recital. Things to Do (4)

I was pleasantly surprised to find an Organ recital about to start, so I sat in an upper gallery and enjoyed a concert... more travel advice

St Stephen's Cathedral ,Passau. Things to Do (4)

I travelled to Passau from Wels in Austria by train, which arrives at the station located between Bahnhof Srasse and... more travel advice

Stopping place for cruise ships. Things to Do (4)

The cruise ships are generally headed for Linz, Vienna, Budapest and points east towards the Black Sea. The photo... more travel advice

Passau a city for History buffs. Things to Do (4)

The prime activity is the pleasure associated with walking around the old city centre looking for interesting buildings... more travel advice

Comments (8)

SteveOSF Jan 14, 2008 at 12:31 PM Report Abuse

Nice page! It may be quite some time before I can get to Germany. Thanks for the glimpse of the old world.
matcrazy1 Dec 28, 2006 at 7:24 AM Report Abuse

Very good tips. The rivers (the Danube and the Inn), the cathedral and its frescos remind me Austrian region of Wachau.
karenami Nov 1, 2006 at 3:05 PM Report Abuse

I'm American but mother is German & from Passau. I spent time there with my Oma ("Grandma"). I'm hoping to get back to Passau next year after having been there in 2004 & after being gone for 20+ years before that. It was definitely a memory lane trip.
sachara Mar 18, 2005 at 10:59 AM Report Abuse

Thank you for this page. I have hardly any picture of Passau. Long ago I spent here only one night on my way to Austria and Greece.
Roeffie Oct 14, 2004 at 11:42 PM Report Abuse

Again brings back memories from 3 months ago!
pepples46 Jul 13, 2004 at 10:12 PM Report Abuse

oh yes those Recitals in the Passauer Dom are must. fantastic organ play. thanx for a superb overview of Passau
o00o Jun 24, 2004 at 2:50 PM Report Abuse

Great information on the History buffs of Passau.
Leipzig May 7, 2004 at 8:43 AM Report Abuse

Fantastic overview! As far as I know the last flood dates back to 2002