Diving Alte Donau (Old Danube)

Site Overview

Alte Donau (Old Danube) is a training site dive site in Vienna & Lower Austria, Austria, set among the country’s varied freshwater landscapes. The Alte Donau is an urban former arm of the Danube inside Vienna, a calm, sheltered stretch of water that has become the city’s favourite training and fun-dive spot. Deliberately sunk objects including old boats, a bus and concrete blocks create easy artificial reefs and straightforward wreck-training targets within a short fin from the shore. Dense weed beds line the edges and host a surprising amount of macro life, making the site a relaxed place for underwater photography between courses. Pike, zander, perch and tench patrol the vegetation, and the clear shallow water lets new divers build confidence close to the city centre. Night dives are a local specialty because the surrounding city lights give the water an atmospheric glow and the fish become more active after dark. Because it is so accessible, the Alte Donau is where most Viennese divers take their first breaths underwater and where clubs run regular pool-to-lake programmes. Conditions are typical of Austrian inland water: visibility generally runs from 3 to 10 metres, the current is low and the water temperature ranges between 4 and 24 degrees Celsius depending on season and depth. The marine life is freshwater and centred on northern pike, zander, european perch, with the full community described below for those planning a dive. Because of its beginner rating and the need for Open Water certification, Alte Donau (Old Danube) is best approached with the right thermal protection and, where relevant, altitude or overhead training. It is a representative example of why Austrian lake diving, with its cold clarity, submerged forests and wrecks, attracts divers who want something different from tropical reefs.