Serbia is the second riparian state on the Danube by length. The river flows through Serbia from km-1433 to km-845.65, a length of 587km, the first 137km being shared with Croatia (right bank) and the last 229km with Romania (left bank). Serbia has a remarkable network of inland waterways. The total length open for commercial traffic is 1660km, but there are hundreds of kilometres of rivers, reservoirs and lakes available to small recreational craft. The network of canals, collectively known by the name Danube-Tisa-Danube, total approximately 694km, of which 600km are currently navigable. This "hydro system" was designed in the late 18th century, and built (and improved) in stages during the 19th and 20th centuries. Its functions are drainage, flood control, water supply and navigation. The oldest waterway in the system is the Bega lateral canal, which was dug between Timisoara (in Romania) and Klek and opened in 1765. This remained a free-flow navigation until locks and weirs were built in 1902-13. This was followed by the first canal from Backi Monostor to Backo Gradiste in 1793-1802, built by the Kiss brothers. It has been enlarged and deepened several times. The system is entered through Bezdan lock, a significant structure in the history of construction techniques applied to inland navigation; built in 1856 (to replace the earlier entrance from the Danube through Backi Monostor), it was the first structure to be built with concrete cast under water. The lock was out of service for many years, but is now to be restored at a cost of two million euros. Where the canal enters the river Tisa, at Becej, is another historic lock, designed by Eiffel in Paris and built in 1895-99. The system as we see it today was designed by the engineer Nikola Mirkov just after World War II and works started in 1957. This included the extension through the Banat east of the Tisa river. The entire network was completed in 1977. It is managed by the public water management company Vode Vojvodine http://www.vodevojvodine.com The Djerdap (Iron Gate) hydropower scheme on the Danube was developed in collaboration with Romania from 1964. Djerdap I at Kladovo was opened in 1970. Works began on Djerdap II at Prahovo in 1977 and were completed in 1985. The Danube and the DTD canals are used by many regional boaters. A motor boat rally has been organised every year since 1976 by the Belgrade magazine Ilustrovana Politika, while the association Danube Propeller has been campaigning for 20 years for development of the recreational potential of this network, supported by Inland Waterways International since 2003.
Text by Radomir Jecinac/Euromapping, from European Waterways Map & Concise Directory (2008) available to order on www.euromapping.com