Gabcikovo Dam

Built in 1992, Gabcikovo Dam in Slovakia is the second largest dam (after the Iron Gates dam) on the Danube, situated downstream of Bratislava. From the 1950’s onwards the upper part of the Danube was seen as ideal for building hydropower plants due to the river's considerable natural gradient. A total of 59 dams were built along the river's first 1,000 kilometres - from the source down to Gabcikovo. This means that the Upper Danube is interrupted every 16 km on average. Very few stretches can still be characterised as free-flowing.

Gabcikovo Dam is located near an area that used to form one of the region's largest wetlands. Today, 8,000 ha of floodplain forests and an extensive network of tributary channels are artificially irrigated. The original river channel only receives 10-20% of the total flow, as the other 80-90% are used to generate 10% of Slovakia’s electricity. Downstream of Bratislava, three more hydropower plants interrupt the flow of the river.