Traffic of coarse barges and passenger vessels, as well as currents and turbulence near locks and weirs, pose hazards to bathers. Therefore, swimming in the main-danube canal (MDK) is generally prohibited in particularly hazardous areas.
Locks, weirs, bridges, berths and harbors and their surroundings pay for it. Bathing is also not allowed in some urban areas.
Where bathing is allowed on open stretches, the danube waterway and shipping authority (WSA) appeals to the common sense of bathers in a press release: keep your distance from inland vessels, because they cannot avoid you; be careful with waves and currents; they are easily underestimated!
Bridge divers in mortal danger
Bridge jumpers put themselves in mortal danger, which is why it is also prohibited. Driftwood floating invisibly below the water’s surface poses a high risk in many cases.
Parents are asked to talk to their children about the dangers and prohibitions in order to protect them. Especially for children and young people, open-air swimming pools and bathing lakes are the safer alternative to swimming.
Particularly in the low season, the service roads along the main-danube canal also invite visitors to use them for recreation in the fresh air and by the water. Walkers and cyclists are welcome to share the company’s trails. What is usually not known is that the paths on the side of the canal are operational paths of the federal waterways and shipping administration (WSV). They are required for use by service vehicles and trucks for the operation and maintenance of the main-danube canal.
The service roads are used by the employees of the WSA in order to be able to provide help quickly and unhindered at any time in the event of an accident at the scene of an accident, but also for everyday work in order to maintain the shore areas and dams in a permanently safe condition. Because the shipping industry and the residents rely on the fact that these are always intact. It is the task of the WSV to ensure this, and the use of the paths with service vehicles is indispensable for this purpose.
Rules on the farm roads
Motor vehicles, mopeds and e-bikes are not permitted on the paths. Horse riding is also not allowed, because the hoofs damage the paths. Signs on the company road indicate this. The waterways and shipping office emphasizes, however, that fubgangers and cyclists are welcome guests on the service roads.