Tucked into the grounds of the Fürstenberg Palace, the Donauquelle is a circular stone basin no bigger than a backyard pond — and yet it is, by tradition, the source of one of the great rivers of Europe. The water rises clear and cold from the limestone, and a Baroque-revival balustrade and an allegorical sculpture (Baar handing the young Danube down to Mother Donau) frame the spot.
It is a small thing, and most visitors are mildly surprised by how unassuming the source is. Read the inscriptions, take the obligatory photo, and then follow the short footpath downstream a few hundred metres to where the visible river truly begins at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg. The dispute about which is the true source is older than the modern German state.