Danube name meaning "strong, swift" (akin to Sanskrit "iṣiras" "swift"). In Latin, the Danube was variously known as ' or as '. The Dacian/Thracian name was "Donaris" for the upper Danube and "Istros" for the lower Danube. The Thraco-Phrygian name was "Matoas", "the bringer of luck". The Latin name is masculine, as are all its Slavic names, except Slovenian, (the name of the Rhine is also masculine in Latin, most of the Slavic languages, as well as in German). The German "Donau" (Early Modern German "Donaw, Tonaw", Middle High German "Tuonowe") is feminine, as it has been re-interpreted as containing the
Danube Hills even exclusively restricted to this area which covered 376 km², which only covered the higher parts of the Vorderer Forest. It became major unit 405 in the natural region major unit group, the Upper Palatine-Bavarian Forest (40). English sources variously use the names Vorderer Forest, Danube Hills, Vorderer Wald, or Anterior Bavarian Forest. Regardless of this, the part designated as the "Falkensteiner Vorwald" in regional studies is also called the "Vorderer Bayerischer Wald" in German sources used for tourism purposes. However, the following description is based on the regional structure. The natural region of the Danube Hills is only 8