Second World War relics emerge across Europe due to drought

Second World War relics emerge across Europe due to drought
The low water level of the Danube River below the Vidin-Calafat Bridge near Vidin, Bulgaria, on 5 August 2026, as prolonged hot and dry weather continues to lower water levels across the region. Credit: AFP / Belga

Drought across Europe has exposed Second World War remains and unexploded munitions in rivers and areas hit by wildfires.

In Budapest, Hungary, a German motorcycle and the bodies of two Wehrmacht soldiers were found in the bed of the River Danube, Euronews reported.

The soldiers' remains, along with their cardboard identity discs, were preserved by a mixture of mud and fuel. Several explosive devices were also discovered, including 35 anti-tank mines.

In Cologne, Germany, low water levels revealed a 500 kg American bomb, while in Slovakia, bomb disposal teams detonated a large 750 kg bomb in the Danube.

In Serbia, the Danube's exceptionally low level exposed several wrecks of German naval vessels dating from the Second World War.

As Soviet forces pursued the retreating German Black Sea fleet, the Germans deliberately sunk around 200 ships in their own flotilla to make the Danube impassable.

In France, it was not drought but the devastating wildfires in Gironde that uncovered more than 400 wartime shells in the village of Le Porge.

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