The Independent World
· collected 2026-08-20 · by Marko Drobnjakovic and Jovana Gec
A historic World War II tugboat, known as the Slovenian, has resurfaced in the Sava River in Serbia due to extreme heat causing droughts across Europe. The 54-meter-long boat, which was built in 1913, had been submerged for over 75 years and is now fully exposed for the first time in several years. Local historian Andrija Popovic says the wreck has sparked interest among residents, who have nicknamed it "Sava's Titanic". The drought has also brought to light other relics along the Danube and Rhine rivers, including military vessels and ancient structural remains.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-20,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
As prolonged extreme heat dries up rivers across Europe, the remains of a steam tugboat from the early 1900s have become the latest historic artefact to emerge.
asserted
remains → dry → 1900s
The corroded hull, a vessel once known as the Slovenian, re-emerged earlier this month from the Sava River near Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of Belgrade.
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hull → know → Belgrade
Although parts have broken the surface previously, residents say the wreck has never been so fully exposed.
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wreck → break → surface
"It's been several years since it was last seen, so there is quite an interest," said historian Andrija Popovic, who is the head of the town museum.
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who → see → museum
"It's truly something you don't see every day," he added.
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he → see → ?
Local Serbian media have nicknamed the boat "Sava's Titanic".
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media → nickname → boat
A range of relics, including military vessels, mammoth bones and ancient structural remains, have surfaced from falling waters along the Danube, Rhine and other waterways.
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range → include → Danube
The intense drought has also disrupted trade, power generation and local water supplies.
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drought → disrupt → trade
Record-low water on the Danube has severely affected nuclear power plants in Hungary and Romania while bringing shipping to a halt along Europe's second-largest river.
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water → affect → river
Meanwhile, months of dry weather have ruined crops from Bosnia to the Netherlands and led to water shortages extending into the Alps.
The Slovenian survived two World Wars
According to Mr Popovic, the Slovenian was made in 1913 in a shipyard in Budapest, Hungary, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
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which → ruin → empire
It measured roughly 54 metres (177 feet) in length and was initially named Vag, which is Hungarian for Slovakia’s longest river, Vah.
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which → measure → river
With a steam engine, the boat pulled heavy cargo between Budapest and other towns along the Danube.
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boat → pull → Danube
During the Second World War, the boat largely paused its routes, Mr Popovic added.
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Popovic → pause → routes
As the war ended and the Austro-Hungarian empire was dismantled, the boat's ownership switched to the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians – which would later become Yugoslavia – as part of war reparations, he said.
“This is when it was renamed the Slovenian,” Mr Popovic said, adding that it is a mystery "why this name was chosen".
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name → end → reparations
Then, during World War II, the Slovenian – and its new country – came under Nazi German occupation.
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Slovenian → come → occupation
After Yugoslav anti-fascist forces liberated Belgrade in 1944, they used the boat to transfer the wounded and equipment while pushing German troops further west, Mr Popovic said.
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Popovic → liberate → troops
The boat was carrying wounded fighters when it hit a German mine in late April 1945, Mr Popovic said.
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Popovic → carry → April
“It sank and has stayed in the same place since that day.”
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It → sink → day
The Danube gives up its ghosts
The Slovenian is not the only relic that has emerged from Europe's drying rivers.
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that → give → rivers
On Serbia's eastern border with Romania, rusty remains of German ships are sticking out from the slumped Danube waters.
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remains → stick → waters
Some still laden with weapons, the ships belonged to Nazi Germany’s Black Sea fleet that was deliberately sunk near the end of the war as German troops retreated from Romania and Soviet forces advanced deeper into Europe.
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forces → belong → Europe
In Italy, the worst drought in 70 years has exposed the piers of an ancient bridge over the Tiber River once used by Roman emperors but which fell into disrepair by the third century.
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which → expose → century
As the Danube waters shrank in Bulgaria, researchers were thrilled to find and recover a jawbone, tusks, a shoulder blade, ribs and other bone fragments belonging to an extinct woolly mammoth, buried deep in the sand.
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researchers → shrink → sand
Climate change hits Europe hard
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change → hit → Europe
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
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temperatures → warm → Service
Half of the European Union and the United Kingdom was experiencing drought by late July 2026, according to the EU’s European Drought Observatory, with 9 per cent of the territory at the most severe “alert” level.
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cent → experience → level
Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness.
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change → warn → heat
Serbian hydrology expert Dejan Vladikovic said that the current drought is the combination of a lack of winter snow and a very dry spring.
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drought → say → snow
“What awaits us in the future ... is that such situations will be more frequent," he said.
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he → await → future
“We are entering periods when this will, unfortunately, become a new normalcy.”
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this → enter → periods
Even the mountains are suffering.
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mountains → suffer → ?
In the Slovenian Alps, lodges that depend on rainwater have restricted the use of water for climbers and hikers, including for showers and toilets.
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that → depend → showers
The Triglav Lodge, Slovenia’s highest-altitude guest hut at an elevation of 2,515 metres (8,251 feet), is using paper plates this summer to save water on dishes.
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Lodge → use → dishes
