Budapest Bridge and Riverfront Closed Due to WWII Explosives
Record-low Danube water levels have revealed a Soviet shell, a cannonball, and a German container with anti-tank weapons.
Record-low Danube water levels have revealed a Soviet shell, a cannonball, and a German container with anti-tank weapons.
Record-low water levels of the Danube in Budapest have brought dangerous relics of the past to the surface, prompting a temporary shutdown of traffic in the heart of the Hungarian capital on Friday morning. The bomb disposal unit of the Hungarian Armed Forces confirmed on Thursday that the Szabadság Bridge and the entire Raoul Wallenberg riverfront will be temporarily closed to remove unexploded ordnance found in the river mud.
The closure begins at 4 a.m. on Friday, August 7, 2026, and affects a key thoroughfare connecting Buda and Pest, as well as the popular promenade along the Hungarian Parliament building. Authorities are urging citizens to be patient and avoid the area while the delicate operation is underway.
According to Daily News Hungary, the bomb disposal unit received two reports over the past weekend about suspicious objects on the Danube's banks. The first concerned the Raoul Wallenberg riverfront, and the second the Valdemar and Nina Langlet riverfront.
On Tuesday, experts went to the scene and identified the found objects. On the Raoul Wallenberg riverfront, a Soviet 203mm anti-concrete shell from World War II was discovered, along with a suspicious cannonball estimated to date from the 19th century.
The second location, situated on the Buda side near the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), concealed an even more dangerous find. There, a German supply container from World War II was identified, containing eight launch tubes for Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons, along with their warheads and detonators.
This is not the first time that extremely low water levels in the Danube have revealed historical artifacts and war remnants. As reported by Dnevno.hr, the river has been at record-low levels in recent weeks, exposing shipwrecks and various objects that have lain hidden on the riverbed for decades. The water level crisis has already severely impacted river traffic, with floating hotels and cargo ships left stranded in parts of Hungary, including the area near Paks.
The discovery of dangerous cargo in the very center of Budapest is a stark reminder of the lasting scars that World War II left across Europe. Although more than eight decades have passed, rivers still hold deadly secrets that occasionally surface, requiring the intervention of bomb disposal experts.
