Serbia Drought Reveals Century-Old Slovenian Tugboat

A century-old steam tugboat named the Slovenian has resurfaced from the Sava River near Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, as Europe’s rivers shrink under prolonged extreme heat and drought. Locals and historians say the exposed hull, dubbed “Sava’s Titanic” by Serbian media, is drawing renewed interest because parts of the wreck have rarely been as visible. Built in 1913 in Budapest and originally named Vag, the vessel carried heavy cargo along the Danube and later passed to Yugoslav authorities as part of post‑World War I reparations, after which it was renamed the Slovenian. The discovery comes amid a broader pattern of relics from ships to mammoth bones emerging from drying rivers, underscoring the wide-ranging disruption to trade, power generation, and water supplies across Europe. The Slovenian’s wartime history includes use by anti-fascist forces and damage from a mine in 1945, after which it sank in the Sava River, now reappearing as water levels fall. The unfolding visibility of the Slovenian highlights the intersection of climate-driven drought with historical memory as Europe faces ongoing water scarcity and its consequences.