Century-old shipwreck emerges from Serbia's Sava River amid drought

The corroded hull of a century-old steam tugboat, the Slovenian, has emerged from the receding waters of the Sava River near Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia, about 70 kilometers northwest of Belgrade. The discovery, made earlier this month, has captured local fascination and earned the vessel the nickname "Sava's Titanic," while serving as a stark symbol of a severe drought gripping Europe.

Historian Andrija Popovic, head of the local town museum, confirmed the wreck's re-emergence. "It's been several years since it was last seen, so there is quite an interest," he said. "It's truly something you don't see every day." Popovic explained that the Slovenian was built in 1913 in a Budapest shipyard, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Originally named the Vag, the 54-meter steam-powered vessel hauled heavy cargo along the Danube. Following World War I, ownership transferred to the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes-later Yugoslavia-as part of war reparations, and it was renamed the Slovenian.

The ship survived two world wars before its demise. During World War II, after Belgrade's liberation in 1944, Yugoslav anti-fascist forces repurposed it to transport wounded...