Famine Rock Emerges in Budapest as Danube Water Levels Drop

In Budapest, the emergence of the so-called Ínség-szikla (Famine Rock) by the Liberty Bridge signals that there is too little water in the Danube. The stretch of riverbed beneath the central pillar of Margaret Bridge is surfacing more and more often each year, and an ever-larger area is left dry.

Photographer Zsanett Zsebők shared a video on Facebook of a Saturday night pop-up party, unleashing a flood of comments. Those with a more relaxed outlook say a spontaneous party like this is very cool, even if it takes place on the dried-out central section of the Danube Riverbed. Others see it instead as a horrifying natural disaster that is increasingly reshaping summers in Europe, especially in Hungary.

In 2018, the underwater extension of the Margit Island shoal on the other side of the Margit Bridge, towards the Parliament, became accessible even in shoes. Since then, this has been happening more frequently, for longer periods, and over a larger area.

László Wild, the heritage architect who led the most recent reconstruction of Margaret Bridge, said in an earlier interview that the Danube Riverbed along the Budapest section is in an incredible state of disorder.

In previous years, the same metal rubbish bins that were common in Budapest before the Second World War have always turned up here; even the remains of the pillars from the scaffolding that was presumably used by Ernest Goüin’s team until 1876, during the years of the bridge’s construction.

As the dried-out area expands, more and more people are walking across from Margaret Island. From there, the city’s panorama can be seen from a new angle, looking particularly beautiful in the evening lights. At first, concern about global warming merely left passers-by somewhat taken aback, but now the party crowd has appeared as well.

Legend has it that not only did the band keep playing on the sinking Titanic until the very last moment, but some guests even joked that they wanted to get ice for their cocktails from the iceberg itself. The receding Danube evokes the same duality: in some people it sparks worry and anxiety, in others it brings out the urge to live in the carpe diem spirit.