On February 19th, 2012, after record low temperatures and crippling levels of snowfall, the weather in Belgrade returned to yearly averages causing massive destruction to riverside property as the ice on the frozen Danube began to melt and sweep away anything encased in it. From new to old Belgrade the shifting ice tore large restaurant barges away from their moorings, destroyed entire marinas and crashed riverboats into one another all along the recently refurbished riverfront.
Belgrade is famous for it’s riverside culture. The banks of both its rivers, the Danube and Sava, are lined with floating restaurants and nightclubs that attract thousands of visitors during the spring and summer months.
These photos were taken along the Zemun waterfront in New Belgrade starting from the area directly in front of Hotel Jugolslavia on February 20th, 2012.
A river barge restaurant is pulled away from its moorings by melting ice - Zemun, Belgrade.
A gangway twisted by the force of the shifting ice - Zemun, Belgrade.
Men work on a gangway completely pulled into the river - Zemun, Belgrade.
A small boat crushed by melting ice sinks on the Danube river bank - Zemun, Belgrade.
A man stares out at the damage caused by melting ice on the Danube river - Zemun, Belgrade.
A small boat capsized and trapped in ice - Zemun, Belgrade.
Zemun Marina is completely destroyed along with 80 boats - Zemun, Belgrade.
A mooring steel plate is peeled back like tin foil - Zemun, Belgrade.
Two men attempt to rescue a boat from the crushing ice - Zemun, Belgrade.