The Danube River has dropped to unusually low levels in Budapest, exposing long-hidden remains from the Second World War. This has revealed the bodies of two Wehrmacht soldiers, a German military motorbike and several wartime objects that had stayed buried in mud for about 80 years.
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According to Euro News, the discoveries were made along the riverbed near Batthyany Square, on the Buda side of the Hungarian Parliament. The area is reportedly usually filled with moored boats.
The two soldiers were recovered from the muddy riverbed by the German War Graves Commission, known as Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgraberfursorge. The mud had preserved both the bodies and their identity discs in unusually good condition.
Alongside the human remains, recovery teams also found German Tellermine 35 anti-tank mines, a military decoration, a petrol can and what experts believe is a DKW NZ 350-1 military motorbike. The finds offer a rare look at the final days of the war in Budapest.
The German military motorbike
The most striking discovery was the German military motorbike recovered from the middle of the Danube. It was found on 2 August near the harbour at Batthyany Square, close to the Hungarian Parliament.
The motorbike was lifted by the Institute and Museum of Military History. Based on its design, experts believe it is a DKW NZ 350-1 model, which was widely used by the German military during the Second World War.
