Ice Jams and their Impact on Urban Communities from a Long-term Perspective (Middle Ages to the Nineteenth century)

Rohr, Christian (2020). Ice Jams and their Impact on Urban Communities from a Long-term Perspective (Middle Ages to the Nineteenth century). In: Chiarenza, Nicola; Haug, Annette; Müller, Ulrich (eds.) The Power of Urban Water. Studies in Premodern Urbanism (pp. 197-212). Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter

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Ice jams and subsequent floods were among the most disastrous events for riverside cities in pre-modern times. An ice jam could cause the water to rise very quickly and in some cases much higher than even the worst summer floods. Urban quarters could be flooded rapidly and with little time for any rescue activities for the afflicted inhabitants. The low water temperature made it nearly impossible to survive in the floods. This paper examines ice floods in a long-term perspective to see how urban communities in Europe perceived and adapted to those dangerous hazards. After an overview of the sparse records from the Middle Ages (still to be researched systematically), three single events from Early Modern Times are highlighted. By looking at the disastrous ice floods of 1573, 1784 and 1830 in the cities of Krems and Vienna, both situated along the Danube River in modern Austria, the development of coping strategies and the emergence of memory cultures in an urban context are outlined.

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