The southern tip of the Égető Island

IN HUNGARIAN

A pile of wood, some planks, a cyclist on a beach, a boat and the Naszály mountain in the background are the backdrop to the Égető Island in 1941 I stumbled across on Fortepan. The island is still an island here, and anyone cycling by today would not recognise the landscape, if only because the southern tip of the island, which is visible in the picture, is no longer there, if it is still an island tip at all.

Égető Island, 1941 (Fortepan 128884)

In the southern part of Vác, next to the cycle path along the Danube, you will find the Égető Island, a quite unknown Danubian island. A similarly old but undated picture of the northern tip of the island has also came to light, which differs from the southern tip in that it is still in roughly the same place. In 1941, the narrow island consisted of just one row of trees, and the keenest eye could tell you exactly how many there were. 

Anyone looking for the island's contours is in for a rough ride these days. The Égető Island gradually merged with the coast, and walking along the main branch you can easily pass the inconspicuous north and south inlets. The oxbow is narrowed, with standing water for most of the year and drying up completely during low water periods. 

The development of the Égető-sziget: (Blue line: Old Danube riverbeds, yellow line:  flood-free zone, red line: current shoreline)

 The southern tip of the island, visible in the initial image, is now hidden in the interior of the island. Today, when the water still flows in the oxbow (mostly during floods), it flows back into the main branch 300-350 meters to the south. The width of a single row of trees has also increased several times. There are no longer any beachgoers in this stretch, the floodplain forest and undergrowth has slowly pushed them away from the shore. The oxbow has become silted up, the level of the riverbed is higher today than it was three quarters of a century ago.

The oxbow of the Égető Island (on the left) in 2016.

The 1941 photograph captures a young Égető Island for posterity. It is as if we are seeing our grandparents smiling in their youth...

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Dissolving - Horsepower in the Danube

IN HUNGARIAN

Horses in the Danube. Waggons in the Danube. The past comes alive on pastor Gergely Hörömpő's old pictures from Vác.  Technology might develop from time to time, but human habits remain the same. Decades come and go, and vehicles return to the river. Where they no longer belong. The waggons of modern times no longer drink the river's gray water. 

Dissolving. Cars, quads and sometimes motorbikes. Although the environment has changed, specific parts of the river have became protected by environmental law. National Parks, World Heritage Sites, Ramsar Sites, Natura 2000 territories has been established. No motor vehicles are permitted to enter any of them. Not even at one place.  

Rangers of national parks, foresters, members of the local trainband are unwilling to answer the question: what can a law-abiding citizen do in this case?  

It is simple: as an ordinary citizen you can do almost nothing... Of course you can take a photo (illegal) you can stop him (illegal) etc., etc. Anything you try, you won't succeed. We also have poor results, that is why they are everywhere, although it is clearly illegal. This is the situation, sorry...

So that is why it is important to make a disclaimer: The "Dissolving" post name has been taken from the Poemas del río Wang blog, the author of the pictures only photographed the landscape, the unfitting items noticed only at home. We apologize for taking the pictures of any individual on the last two images...

Makovecz’s wooden mushroom at the Vác ferry

MAGYARUL

Aunties – like my grandmother used to be – are slowly dying out from our modern world. They used to rebuke without hesitation and fear the young vandals, those who swear, litter and drop their cigarette stubs. They used to notice immediately if a tile was missing from the church’s roof and the y hurried to the vicar to have it replaced. This entry is for the memory of these aunties. I hope one day we will be able to grow up to them from this recent „this is none of my business” mentality.