A World War II bomb unearthed during cleanup at Dresden's collapsed Carola Bridge prompted the evacuation of about 17,000 residents from the German city's Old Town on Wednesday. Authorities cleared the area—including the Frauenkirche, a landmark church meticulously reconstructed after wartime destruction, and several hotels—while bomb-disposal experts moved in, CBS News reports.
The device, a 550-pound British-made bomb, was discovered as workers prepared the bridge for demolition following its partial collapse in September 2024. "It is equipped with a detonator and must be defused on site," authorities said. "An evacuation area with a radius of approximately 1,000 meters around the bomb site is planned."
Even eight decades after the war, Germany continues to grapple with leftover munitions. The discoveries are common, particularly during construction projects. Earlier this year, Cologne saw its largest evacuation since World War II when three American bombs—two weighing 20 tons and one 10 tons—were uncovered, requiring more than 20,000 people to vacate the area. Dresden avoided Allied bombing attacks until the final months of the war, Deutsche Welle reports. Four massive raids in February 1945 killed up to 25,000 people and destroyed much of the city center.
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The Carola Bridge, now slated for demolition by October, is just the latest site to join a long list of postwar cleanups. Unexploded bombs have surfaced elsewhere in Europe this year, including near Paris' Gare du Nord train station.
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