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Epiphany Ice Cross Swim Zemun in Zemun
The Epiphany Ice Cross Swim in Zemun, held each January 19 on the Danube embankment, revives an 18th-century tradition in which swimmers race into the winter river to retrieve a cross thrown by a priest. Organized jointly by Zemun's Church of St. Nicholas and the local municipality, the modern swim marked its 29th consecutive year since its 1998 revival in 2026.
On the Danube embankment in Zemun, a Habsburg-era river town now part of greater Belgrade, a religious tradition documented since the 18th century plays out every January 19.