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Hunger stones

In the past, markings were often placed in quay walls after floods to show how high the water had risen. Conversely, in extreme drought, markings were placed in so-called 'hunger stones' and usually a sad message was added to them. Long dry summers, in which the rivers became very low and unnavigable, often meant the beginning of a period of dull misery for the population. For example, a stone in the Elbe in the Czech Decin bears the year 1616 and the saying "If you see me, cry." In large parts of Central Europe it was so dry in the spring and summer that the summer harvest failed completely.