In the year 5273, there were great cold temperatures the likes of which had never been heard or found in chronicles. The snow began to fall in Cheshvan and the waters froze so that they could not grind flour except in few places. The ice continued all winter until Passover day, when loaded wagons crossed on the ice of the Rhine River and beyond. Many died from the cold, and it was said that even in the city of Prague they walked on ice on the seventh day of Passover [(Tzedah LaDerech, Part 2)].