A&160;rare snowll forced authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, Rome&39;s mous tourist site.
Metro stations in the capital, Kiev, have become sanctuaries of warmth for the homeless. Emergency authorities have set up hundreds of heated tents around the country to provide food, drink and shelter.
Bitterly cold weather that has claimed hundreds of lives in eastern Europe swept westward over the continent on Saturday, blanketing Romes Colosseum with snow for the first time in nearly three decades and disrupting air and rail traffic.
In Belgrade, soldiers were deployed to clear the central boulevard. Hundreds of unemployed responded to an offer of 1,600 dinars (10 euros) pay to join snow clearing efforts.
Brutal European chill moves west? inches to centimeters,Russian gas exporter Gazprom said it was unable to meet increased European demand as it battles its own deep freeze, and had reduced supplies for a fBrutal European chill moves west? inches to centimetersew days before returning them to normal levels.
Thirty percent of flights at Londons Heathrow Airport on Sunday have been canceled amid forecasts for snow and severe weather.
The Emergencies Ministry said of the 122 people who have died over the past eight days from hypothermia and frostbite, 78 were found dead on the streets.
Europe tries to shield homeless in deep freeze
I live in a social care home most of the time. But they throw you out of there at 8 in the morning, said Olexander, a homeless man, at a refuge in a Kiev park on Saturday.
Near Moscow, a couple and seven of their children died in a blaze at their makeshift home overnight, apparently victims of a badly rigged-up stove which burned out of control. A nine-year-old girl was the sole survivor, Russian state TV said.
But in the capital tens of thousands took to demonstrated to demand ir elections in a march against Vladimir Putins 12-year rule despite minus 17 Celsius (1 Fahrenheit) conditions, and supporters of the prime minister staged a similar sized rally.
Story: Frozen fury: Thousands brave icy chill to protest in Moscow
The ex-Soviet republic of Ukraine, where night temperatures have been as low as minus 33C (minus 27F ) in the past eight days, registered the highest death toll as bodies continued to be found, some buried in snow in outlying parts of the country.
In Rome, residents bewildered by their citys first big snowll in 26 years used government-issued shovels to clear sidewalks and piazzas, and kitchen utensils to clear windshields Saturday.
To the west, hundreds of passengers spent the night at Amsterdams Schiphol airport - one of the busiest in Europe - as their flights were delayed or cancelled.
In one area of central Sarajevo, men shoveling the deep snow were being given tea, coffee and hamburgers and meatballs that local women had barbecued. One elderly man who didnt know how to help out stood at an open window of his house playing his clarinet.
It is good they have thought of putting these up, he said, nodding at the tent. If we can just get through this frost, things will get easier.
But the crisis also produced camaraderie.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
The cold spell touched North Africa too. Palm trees bowed under the weight of snow in Algiers after a freak snowll of at least 10 cm (four inches) - the first there in eight years.
I havent worked for months and I have a mily to feed, said Zoran Djidovac, a 30-year-old former metal worker. The authorities said well be working for several days so this money will make a change for a while.
Bosnias government declared a state of emergency in its capital on Saturday after Sarajevo was paralyzed by snow, and hundreds of people remained trapped in their homes and vehicles throughout the country.
Stations become sanctuaries
The presidents of Croatia and Serbia who had attended a meeting with the Bosnian leadership on Friday were holed up in the Jahorina mountains after being cut off by heavy snowlls.
The snow as deep as 8 inches (20 centimeters) in some neighborhoods made buses and taxis scarce and shut down tourist sites such as the Colosseum. It also covered the dome of St. Peters Basilica, blanketed ancient arches in the Roman Forum, and toppled some towering umbrella pine tress near the Vatican.
STORY: Europe tries to shield homeless from deadly freeze
In neighboring Poland the story was similar with the dead mainly among the homeless. Several had been overcome by fumes from primitive stoves in poorly-ventilated premises. Others died by drinking too much and lling down, unnoticed, in the snow.
More than three feet of snow fell in Sarajevo on Saturday, closing roads and public transportation. Some neighborhoods reported water shortages, and residents struggled to make it to local shops to shore up on food. Several people said they witnessed fist fights in shops over loaves of bread.
Saturdays snowstorm, coming a day after a light snowll, combined for the bigginches to centimetersest accumulations since 1986, and left many motorists stranded on the citys beltway and its ancient and narrow consular roads.
