The town hall is removing a beam which recreated the famous “Eisbach wave” in the center of the Bavarian capital, which disappeared after cleaning work. Surfers accuse the authorities of acting to prevent the practice of this sport. Controversy over the disappearance of a famous surf wave in a Munich river intensified this Sunday (28/12), when authorities removed a beam installed at the site over Christmas to recreate the attraction.
The “Eisbach wave”, an obligatory stop for surf enthusiasts in the southern German city and one of the hottest spots of the summer, suddenly disappeared at the end of October, following cleaning and drainage work.
The wave of the Eisbach stream, an artificial channel diverted from the River Isar, in the English Garden park, has been a tourist attraction in the Bavarian capital since the 1980s.
Pro-surfing activists placed a beam in the water in the early hours of December 25 to partially recreate the wave and hung a banner above the cove reading “Merry Christmas.”
A spokesperson for the Munich fire brigade said that “the installation was dismantled” this Sunday at the request of the city authorities.
Surfers criticize town hall
Activists tried several times to reinstate the wave in the park in central Munich, but without success.
Local surfers’ association IGSM issued a statement Thursday announcing it had abandoned its campaign to save the wave, accusing municipal authorities of delaying their actions.
The Eisbach wave was considered the largest and most constant river wave in the heart of a large city and became a tourist attraction in the Bavarian capital. According to IGSM, between 3,000 and 5,000 local surfers have used it.
The Surf Club Munich accused the city of not wanting to regulate surfing on the Eisbach, “but rather to prevent it”. In a statement, the entity cited “administrative obstruction” and unachievable demands in its efforts to restore the wave.
“The mother of all river waves”
Access to the wave was blocked for several months in early 2025 following the death of a 33-year-old woman whose lifebuoy got caught on the bottom of the current while she was surfing at night. Investigations into the causes of the accident did not yield conclusive results and surfing on site was finally authorized.
The wave, however, disappeared after the flow of water was temporarily interrupted to carry out routine work to clean and remove sediment from the stream bed. The City denies having made any modifications likely to modify the flow of water.
Called “the mother of all river waves” by SurferToday.com, the Eisbach wave was created by surfers who placed concrete blocks in the creek bed in 1972 to generate a strong current.
Surfing was not officially allowed there until decades later, in 2010, when the wave was already famous.
rc (AFP, DPA)
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