Last fall, the shock was immense: After the routine stream cleaning, the Eisbach wave had suddenly disappeared. With that, Munich’s iconic surf spot was history for the time being. Various attempts were made to restore the wave, but surfing remained prohibited—until now. Shortly after taking office on May 1, the new mayor, Dominik Krause, reopened the Eisbach wave, allowing surfing under certain conditions.
Months of ups and downs
After the Eisbach wave disappeared in October, the city promised the surfing community support in restoring the wave. Together, both sides developed a pilot project for rebuilding it, so that surfing should be possible again by summer. On several occasions, the surfers helped out with installations to build up the wave, but the joy was always short-lived.
The Eisbach wave is now relatively stable again, and completely without any structural supports. This prompted the new mayor, Dominik Krause, to reopen the wave for surfing. Since Friday, May 8, you’ve been able to hit the waves here again. Whether the wave will remain in its current form remains to be seen. In the long term, a solution will likely be needed to ensure it can be built up in a permanently stable manner.
Reopening the Eisbach Wave: Here Are the Rules
Following the announcement of the good news, the Eisbach wave immediately attracted numerous surfers and onlookers again over the weekend. After all, it is the largest river wave within a major city in the entire world and thus unique to Munich. However, if you want to surf here again yourself, you must follow a few rules set by the city.
These correspond to the old general ruling that had been in effect before the wave disappeared. Thus, surfing is only permitted between 5:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., and you must wear a self-releasing leash. Please also observe the safety instructions on the signs posted around the Eisbach wave.
