A festive surfing revival in Munich's famous English Garden has been cut short after city authorities removed a makeshift wave-creating device installed without permission over Christmas. The covert operation, which briefly restored a beloved surfing spot on the Eisbach river, has escalated a long-running dispute between wave riders and municipal officials.
The Secret Christmas Wave
For years, a natural meter-high (three-foot) wave in the Eisbach river attracted surfers and spectators to the heart of Munich's English Garden. This iconic urban surfing location vanished in October 2024 after routine maintenance work cleared sediment and debris from the riverbed, altering the water flow.
Frustrated by the slow pace of official efforts to restore the wave, unknown individuals took matters into their own hands on Christmas Day 2024. They deployed a beam across the river bed, successfully recreating a surfable wave. A banner hung on a nearby bridge cheekily declared in English, “Just Watch. Merry Christmas!” Surfers in wetsuits enjoyed several days of holiday rides on the illicit wave.
City Crackdown and Safety Concerns
The city's response was swift and definitive. In the early hours of Sunday, 28 December 2024, the Munich fire department moved in and dismantled the unauthorised structure, as reported by the German news agency dpa. The improvised wave was gone by morning.
This clash comes against a backdrop of heightened safety concerns. In May 2024, a 33-year-old surfer died at the spot after her board became trapped underwater and she was unable to free herself from her leash. This tragedy has understandably influenced the city's cautious approach.
The Munich authorities have urged patience, appointing an engineering professor from the Munich University of Applied Sciences to advise on safe, permanent solutions. However, local surfers feel progress has stalled. A Munich surfing association complained on its website just days before the Christmas intervention, arguing the city was imposing too many conditions on restoration efforts.
An Ongoing Battle for Urban Waves
The situation highlights the tension between an established, passionate subculture and civic responsibility. The city is tasked with ensuring public safety and managing a historic park, while surfers are fighting to preserve a unique urban sporting tradition that has become part of Munich's identity.
The debate over how—or even if—to permanently restore the Eisbach wave continues. The clandestine Christmas beam may be gone, but the underlying conflict between the surfing community and city hall remains very much alive, awaiting a formal engineering solution that satisfies all parties.
