Radiance is a proud Regensburg brand, that much is clear. Nevertheless, greetings go out to Munich and the Eisbach - where river surfing originated. We'll take you on a little ride into the past and look at where river surfing originated.
The standing waves in Munich are world famous. Eisbach and Floßlände are not just known to locals or surf geeks. The Eisbach wave at the entrance to the English Garden is considered the world's most consistent and largest river wave in the middle of a big city. People have been surfing here for more than 40 years. It has even been allowed since 2010. ;)
In the 1970s, the Pauli brothers surfed the first river wave in Munich, at the Floßlände in Thalkirchen. It was several years before river surfing at the Floßlände and later on the Eisbach became really popular. In 1975, Munich attracted a lot of international attention when the first river surfing championships took place at the Floßlände. After that, more and more traveling surfers from the USA and Australia tried out the river waves in Munich. They carried the name "Eisbach" out into the world. The local surfing scene also grew significantly in the 1970s and 1980s. A surfing subculture developed in the middle of Munich. Today, it is common to meet people in wetsuits with surfboards under their arms in the middle of Munich, hundreds of kilometers from the sea.
The stable wave in the middle of Munich's city center and the urban flair make the Eisbach a very special surfing spot. At first, the wave was only surfable during the summer months, when the Isar had little water. At some point, the surfing community installed bars under the water - not entirely legally - to optimize the wave and make it surfable at all times. However, the Eisbach wave is not an easy river wave to surf.
Beginners are better off at the Floßlände, about 8 km upstream. Surfing is less risky there and beginners are more welcome. Because the IGSM, the Interest Group for Surfing in Munich eV , is committed to Munich surfers, many things have improved at the Floßlände: Since 2020, there have been longer surfing times at the Floßlände. Previously, the wave only ran for a few hours a day and only at the same time as the traditional raft trips, because the Munich municipal utilities only supplied the Ländkanal with the necessary water then.
Meanwhile, more and more river waves are being built. Artificial waves are available in many larger cities all the time or at least during the summer months. Nevertheless, Munich will always remain one thing: the cradle of river surfing and an urban surfing mecca for everyone who loves surfing. And there are more and more of them.
