Munich's surfers stunned after famed river wave vanishes

A standing wave in a Munich stream that has been a surfing magnet for more than four decades has vanished, leaving urban surfers high and dry.

Water levels in the Eisbach ("ice brook") dropped last week for annual cleanup work along the streambed.

But when the gates reopened and water began to flow again on Friday, the Eisbach wave did not form as usual.

"We're at a loss," surfer Klaus Rudolf told Stern magazine. "I was standing at the edge with my board on Friday evening and couldn't believe it."

The Eisbach wave in the Englisher Garten park has become a landmark in the Bavarian city since rogue surfers in the 1980s turned it from an occasional natural phenomenon to a permanent surfable presence.

"The city administration is working with the Water Management Office and surfers to find a quick solution so that the famous surf wave will soon be available again as usual," Mayor Dieter Reiter said in a statement Tuesday.

Exactly why the wave vanished remained unclear on Tuesday, according to city officials.

The recent work cleared debris from the streambed and inspected the waterway.

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"No structural changes were made to the Eisbach wave or its banks during the cleanup," the city said, and an inspection of the site Monday did not reveal any damage.

Officials plan to divert more water from the Isar River into the Eisbach in hopes the wave reappears.

The Eisbach wave is generally considered the largest and most consistent river wave in the heart of a major city, and has become a tourist attraction in Bavaria's state capital, which is otherwise known for beer and sausage at the annual Oktoberfest.

Franz Fasel, head of the local surfers' association IGSM, told AFP in July that 3,000 to 5,000 local surfers use the Eisbach wave.

"Surfing is simply part of the lifestyle in Munich," he said. "Not just for the surfers themselves, but also for the city's image."

At the time, the Eisbach wave had just reopened after a months-long closure following the April death of a 33-year-old Munich woman who became trapped under the surface while surfing at night.

Since it reopened to surfers, new safety rules banned nighttime surfing and set a minimum age of 14 to brave the water.

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