Debate over surfing in German park gets gnarly after city removes wave-creating device

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A debate over how to bring back surfing in Germany's landmark English Garden escalated on Sunday after city workers removed a beam surreptitiously deployed over Christmas to restore a surfable wave in the river that runs through the park.

For years, the site had been a hot spot for surfers and spectators because of the meter-high (three foot-high) wave created by the strong current of the Eisbach river. But the wave disappeared in October after city workers cleared away accumulated sediment, gravel and debris from the riverbed. That set off discussions between the city and the surfers on how to restore the wave.

The authorities were apparently not moving fast enough to suit at least some of the the surfers, who enjoyed several days of holiday surfing in wetsuits after unknown individuals deployed the beam across the river bed on Christmas Day. A banner on the adjacent bridge declared in English, “Just Watch. Merry Christmas!”

The surfers may have been stoked, but the city was not. The fire department moved in early Sunday morning, and the improvised structure and the wave were gone, the dpa news agency reported.

The city has urged patience and asked an engineering professor from the Munich University of Applied Sciences to advise on possible solutions.

Safety concerns became more prominent in May, when a 33-year-old surfer died after her board was caught underwater and she couldn't free herself from the attached leash.

A Munich surfing association complained on Thursday on its website that city authorities were imposing too many conditions on efforts to restore the wave and that the process has “stalled.”