Glas a ke v Environment story Isar in Munich

GLAS Platform - Environmental Story: The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich

© Agentur Kultur e.V. München -‐ Innova7ves in Bildung & Kultur

Preface“The Renaturation of the ISAR River”

was presented during a national conference about initiatives and projects in the field of sustainable development in Germany (“Netzwerk 21”, Munich 23-24 October 2014).

There was a guided tour and a DVD as a give-away. The DVD is very useful for background information in German and English: “Der Isar-Plan” edited by “Landeshaupstadt München Baureferat” © 2012

Our short presentation is focussed on the following main aspects:- Flood protection by giving more space for the river- Protection of nature in the city of Munich- Recreation areas for the public- Using water for producing electricity- Enable fishes to go up the river

Some selected photos from a sunny autumn day, September 21, 2015. We went by bike up the river Isar

from Munich-Schwabing to Munich Giesing. jh & dh

If somebody feels inspired to create another Isar story, we will be happy to publish it on the website of the GLAS project

https://glasproject.wordpress.com Please contact: [email protected]

https://glasproject.wordpress.com

mailto:[email protected]



Before the the renaturation project in the southern part of Munich the Isar was more or less a channel - with high walls as shown in this photo of the northern part.



A modern electric power station about ten meters below the surface



Beside the electric power station there is a stair case for fishes to enable even small fishes to get up the river



The level of the river is quite low as shown on the photos. When the river is “wild”, it is transporting trees and tons of stones on its way from the Alps.



A small stony island in front of the bigger island of “Deutsches Museum”.

Some months ago the bushes on the Museum Island were cut down and the beavers left. But now they are back again.

The beavers are back again



The steps are giving space for the citizens of Munich down by the river side and at the same time more space for the river. At times of high water the steps are down under.



The green gras is a recreation area for the pubic when the weather is fine and the water level is low. It will be flooded when the water level is high.All is looking quite natural, but below under the ground there had to be protected all the technical systems, necessary for the 1.4 Million inhabitants of Munich.



A good space for “Good Life and Sustainability and Sufficiency”. Before the renaturation of the Isar was finished, Munich people used to go by car to the south, e.g. to the Starnberger See. Now smart places are nearby: Walking barefoot alone ….



… or socializing and making party on warm summer evenings. Sure - sometimes the Isar space is overcrowded and much garbage is produced. The container is “open” and is inviting everybody to keep the space clean.



View to the South: Another idyllic space with a green island in the middle of the rivero



View to the North: Steps at the river side - another idyllic space. In the background on the right side: “Deutsches Museum” - the biggest technical museum in Germany. On the left side: The European Patent Office.



Refreshing and good water quality for swimming



It is WIES’N time.The Munich Oktoberfest opened yesterday.So perhaps they are walking to the Oktoberfest?



Once again: a request to care for the natural park and environment of the Isar river.



Voltaire: “Il faut cultiver son jardin.” - “Cultivate your garden”



“Cultivate the garden. Take care of the old trees.”The dam with the old trees had to be reinforced by bulkheads and concrete under the pathway. Now it is safe and it looks natural again.



Once again: If somebody feels inspired to create another Isar story, we will be happy to publish it on the website of the GLAS

project https://glasproject.wordpress.com

Please contact: [email protected]

https://glasproject.wordpress.com

mailto:[email protected]



”Lately, there have been attempts to bring the Isar closer back to a natural character. For example, since May, 2000, the river is being re-naturalized in the southern part of the river’s passage through the city of Munich, between Großhesseloher Brücke and Reichenbachbrücke. To achieve this the riverbed is being widened, the banks are flattened and small gravel islands are built along with near-natural ramps to slow the waterflow. Also, the dams are enlarged in width and height.

Besides an improved protection against flooding the river was, thus, brought into an almost natural state and this resulted in an improved quality of the recreational area within the city of Munich. The quality of the water has also improved due to the upgrading of the sewage plants along the river. The number of germs, however, is still relatively high. Together with other cities and communities along the Isar, Munich has set a goal to reduce the number of germs until the water quality is good enough to allow bathing in the river. If this is achieved, Munich would be one of the few big cities in Europe with a river with water of good enough quality to allow swimming in it. The sewer plants on the upper river are now treating the sewage with ultraviolet light, which greatly reduces the number of germs, but still the Isar cannot be guaranteed safe to bathe in because of the entrance of polluted rainwater into the river, especially during strong precipitation.”

Information about the re-naturalization of the river Isar in Munich, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isar

“Environmental issues” (2015-09-22)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isar