Environment story Isar in Munich

1. 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: info@agentur-kultur.com

2. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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.

3. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
A modern electric power station about ten meters below the surface

4. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
Beside the electric power station there is a stair case for fishes to
enable even small fishes to get up the river

5. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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.

6. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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

7. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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.

8. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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.

9. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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 ….

10. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
… 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.

11. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
View to the South: Another idyllic space with
a green island in the middle of the river
o

12. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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.

13. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
Refreshing
and good water quality for swimming

14. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
It is WIES’N time.
The Munich Oktoberfest opened yesterday.
So perhaps they are walking to the Oktoberfest?

15. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
Once again: a request to care for the natural
park and environment of the Isar river.

16. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
Voltaire: “Il faut cultiver son jardin.” - “Cultivate your garden”

17. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
“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.

18. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
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: info@agentur-kultur.com

19. GLAS Platform - Environmental Story:
The Renaturation of the ISAR River in Munich
©
Agentur
Kultur
e.V.
München
-­‐
Innova7ves
in
Bildung
&
Kultur
”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)