Berliners dive into Spree River to reclaim access after a 100-year ban

Around 200 people jumped into the slow-moving, greenish water Tuesday to show that it’s not only clean enough, but also lots of fun to splash and swim in the Mitte neighbourhood along the world-famous Museum Island

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A century after the city of Berlin banned swimming in the Spree River because it was so polluted it could make people sick, there’s a push by swimmers to get back into the water.

Bad Berlin, or River Pool Berlin, has been lobbying for years to open the meandering river for swimmers again.

“For 100 years now, people have not been allowed to swim in the inner-city Spree and we no longer think this is justified, because we can show that the water quality is usually good enough to go swimming during the season,” said Jan Edler, who is on the board of Fluss Bad Berlin and helped organize Tuesday’s swim-in.

To circumvent the ban, the group registered their collective swim event as an official protest.