Overview

• Anke Frieling of the CDU formally demanded a public river bath on the Alster or Elbe to open city waters for swimming and leisure.
• The Senate’s recent response under the “Stadtentwicklung am Wasser” project confirmed that water quality remains inconsistent for bathing purposes.
• Officials pointed to Hamburg’s significant tidal range, busy shipping lanes and past safety considerations as barriers to creating river baths.
• No new feasibility or Machbarkeitsstudien are planned after a 2015 Hamburg Environmental Authority study ruled out public bathing spots in the Elbe.
• Frieling called for creative urban water access solutions and cited successful river baths in Copenhagen, Oslo and Malmö as international models.