Overview

• The ban covers the entire 42-kilometer Rhine stretch within Düsseldorf’s city limits and carries fines of up to €1,000 for breaches.
• Ordnungs- und Servicedienst officers alongside the water police have launched spot checks at hotspots such as the Paradiesstrand.
• North Rhine-Westphalia’s interior ministry has confirmed that municipalities have the authority to impose independent bathing bans.
• Neighboring Neuss is drafting a comparable ordinance to restrict Rhine swimming following Düsseldorf’s lead.
• The regulation exempts rescue operations, official events, watercraft boarding and fishing after authorities deemed prior warnings insufficient.