Observing the water landscape in German-speaking countries
I am a student at the University of Minnesota studying Political Science and Sustainability. In my liberal arts education, I have had plenty of opportunity and flexibility to take courses in environmental policy, urban planning and design, and sustainability in theory and in practice. I have grown especially interested in water issues. I care about the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis, the effects of agriculture on water quality, and the connections people have to their drinking water, lakes, and rivers. So when I went to Germany to study, I took a good look at how the places I visited treated water as part of the landscape.
I spent 11 months in Europe, studying abroad and traveling. Because I only visited a handful of places, it’s impossible to make generalizations about “Europe” overall. There are so many histories, so many languages and dialects, so many different cultures. During my two semesters with IES Abroad programs, I lived mostly in Freiburg, Germany. Here are some things I observed about water, organized by increasing scale on the landscape.
DRINKING FOUNTAINS, BUT DIFFERENT
Drinking fountain near Freiburg, Germany.
Drinking fountains with potable water are often found on city streets. Zurich is especially proud of its clean water and beautiful public fountains. Whereas in America we have drinking fountains inside all schools, businesses, and most public buildings, I don’t think I ever saw an American-style drinking fountain inside of a building.
Other fountains are incorporated into historic structures, such as this water fountain and mural tucked under an eave in a historic quarter of Basel. A small sign under the spigot indicates in multiple languages that the water is potable. Generally, fountains are assumed to have clear, drinkable water unless labeled otherwise.
One of 12 drinking fountains in Vienna, Austria, designed for the European Soccer Championships.
Vienna drinking fountains feature spigots and a mist shower.
In Vienna there is a modern set of drinking fountains. The 12 large stainless steel fountains were designed for the European Soccer Championships to provide refreshment to fans in crowded public places. They have “Drink Water!” written prominently (in German and English) and feature two spigots and a button-operated mist shower. These movable fountains are now set up in the most popular tourist areas of the city to provide free fresh drinking water.
In Europe, many riverfronts seem to have a lot more people on them, engaged in many more types of activities, than in the U.S. There is nothing wrong with biking and jogging and walking, which is what the American riverfront is used for, but population density in Europe is much higher than in America. There are more people competing for their share of public space and natural resources, and there have been for centuries. Because of the higher density and demands on their environment, Europeans must be innovative in how they design, govern, power, and live in cities. American cities sprawl out with new greenfield developments and separate their commercial, residential, industrial, and recreational uses of land. In contrast, European riverfronts are often multi-modal and multi-use.
Floating restaurant and swimming pool on the Danube Canal in Vienna, Austria.
An excellent example of a lively riverfront can be found in Vienna on a summer afternoon. The old Danube Canal flows near the historic downtown, while the actual Danube River flows further away. Along the canal there are walking and biking paths, walls of colorful graffiti, cafes with outdoor seating overlooking the scene, and boarding areas for tourist cruises. A floating restaurant occupies half of a barge, and on the other end there is an aqua-blue swimming pool floating above the gray-brown canal water.
Wading near a streamside cafe in Freiburg, Germany.
Pedestrian paths and bridges along the urban Dreisam River in Freiburg, Germany.
On a much smaller riverfront, Freiburg has some great spots alongside the small Dreisam River. Five minutes from the central commercial pedestrian zone is a large arterial street and the Dreisam River. Anyone can descend right to the cold, clear water, and the sounds of traffic almost disappear. Then they can enjoy brunch or a beer at a streamside cafe, or wander on the walking path which has plenty of benches. When it’s hot, the river is an alternative to air-conditioning. There are wonderful wading and swimming spots, and highly used picnic areas. Some people even set up their lawn chair and grill right in the middle of the stream.
Picnickers enjoy the Dreisam River and the beginning of the Black Forest in Freiburg, Germany.
Express bike route, pedestrian path, Dreisam River and picnic grounds in Freiburg, Germany.
On the other riverbank of the Dreisam, opposite the walking path, there is an express bike route. At the intersections where the bike route meets a road, the bikes have the right of way. This express bike path is part of the city’s Bicycling Concept for 2020, because it gives easy access to important neighborhoods, to the city center, and to other attractions like the stadium located along the river. The riverfront bike path extends several dozen miles. High water levels are monitored by daily public streamflow gauges; the trails are closed or rerouted if seasonal flooding of the trails occurs.
High water levels nearly flood the Dreisam River bike route in Freiburg, Germany.
Extensive networks of bike paths often follow rivers. German-speaking travel companies even offer longer-distance bike tours, with several routes and itineraries. Tourists can cycle leisurely along riverfronts by day, explore cultural gems and enjoy dinner in a restaurant, then find their luggage already delivered to the hotel room. The Danube is a particularly popular destination. These trips also make it easier to tour rivers by offering electric bikes, short daily distances, and transport past rough or difficult areas. In America, organized bike tours are much less common or convenient.
REGIONAL LANDSCAPE INFLUENCED BY RIVERS
Between France and southern Germany is the unique Alsace region. The Rhine River has often served as a natural border. But over many centuries of shifting control, the region also had shifting borders and developed its own language, culture, and river borderland history. It doesn’t really belong to either country. Imagine living in Strasbourg, France, but then the Germans claim the city, and then a couple decades later residents are back to being French! The photo below shows Strasbourg’s charming Petite France area, closer to the river than the city’s central core. The building on the far right is the Tanner’s House, built in 1572. In the walled city of the middle ages, the wall kept out attackers, and also kept out stinky professions like fishermen and leather tanners. These people were closer to river, just like the undesirable industries along riverfronts in many other places of the world. Today, those same waterfronts are entirely desirable for everyday activities and cities have changed their orientation back towards the water.
Tourists and Tanner’s House in the Petite France area of Strasbourg, France.
Beginning in the nineteenth century, the Rhine River was straightened by military general Johann Gottfried Tulla. The massive engineering feat was intended to reduce the catastrophic results of natural flooding, but the deepened channel also lowered the groundwater level and changed the floodplain ecosystems.
American students on study abroad walk past a sign indicating historic flooding levels prior to channelization of the Rhine River in Istein, Germany.
Weir dam and lock on the Rhine River at Breisach, Germany.
Additional canalization in the Upper Rhine Valley is seen in the extensive Grand Canal of Alsace. It has several locks and dams and allows for navigation to Basel, Switzerland. This is a very important European inland waterway. The French won exclusive hydropower rights in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles (which brought an end to World War I). Parallel to the hardscaped canal flows a wild channel, which can take on seasonal extra flow diverted from the canal.
Bottom to top: Rhine Canal, navigation channel, and hydroelectric plant at Breisach, Germany. Wikimedia photo.
“Natural” Rhine River channel allowed to flood near Hartheim, Germany.
The Integrated Rhine Programme proposes floodplain restoration through a series of polder projects to reclaim land via dikes and drainage systems. It was developed by the French and German governments through an agreement signed in 1982 to increase flood protection and riparian wildlife habitat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trPhVP8N6ng The polder at Altenheim is a working example. Dikes surround an area of alluvial forest, which is flooded when a gate is opened. Then the water slowly drains back out to the main channel of the Rhine River. Downstream communities benefit from mitigated river flow.
Citizen activists oppose a flood management project with this billboard on the proposed site near Hartheim, Germany.
Of the proposed projects necessary for full implementation of flood regulation on the Rhine, some have encountered resistance. At a project near Hartheim, for example, local citizens put up a billboard to express their concerns about increased truck traffic through their town and destruction of forest. A nearby project involved the removal of thousands of truckloads of gravel, which allowed the river to flood into the gravel pit area. Despite the local frustrations, within two years there was successful regrowth of the willow-poplar alluvial forest. Other projects have yet to be completed.
Students learn about a successful new flood mitigation forest several miles from another project facing opposition at Hartheim, Germany.
I saw and experienced these examples of connections to water through the lens of my liberal arts education and my interest in water resources and urban planning. It is impossible to generalize attitudes about water that would take into account a whole continent of people from various cultures, so it would not be fair to say that my observations proved that water was more intentionally cared for by Europeans. However, I do believe that the Germans, Swiss, and Austrians have a certain consciousness about the value of their natural resources. Maybe it is ingrained in their society because of centuries-long interactions with fields and forests, stunning wild Alpine landscapes, and natural water features.
This valuing of resources is evident in Germany’s comprehensive recycling programs, and in a German company’s commitment to developing water-efficient appliances. It makes sense that Germany leads the European Union in organic agriculture standards that protect land and water, and that Austria and Switzerland utilize their mountainous geography and high annual precipitation to generate 60 percent of their energy using responsible hydropower.
As I conclude my undergraduate studies and continue my professional development, I will look at the familiar Minnesota landscapes and waterways a little differently. I will see the smallest fountains as connected to the largest river networks. Every individual behavior is part of a complex, interconnected system, and all the elements add up to create a culture around water. I enjoyed taking thousands of pictures during my travels, learning about the background and potential of these examples, and sharing my knowledge with this reflection. I have gained a new perspective on how the communities I visited treat water as a valued part of the landscape.
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