For the record, women are now allowed to sunbathe topless on Munich’s Isar beach. The city has elected to revise its stance on nudity, following a row that broke out last weekend. 

Heated row over topless sunbathing

According to a report from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the dispute began last weekend on the beach of the Isar River in Munich when a group of five security guards ordered a group of women, who were sunbathing topless, to put their bikini tops back on. 

The move provoked an indignant response from several other women sunbathing nearby, who quickly also removed their swimwear “in solidarity.” Eventually, the security guards called the police, who also insisted that the women cover themselves up. 

The incident quickly attracted the attention of media outlets and politicians, who argued that the city’s current ordinance on bathing - that “swimwear must be worn outside designated naturist areas” - fails to define what counts as “swimwear” for both men and women. 

Munich’s nudity regulation amended

With the debate heating up as rapidly as the weather, the Greens submitted an urgent motion to the city council on Wednesday, asking the mayor to clarify the city’s position on nudity. “For me, it is incomprehensible that men are allowed to sunbathe topless, but women are not,” said Dominik Krause, one of the politicians to initiate the request. 

The motion to amend the urban swimwear regulation for Isar region was adopted without opposition. Swimwear must still be worn outside Munich’s designated naturist areas - of which there are six in the city, including the famous Englischer Garten - but that only the “primary genitals” must be covered. Neither men nor women have to wear tops. A real victory for Germany’s FKK (Freikörperkultur - free body culture) movement.