A country of lakes
In our German calendar, lakes account for 24 of 38 races, and most of them are in the south. In Upper Bavaria the arena Alpen Open Water Cup lines up nine stages across Bavarian and Austrian lakes. In 2026 it opened on 17 May on the Simssee and closed on 6 September with the 4.5 km of the Chiemsee Langstreckenschwimmen, from the Fraueninsel to Übersee. In between come the Waginger See, the Tegernsee and the Vollmondschwimmen, the full-moon swim: 2 km in the Chiemsee, at night, from Prien. In 2025, over eight races, the German federation counted more than 1,500 individual starts, and 740 swimmers made the overall ranking.
South of Munich lies the Starnberger See. From Possenhofen you swim towards the Seehotel Leoni, on the opposite shore, round a turning buoy: 2 or 4 km, for up to 500 entrants. The Wasserwacht of Ammerland runs a crossing from Tutzing to Ammerland instead: 4.2 km across almost the widest point of the lake, for no more than 200 people and not every year.
Lake Constance, the Bodensee, is a border lake between Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Bodensee Openwater holds fixed-date races on three crossings: between Konstanz and Meersburg, from Friedrichshafen to Romanshorn, in Switzerland, and from Wallhausen to Überlingen. Bodenseequerung, since 2012, does something else: it escorts solo swimmers with a support boat, on a day of their choosing, and records their crossings. The Breitenquerung is about 12 km; the Dreiländerquerung goes from Lindau to Rorschach and then to Bregenz, in Austria, 32 to 36 km with a landing of no more than five minutes. The first to swim it was Mirjam Schall, on 28 July 2014.
Further north, the lakes are city lakes. The Müggelseeschwimmen is swum in Berlin's largest lake: in 1994 there were 38 swimmers, and today the course is 3.5 km, from Friedrichshagen to Rahnsdorf. In Schwerin the Schlossschwimmen has circled the castle since 2005, and the Senftenberger See held its second edition in 2026.
In the rivers, with the current
People have swum German rivers together for decades, though not always as a race. In Cologne the DUC held the Rheinschwimmen every year from 1961 to 2013 and revived it in 2017: about an hour downstream under four bridges, past the cathedral, escorted by the river police and the DLRG, in a wetsuit or with fins. It is a group swim, not a race, for members, families and guests of partner clubs. Upstream, between Linz am Rhein and Bad Honnef, the DLRG has for more than forty years taken swimmers down about 11 km of the Rhine, with wetsuits and fins mandatory: 430 took part in 2026.
On the Elbe, in Dresden, the Elbeschwimmen was meant to be a one-off demonstration in 1998 and became a fixture of every summer: about 3.5 km from the Blaues Wunder bridge to the Fährgarten Johannstadt, with no entry, no fee and no timing. At the finish there is a bratwurst, a beer and a hot shower. Upstream, in Saxon Switzerland, the DLRG of Pirna organises a 9.5 km Elbeschwimmen between Rathen and Wehlen, with free short courses: the 30th edition is on 10 July 2027.
The Danube has the winter race. The Neuburg Donauschwimmen takes place on the last Saturday of January: 4 km from the Bittenbrunn weir to the rowing club, along the town's Renaissance skyline, often in fancy dress. It began in 1970, when eight members of the Wasserwacht tried the icy water for fun. In January 2026 the Danube was at 2.6 °C (37 °F) and about 1,850 people went in, almost all in wetsuits; around ninety swam in ordinary swimwear, over a 400 m course.
In the north, the WakenitzMan follows the Wakenitz for 14 km, from Rothenhusen to the Naturbad Falkenwiese in Lübeck, with a mandatory canoe or kayak escort. In Rinteln the Weserschwimmen grew out of the 2005 Big Jump, the European river swimming day promoted by the European Rivers Network: you walk to Engern and swim back into town, about 1.8 km with the current. And in Münster the Ultraschwimmen is held in the harbour basin on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, in 1 km laps, up to 10 km.
At sea, on the Baltic
In our calendar Germany has 3 sea races, all on the Baltic. The Sundschwimmen crosses the Strelasund, the strait between the island of Rügen and the mainland: 2,315 m from Altefähr to the Stralsund lido. Chronicles tell of two officers and a civilian who swam across in 1825; today's series has run since 1965 and reached its 61st edition in 2026. It is organised by the DLRG of Stralsund.
On the Flensburg Fjord the Fördecrossing starts in Denmark, at Sønderhav, and finishes in Glücksburg after 3 km of salty, often choppy water, between 15 and 22 °C (59-72 °F). Wetsuits are mandatory, entries close at 450, and 2026 saw the 29th edition. At Binz, also on Rügen, the BALTIC X started in 2025: at the end of April, along the pier, 900 or 1,900 m in a mandatory full-length wetsuit.
Championships, circuits and who organises
National titles are awarded by the federation, the Deutscher Schwimm-Verband. In 2026 the German open water championships were held from 26 to 28 June in the Guggenberger See at Neutraubling, near Regensburg, organised by SC Regensburg as in 2023. The men's and women's 10 km come on the first day, with a cut-off: anyone who has not finished the first 2.5 km in 35 minutes, 37 for women, is out of the race. Masters have their own championship, which reached its 32nd edition in 2026, on 5 and 6 September at the Aggertalsperre.
Below national level come regional championships and circuits. At Heddesheim, in the Badesee, the South German and Baden-Württemberg championships are held together, with a swim open to everyone alongside the federation races. The North German championships in 2026 brought Berlin, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein together at the Zitadelle Spandau, in Berlin. The Bavarian federation has its own circuit, the Bayerischer Freiwassercup, which reached its 30th edition in 2026, with stages at the Lieblsee and the Wöhrsee in Burghausen.
Outside the championships, many races are organised by local branches of the DLRG and the Wasserwacht, the water rescue services: in Stralsund, Glücksburg, Pirna, Neuburg and Bad Honnef. The rest belong to sports clubs, tourist boards and private organisers, such as those behind the Alpen Open Water Cup and Bodenseequerung.
Season, water and wetsuits
In our calendar the German season runs from May to September, and more than half of the races fall in July and August. The exceptions are the Neuburg Donauschwimmen, at the end of January, and the BALTIC X at Binz, at the end of April.
Wetsuit rules differ between federation races and open events. In federation championships the water temperature decides, measured two hours before the first start, mid-course and 40 cm deep: below 16 °C (61 °F) there is no swim, between 16 and 18 °C (61-64 °F) wetsuits are mandatory, above 18 °C (64 °F) they are banned. At open events the organiser decides, and the rules range from one end to the other. At the Fördecrossing and the BALTIC X wetsuits are mandatory; at the WakenitzMan they are recommended but banned from 26 °C (79 °F); at Bodensee Openwater they are allowed unless the water is 25 °C (77 °F) or warmer on race morning, and a safety buoy is mandatory for everyone. Read the rules before entering: our race pages list the wetsuit rules the organiser has published.
