River swimming in Germany: 2025 water quality
Germany reported 37 river bathing waters for the 2025 season. 73% were classified Excellent — 17.9 points below the 90.9% for all 2,291 bathing waters in the country — and 0 were Poor. 19 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 8 countries with at least 30 river bathing waters, Germany ranks 1 by Excellent share.
river bathing waters
Excellent in 2025
Poor in 2025
Find the nearest Excellent river to you →
Map of river bathing waters
How river bathing waters in Germany rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 | 27 | 79.4% | 0 |
| 2024 | 33 | 25 | 75.8% | 1 |
| 2023 | 31 | 25 | 80.6% | 1 |
| 2022 | 31 | 24 | 77.4% | 0 |
| 2021 | 31 | 26 | 83.9% | 1 |
| 2020 | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | 1 |
| 2019 | 30 | 26 | 86.7% | 1 |
| 2018 | 28 | 26 | 92.9% | 0 |
| 2017 | 29 | 24 | 82.8% | 1 |
| 2016 | 28 | 23 | 82.1% | 0 |
| 2015 | 27 | 24 | 88.9% | 0 |
Most consistent Excellent rivers
19 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025.
- BAD IN DER BEKOW HAGENOW 11 seasons
- BORGSTEDTER ENGE BORGSTEDT 11 seasons
- EIDER BARGEN 11 seasons
- EIDER SUEDERSTAPEL 11 seasons
- FREIBAD ZECHIN ZECHIN 11 seasons
- HAVEL KETZINER HAVELSTRAND 11 seasons
- HAVEL TEMPLINER SEE WALDBAD TEMPLIN 11 seasons
- HAVEL TIEFER SEE STADTBAD PARK BABELSBERG 11 seasons
- SPREE BEESKOW SPREEPARK 11 seasons
- SPREE BERKENBRUECK 11 seasons
- SPREE NATURBADESTELLE LUEBBEN STEINKIRCHEN 11 seasons
- TREENE SCHWABSTEDT 11 seasons
- WAKENITZ BADEANSTALT MARLI 11 seasons
- WAKENITZ EICHHOLZ BADESTELLE KLEINER SEE 11 seasons
- WAKENITZ ST JUERGEN BADEANSTALT FALKENWIESE 11 seasons
- WARNOW SCHWAAN CAMPINGPLATZ 11 seasons
- WESER 11 seasons
- WESERBADESTELLE OBERHAMMELWARDEN NORD 11 seasons
- WESERBADESTELLE OBERHAMMELWARDEN SUED 11 seasons
- EIDER BREIHOLZ 10 seasons
- WESERSTRAND KAESEBURG 9 seasons
- FLUSSBAD BIESE 8 seasons
- ALTE SORGE MEGGERDORF 6 seasons
- FLUSSBAD GARTENSTRASSE 5 seasons
- HAVEL GOETTLIN BIWAKPLATZ 2 seasons
- HAVEL GRUETZ BIWAKPLATZ 1 season
- N O K HOLSTENNIENDORF KLEIN WESTERLAND 1 season
Rivers rated Poor in 2025
None of the 37 river bathing waters in Germany was classified Poor in 2025.
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (3)
- N O K HOLSTENNIENDORF KLEIN WESTERLAND Good → Excellent
- SPREE SPREELAGUNE Sufficient → Good
- WESERBADESTELLE JULIUSPLATE Sufficient → Good
Declined (0)
None.
River bathing waters by state
| State | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schleswig-Holstein | 12 | 83.3% | 0 |
| Brandenburg | 11 | 81.8% | 0 |
| Lower Saxony | 6 | 50% | 0 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 3 | 0% | 0 |
States with at least three river bathing waters; counts include only this water type.
Near which major cities?
Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:
Rivers compared across Europe
| # | Country | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 37 | 73% | 0 |
| 2 | Czechia | 91 | 72.5% | 0 |
| 3 | Netherlands | 78 | 69.2% | 4 |
| 4 | Portugal | 118 | 43.2% | 8 |
| 5 | France | 444 | 41% | 62 |
| 6 | Poland | 100 | 40% | 10 |
| 7 | Spain | 164 | 35.4% | 28 |
| 8 | Hungary | 45 | 33.3% | 1 |
Countries with at least 30 river bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.
Quick answers
- How many river bathing waters in Germany are rated Excellent?
- 27 of 37 (73%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
- Which rivers in Germany have the best long-term record?
- 19 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example BAD IN DER BEKOW HAGENOW, BORGSTEDTER ENGE BORGSTEDT, EIDER BARGEN. See the full list.
- Can I check current conditions?
- The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on Bathing-water quality (UBA, links to all states). Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.
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