The sport started in the 1970s, with a small group attaching tow-ropes to the bridge that crosses the Eisbach near the southern edge of the Englischer Garten park.

The Eisbach wave, known locally as Eisbachwelle, is on a man-made stretch of river that comes from the Isar River. It flows through Munich’s Englischer Garter Park, and was built in 1972.