Ceremonial Joining Of Charles And Rhine Rivers Makes A Splash For Swimming

For Immediate Release
News clips and photo files from Swiss press available on request.

Basel, Switzerland...August 17, 2005… On August 16th, Dieter Scholer, president of the Friends of Massachusetts, a Basel, Switzerland-based economic and cultural exchange group, and Renata von Tscharner, president of the Boston's Charles River Conservancy, an environmental advocacy group dedicated to making the Charles River Parklands more active and attractive, upended a bottle filled with water from the Charles River into the Rhine River.

The symbolic outpouring occurred at Rhine Swim 2005, the 25th convening of an event sponsored by the City of Basel to celebrate the pleasures of swimming in the quick-flowing waters of the river that flows through the center of the city. Over 1200 participated, despite unseasonably chilly weather, plunging into the river with their clothing in waterproof bags, then floating quickly downstream with the current. All swimmers were rewarded with a special commemorative medal and an apple for their exertions!

On warmer days such activities serve as a lunchtime pick-me-up for masses of Basel residents. Pollution and lack of facilities made such celebrations impossible in earlier years, but a commitment to reclaiming the Rhine for recreational use has made the river a magnet for locals and tourists alike.

In the fall of this year, von Tscharner, along with Swiss officials and local Massachusetts's civic and political leaders and state and federal authorities will reciprocate Basel's hospitality, pouring water from the Rhine into the Charles. The act will highlight Basel's achievement in reclaiming the Rhine and a similar need to reclaim the Charles for swimming, as well.

The symbolic blending of the two streams is intended to make an additional point: after decades of neglect, the Charles is on the verge of becoming clean enough to swim in, while the Rhine is a shining example of how progressive thinking and environmental action can turn a blighted river into an outstanding recreational resource.

When she poured the water from her adopted river, the Charles, into the Rhine, yesterday, von Tscharner, born and educated in Switzerland, said:

In bringing together the waters of these two great rivers we hope to unleash a stream of sentiment in Massachusetts and across America. Too long have the waters of the rivers in our American cities been made impure by abuse and lack of caring.

Too long have those urban rivers not been accessible for swimming. But in bringing the newly cleansed waters of Boston's Charles River to the rushing waters of the Rhine and in turn bringing Rhine water to the Charles in Boston, we can learn from your success.

The citizens of Basel and Swiss federal officials who have stewarded this mighty river back to health; the swimmers who come here every day and through their joy and pleasure show us new uses for urban rivers, all are leading the way for Bostonians and all Americans to do the same with their urban rivers.

You have reclaimed the Rhine for your own, and so shall we with our Charles. I salute you and wish you all a joyous and healthy swim.

Not so many years ago, the Rhine ranked among the most polluted rivers in Europe, but public pressure and concerted government action has turned it into a recreational magnet, so much so the citizens of Basel, now enjoy the swimming as an important part of the city's summer life.

Swimming compliments other recreational opportunities along the shores of the Rhine, such as walking, jogging, in-line skating and bicycling, just as in Boston's Charles River Parklands. Another amenity shared by both rivers is the illumination of bridges and the presentation of musical events on the water's edge.  The beauty of such amenities and the excitement of water sports like sailing and rowing in the Charles is an added attraction to Boston's premier parkland.

Basel and its surrounding canton, have already established Massachusetts ties through the Friends of Basel and the Swiss House in Cambridge, headed by Christoph von Arb, Swiss Consul in Boston. Numerous economic, cultural and science-based initiatives beneficial to both Basel and Boston are well underway.

The relationship between the city of Basel and the state of Massachusetts is especially important in areas such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, where the Swiss have placed high emphasis in their academic and industrial efforts. Cambridge and Boston have become a world center for pharmaceutical and biotechnology enterprise and research, attracting numerous Swiss citizens to the laboratories and classrooms of the Boston area.

The exchange of water symbolizes the importance of large, urban rivers as places for recreation and culture, two lifestyle issues of importance to all for reasons of health and recreation. While Basel's tradition of river swimming is already several years old, efforts directed toward making the Charles River swimmable have only just begun and can benefit from Basel's experience.

For information about the Friends of Massachusetts, contact Dieter Scholer at dieter.scholer@massfriends or phone <011 41 61 421 76 77> (Basel exchange).

For further information on the Charles River Conservancy and its stewardship of the Charles River Parklands, call the Conservancy directly at the phone number in the column to the left, or point your Web browser at www.thecharles.org.

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