OFF BEAT: Sunbathers can grin and bare it in shadow of insurance giants

Germans have a stereotyped reputation among other Europeans for loving both rules and getting naked, and now lawmakers in Munich have ensured that anyone who wants to bare all in the city can do so with impunity.

A recent change in the law in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital, means that Munich residents and visitors alike may sunbathe naked — but only within six specially designated “urban naked zones.”

When nude sunbathing laws in Bavaria expired in the fall, lawmakers decided to make clear where in the city sun-worshippers can strip off without risking arrest.

The six areas are in parkland and will offer privacy to sunbathers but will not be fenced off, according to reports.

Munich is home to insurance giant Allianz S.E. and the world’s largest reinsurer, Munich Reinsurance Co., and is the third-largest city in Germany.

Germany’s first nudist beach was set up in 1920.