North Sea locks on the Elbe River at Brunsbüttel

The Kiel Canal (German: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal), until 1948 known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal, is a 98 kilometre (61 mile) long canal in the German Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein that links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of 280 nautical miles (519 kilometers) is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids potentially dangerous storm-prone seas. It is the world's busiest artificial waterway. Kiel Canal North Sea locks at Brunsbüttel. ... Kiel Canal North Sea locks at Brunsbüttel. ... This article is about a river in Central Europe. ... For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ... Germany is a Federal Republic made up of 16 States, known in German as Länder (singular Land). ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... Elbe estuary Brunsbüttel is a city in northern Germany that lies on the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. ... For other uses, see Baltic (disambiguation). ... , For the city in the United States, see Kiel, Wisconsin. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland; Frisian Jutlân; Low German Jötlann) is the western, continental part of Denmark as well as one of the three historical Lands of Denmark, dividing the North Sea from the Kattegat and the Baltic Sea. ...

History

The first connection between the North and Baltic Seas was the Eider Canal, which used stretches of the Eider River for the link between the two seas. The Eiderkanal was completed in 1784 and was a 43 kilometre (27 mile) part of a 175 kilometre (109 mile) long waterway from Kiel to the Eider mouth at Tönning on the west coast. It was only twenty-nine metres (95 feet) wide with a depth of three metres (10 feet), which limited the vessels that could transit the canal to 300 tonnes displacement. The Eider (-German; Danish: Ejderen; Latin: Egdor or Egdore) is the longest river of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. ... Skippers house Tönning (German; Danish: Tønning; North Frisian: Taning) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. ... In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. ...

1888 map

A combination of naval interests—the German navy wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without sailing around Denmark—and commercial pressure encouraged the development of a new canal. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire and existed between 1871 and 1919; it grew out of the Prussian Navy and the Norddeutsche Bundesmarine. ...

In June 1887, construction works started at Holtenau near Kiel. It took the 9,000 workers eight years to build. On June 21, 1895 the canal was officially opened by Kaiser Wilhelm II for transiting from Brunsbüttel to Holtenau. A ceremony was held in Holtenau where Wilhelm II named it the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal, and laid the final stone. The opening of the canal was filmed by British director Birt Acres and surviving footage of this early movie is preserved in the Science Museum in London. ^[1] is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... William II or Wilhelm II (born Prince Frederick William Albert Victor of Prussia; German: ) (27 January 1859–4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and Prussia from 15 June 1888 to... Birt Acres (July 23, 1854–1918), born in Richmond, Virginia, USA of English parents was a photographer and film pioneer. ... Opening of the Kiel Canal (also known as Inauguration of the Kiel Canal by Kaiser Wilhelm II) is an 1895 British short black-and-white silent documentary news film directed and produced by Birt Acres. ... The Science Museum on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. ...

In order to meet the increasing traffic and the demands of the navy, between 1907 and 1914 the canal width was increased. The widening of the canal allowed the passage of a Dreadnought-sized battleship. This meant that these battleships could travel from the Baltic to the North Sea without having to go around Denmark. The enlargement projects were completed by the installation of two larger canal locks in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau. HMS Audacious, a British super-dreadnought launched in 1912 A dreadnought was a battleship of the early 20th century, of a type modelled after the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought of 1906. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... Canal locks in England. ...

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles internationalised the canal while leaving it under German administration. Adolf Hitler repudiated its international status in 1936. Since the end of World War II the canal returned to being open to all traffic again. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... This article is about the Treaty of Versailles of June 28, 1919, which ended World War I. For other uses, see Treaty of Versailles (disambiguation) . The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was a peace treaty that officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Operation

There are detailed traffic rules for the canal. [1] Each vessel in passage is classified in one of six traffic groups according to its dimensions. Depending on their classification, ships may be obliged to accept assistance of a tugboat, or to accept pilots or specialised canal helmsmen. Furthermore, there are regulations regarding the passing of oncoming ships. In some cases a ship is required to moor at the bollards provided at intervals along the canal to allow the passage of oncoming traffic. Special rules apply to pleasure craft. A tugboat shown turning a large RORO cargo ship. ...

View south-west from the aft lounge of the cruise ship Norwegian Dream.

While most large, modern cruise ships cannot pass through this canal due to clearance limits under bridges, one medium sized ship, the M. S. Norwegian Dream has special funnels and masts that can be lowered for passage. A typical Baltic cruise for this ship is Dover, United Kingdom, through the Kiel Canal and across the Baltic to stops in Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Oslo, Norway; returning to Dover via the North Sea. View of the Kiel Canal and surroundings (composite image). ... View of the Kiel Canal and surroundings (composite image). ... A cruise ship or a cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ships amenities are considered an essential part of the experience. ... The Norwegian Dream. ... , Dover is a major channel port in the English county of Kent. ... County Area 159. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Location of Helsinki in Northern Europe Coordinates: , Country Province Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki Charter 1550 Capital city 1812 Government  - Mayor Jussi Pajunen Area  - Total 187. ... For other uses, see Stockholm (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Copenhagen (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of Norway. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 89th day of the year (90th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kiel Canal

• Official website