Editing Kiel Canal

{{Short description|Canal in Germany}}
{{Infobox canal
| name        = Nord-Ostsee-Kanal
| image       = 13-09-23-Fotoflug-Nordsee-RalfR-N3S 0008.jpg
| image_size  = 250px
| image_caption = Locks at Brunsbüttel connecting the canal to the [[River Elbe]] estuary, and thence to the North Sea
| map         = Map of the Kiel Canal.png
| map_size    = 250px
| map_caption = Current map of Kiel Canal in Schleswig-Holstein
| mapframe    = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 7
| max_boat_length    = {{convert|235  |m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}
| max_boat_beam      = {{convert| 32.5|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}
| max_boat_draft     = {{convert|  9.5|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}
| date_began  = 1887
| date_completed   = {{Start date|1895}}
| date_extended    = 1907–14
| start_point       = [[Brunsbüttel]] ([[North Sea]])
| end_point         = [[Holtenau]], [[Kiel]] ([[Baltic Sea]])
| length_km   =  98.26
| length_mi   =  61.06
| connects_to = 
| module      = 
}}

The '''Kiel Canal''' ({{langx|de|Nord-Ostsee-Kanal|lit=North Sea – Baltic Sea Canal}}, until 1948 called in German the '''{{lang|de|Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal}}''') is a {{convert|98|km|mi|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} [[fresh water]] [[canal]] that links the [[North Sea]] ({{lang|de|Nordsee}}) to the [[Baltic Sea]] ({{lang|de|Ostsee}}). It runs through the [[Germany|German]] [[states of Germany|state]] of [[Schleswig-Holstein]], from [[Brunsbüttel]] to the [[Holtenau]] district of [[Kiel]]. It was constructed from 1887 to 1895 and widened from 1907 to 1914. In addition to the two sea entrances, at [[Oldenbüttel]] the Kiel Canal is linked to the navigable [[Eider (river)|River Eider]] by the short [[Gieselau Canal]].<ref name=bsiwg>{{cite book | first = Barry | last = Sheffield | publisher = Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson | location = [[St Ives, Cambridgeshire|St Ives]] | title = Inland Waterways of Germany | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-85288-283-1}}</ref>

An average of {{convert|460|km|mi|sp=us|abbr=on}} is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the [[Jutland|Jutland Peninsula]]. This saves time and fuel, avoids storm-prone seas, and avoids passing through the [[Danish straits]]. The Kiel Canal is one of the world's most frequented [[artificial waterway]]s with an annual average of 32,000 ships (90 daily), transporting approximately 100 million [[tonne]]s of goods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gdws.wsv.bund.de/DE/wasserstrassen/01_bundeswasserstrassen/Kueste/NOK.html?nn=1214418 |title=Nord-Ostsee-Kanal |publisher=Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsverwaltung des Bundes |language=German |accessdate=2021-08-14}}</ref>

==History==
The first connection between the North and Baltic Seas was constructed while the area was ruled by [[Denmark–Norway]]. It was called the [[Eider Canal]] and used stretches of the [[Eider River]] for the link between the two seas. Completed during the reign of [[Christian VII of Denmark]] in 1784, the {{Lang|de|Eiderkanal}} was a {{convert|43|km|mi|sp=us|abbr=on}} part of a {{convert|175|km|mi|sp=us|abbr=on}} waterway from Kiel to the Eider River's mouth at [[Tönning]] on the west coast. It was only {{convert|29|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} wide with a depth of {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}, which limited the vessels that could use the canal to 300 [[tonnage|tonnes]].<ref name="Bridging Divides" />

After 1864, the [[Second Schleswig War]] put Schleswig-Holstein under the government of [[Prussia]] (from 1871 the [[German Empire]]). A new canal was sought by merchants and by the [[Kaiserliche Marine|German navy]], which wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without the need to sail around [[Denmark]].<ref name="Bridging Divides">{{cite book|last1=Gollasch|first1=Stephan|last2=Galil|first2=Bella S.|last3=Cohen|first3=Andrew N.|title=Bridging Divides: Maritime Canals as Invasion Corridors|date=24 Sep 2006|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-4020-5047-3|pages=14–15|url={{Google books|HDUtyShHVnYC|page=14|plainurl=yes}}|ref=Bridging Divides}}</ref>

=== Construction and expansion ===
[[File:Germany 1890 - 1914 HU68382.jpg|thumb|right|The official opening of the canal with the imperial ship ''SMY Hohenzollern''.]]
In June 1887, construction started at [[Holtenau]], near Kiel. The canal took over 9,000 workers eight years to build. On 20 June 1895, [[Kaiser]] [[William II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] officially opened the canal for transiting from [[Brunsbüttel]] to Holtenau. The next day a ceremony took place in Holtenau, where Wilhelm II named the waterway the {{Lang|de|Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal}} (after his grandfather, [[Kaiser]] [[William I, German Emperor|Wilhelm I]]), and laid the final stone.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.kiel-canal.de/kiel-canal/history/index.htm|title= Kiel-Canal History|publisher= UCA United Canal Agency GmbH|access-date= 20 June 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150708211152/http://www.kiel-canal.de/kiel-canal/history/index.htm|archive-date= 8 July 2015|url-status= dead}}</ref> British director [[Birt Acres]] filmed the opening of the canal; the [[Science Museum (London)|Science Museum]] in London preserves [[Opening of the Kiel Canal|surviving footage]] of this early film.<ref>{{Cite web| url= http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/724563/index.html |title= Opening of the Kiel Canal| work= Screenonline| access-date= 2007-03-30}}</ref> The first vessel to pass through the canal was the [[aviso]] {{SMS|Jagd}}, sent through in late April (before the canal officially opened) to determine if it was ready for use. In May, the [[ship's tender|tender]] {{SMS|Otter|1877|2}} also passed through the canal.

To cope with the increasing traffic and the demands of the [[Imperial German Navy]], between 1907 and 1914 the canal was widened by Germany to allow [[dreadnought battleship]]s to pass through, allowing them to travel between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea without having to go around Denmark.  Two larger [[canal lock]]s in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau were installed to complete the enlargement.<ref name="kiel-canal.de">{{Cite web |url=http://www.kiel-canal.de/kiel-canal/history/ |title=About Us: History |publisher=Kiel Canal |access-date=2011-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816231716/http://www.kiel-canal.de/kiel-canal/history/ |archive-date=2016-08-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Admiralty Chart No 2469 Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, Published 1920.jpg|thumb|left|325px|The canal as shown in a nautical chart published in 1920]]

=== After World War I ===
After [[World War I]], the [[Treaty of Versailles]] required the canal to be open to vessels of commerce and of war of any nation at peace with Germany, while leaving it under German administration.<ref>{{cite wikisource |Treaty of Versailles/Part XII |Treaty of Versailles, Article 380}}</ref> (The United States opposed this proposal to avoid setting a precedent for similar concessions on the [[Panama Canal]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Platzöder |editor-first1=Renate |editor-last2=Verlaan |editor-first2=Philomène |title=The Baltic Sea: New Developments in National Policies and International Cooperation |date=1996 |publisher=Nijhoff |location=The Hague |isbn=9789041103574 }}</ref>) The government under [[Adolf Hitler]] repudiated its international status in 1936, but the canal was reopened to all traffic after [[World War II]].<ref name="kiel-canal.de"/> In 1948, the current name was adopted.

The canal was partially closed for a period in March 2013 after two lock gates failed at the western end near Brunsbüttel. Ships larger than {{convert|125|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} were forced to navigate via [[Skagerrak]], a {{convert|450|km|mi|sp=us|abbr=on}} detour. The failure was blamed on neglect and a lack of funding by the [[Cabinet of Germany|German Federal Government]], which had been in financial dispute with the state of Schleswig-Holstein regarding the canal. [[German Transport Ministry|Germany's Federal Transport Ministry]] promised rapid repairs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Locked Out: Disrepair Forces Closure of Vital Shipping Lane |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/repairs-force-sudden-closure-of-vital-german-kiel-canal-shipping-lane-a-887759.html |access-date=11 March 2013 |newspaper=[[Der Spiegel]] |date=8 March 2013 }}</ref>

==Operation==
The canal is governed by detailed traffic rules. Each vessel using the canal is categorized into one of six traffic groups according to its dimensions. Larger ships are obliged to accept [[Maritime pilot|pilots]] and specialized canal helmsmen, in some cases even the assistance of a [[tugboat]]. Furthermore, there are regulations regarding the passing of oncoming ships. Larger ships may also be required to moor at the [[bollard]]s provided at intervals along the canal to allow the passage of oncoming vessels. Special rules apply to pleasure craft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.noonsite.com/report/kiel-canal-regulations/|title=Kiel Canal Regulations {{!}} Noonsite|website=www.noonsite.com|access-date=2020-02-15}}</ref>

All permanent, fixed bridges crossing the canal since its construction have a clearance of {{convert|42|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}.

Maximum length for ships passing the Kiel Canal is {{convert|235.50|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}, with the maximum width ([[Beam (nautical)|beam]]) of {{convert|32.50|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}; these ships can have a draught of up to {{convert|7.00|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}. Ships up to a length of {{convert|160.00|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} may have a draught up to {{convert|9.50|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}.<ref name="SeeSchStrO">{{cite german law | link = bdsg_1998| art = | para = 42| date = 22 October 1998 | en = German Traffic Regulations for Navigable Maritime Waterways | enab = | de = Seeschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung | deab = | year = 1998| part = I| pages = 3209| url= http://www.bsh.de/de/Schifffahrt/Sportschifffahrt/Berichtigungsservice_NfS/Schifffahrtsvorschriften/SeeschStrO_engl.pdf}}</ref> The [[bulker]] ''Ever Leader'' (deadweight 74001 t) is considered to be the cargo ship that to date has come closest to the overall limits.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.wsv.de/ftp/presse/2009/00371_2009.pdf|title = Nord-Ostsee-Kanal nimmt wieder Fahrt auf - Verkehrszahlen im 3.Quartal 2009|date = 21 October 2009|work = www.wsv.de|publisher = Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Nord|language = de|trans-title = Kiel Canal – traffic figures 3rd quarter 2009|quote = Early October the largest cargo ship by the combination of length, beam and draught ever transited the Kiel Canal, the Ever Leader (225 m/32.26 m/7.30 m). IMO: 9182186.|access-date = 7 October 2011|archive-date = 4 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032621/http://www.wsv.de/ftp/presse/2009/00371_2009.pdf|url-status = dead}}</ref>

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[[File:KielCanalView.jpg|thumb|center|500px|View west-southwest from the aft lounge of the cruise ship ''[[Norwegian Dream]]'']]

== Crossings ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:Eisenbahnbrücke Rendsburg.jpg|thumb|The [[Rendsburg High Bridge]]]]
[[File:Levensauer Hochbrücke (um 1900).jpg|thumb|The [[Levensau High Bridge]]]]
Several railway lines and federal roads ([[Autobahn]]en and [[Bundesstraße]]n) cross the canal on eleven [[fixed link]]s. The bridges have a clearance of {{convert|42|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}} allowing for ship heights up to {{convert|40|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}. The oldest bridge still in use is the ''Levensau High Bridge'' from 1893; however, the bridge will be replaced in the course of a canal expansion already underway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsv.de/ftp/presse/2009/00272_2009.pdf |title=Alte Levensauer Hochbrücke wird neu gebaut |language=de |date=14 July 2009 |publisher=Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Kiel-Holtenau |access-date=1 July 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205118/http://www.wsv.de/ftp/presse/2009/00272_2009.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kn-online.de/Kiel/Levensauer-Hochbruecke-Im-Fruehjahr-wird-s-ernst |title=Im Frühjahr wird's ernst |language=de |work=[[Kieler Nachrichten]] |date=5 October 2018 |first=Frank |last=Behling |access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref> In sequence and in the direction of the official kilometre count from west (Brunsbüttel) to east (Holtenau) these crossings are:
* ''Brunsbüttel High Bridge'', four lane crossing of [[Bundesstraße 5]]
* ''[[Hochdonn High Bridge]]'' of the [[Marsh Railway]]
* ''Hohenhörn High Bridge'' for [[Bundesautobahn 23|Autobahn 23]]
* ''Grünental High Bridge'' for railway line [[Neumünster]]-[[Heide]] and Bundesstraße 204
* ''[[Rendsburg High Bridge]]'' for the [[Neumünster–Flensburg railway]], from which a [[transporter bridge]], used by local traffic, is suspended
* ''Kanaltunnel Rendsburg'', road tunnel for Bundesstraße 77 (four lanes)
* ''Rendsburg pedestrian tunnel'' <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsa-kiel.wsv.de/Tunnel-Bruecken-Faehren/Tunnel/FuTu/index.html|title=Fußgängertunnel Nord-Ostsee Kanal in Rendsburg|publisher=Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Kiel-Holtenau|access-date=2016-12-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329062835/http://www.wsa-kiel.wsv.de/Tunnel-Bruecken-Faehren/Tunnel/FuTu/index.html|archive-date=2017-03-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''Rade High Bridge'' for [[Bundesautobahn 7|Autobahn A7]]
* ''[[Levensau High Bridge]]'' from 1893 for the [[Kiel–Flensburg railway]] and a local road
* ''New Levensau High Bridge'' for Bundesstraße 76 (four lanes)
* ''Holtenau High Bridges'', two parallel bridges with three car lanes each as well as pavements for pedestrians and cyclists

Local traffic is also served by 14 ferry lines. Most noteworthy is the “[[Transporter bridge|hanging ferry]]” ({{langx|de|Schwebefähre}}, literally: "hovering ferry") that is hanging underneath the ''[[Rendsburg High Bridge]]''.  This hanging ferry was replaced after a collision with a ship in 2016, and returned to service in 2022. All ferries are run by the Canal Authority and their use is free of charge.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsa-kiel.wsv.de/Webs/WSA/WSA-Kiel-Holtenau/DE/1_Wasserstrasse/2_Tunnel-Bruecken-Faehren/3_Faehren/Faehren_node.html |title=Unsere Fähren |language=de |publisher=Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Kiel-Holtenau |access-date=1 July 2020 |archive-date=8 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208152629/https://www.wsa-kiel.wsv.de/Webs/WSA/WSA-Kiel-Holtenau/DE/1_Wasserstrasse/2_Tunnel-Bruecken-Faehren/3_Faehren/Faehren_node.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of canals in Germany]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons|Kiel Canal|Kiel Canal}}
* [http://www.kiel-canal.de/ Official site]
* Time-lapse movie [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719052732/http://www.kiel-canal.de/flvplayer/flvplayer.swf "Kiel-Canal Transit In 9 Minutes"] released by [http://www.kiel-canal.de/ UNITED CANAL AGENCY]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033107/http://www.wsv.de/wsa-bb/nok_en/film1.html Movie about a container ship transiting the canal]

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Kiel Canal| ]]
[[Category:Ship canals]]
[[Category:Transport in Kiel|Canal]]
[[Category:Canals in Germany]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Schleswig-Holstein]]
[[Category:Federal waterways in Germany]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1895]]
[[Category:Kiel Canal basin| ]]
[[Category:1895 establishments in Germany]]