Historical Milestones and Events
Kiel Canal is the busiest man-made waterway across the globe. More than 20,000 pleasure, and 40,000 merchant water vessels pass through it every year. The first idea to build a waterway was way back in the 7th Century through Schleswig-Holstein to help with trade. When Denmark’s ruler was Christian VII in 1784, the canal was first used to connect the North Sea with the Baltic Sea as a military and strategic concern.
Expansion and Construction
Named as the Eider Canal at first, it was an artificial canal spanning 43 Km. and was a part of the 175 Km. long waterway starting from Kiel at Tonning to Schleswig-Holstein on the western coast. Earlier, the canal was just 3 meters deep and 29 meters wide, so vessels up to 300 tdw could use the route. Construction started in June 1887, and almost 9000 workers completed it in 8 years. Kaiser Wilhelm II opened the Kiel Canal officially in June 1895 and gave the name Kaiser Wilhelm Canal to the waterway.
- Birt Acres, a renowned director from Britain, filmed the canal’s grand opening. In London, the Science Museum has preserved some footage from the canal’s early film.
- The SMS Jjagd was the first ship to pass through the Kiel Canal. It was sent in late April to basically check if the canal was ready for practical use now.
From 1907 to 1914, Germany widened the canal to meet the increased traffic load and fulfill the demands made by the Imperial German Navy. This let dreadnought battleships pass the Kiel Canal and travel from the Baltic to the North Sea without the need to visit Denmark. To enlarge the canal further, Holtenay and Brunsbuttel, two huge canal locks were added to it.
After the 1st World War
When the Treaty of Versailles was signed after World War I ended, the canal was let under administration. Commerce and war vessels and ships of any country that was peaceful with Germany were allowed to transport through the Kiel Canal. Adolf Hitler stopped international use of the canal in 1936 but it was opened again after World War II to traffic. The current name of Kiel Canal was set in 1948.
In March 2013, two lock gates stopped working near the Brunsbuttel western end and the canal was partially closed because of this. Vessels bigger than 120m had to travel through the Skagerrak detour. This condition was due to the low funding and negligence by the German Government and the country’s Federal Transport Ministry promised to make repairs quickly.
Kiel Canal: History and Importance for European Trade
The Kiel Canal is in Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein and is the busiest man-made waterway in the entire world. It extends from north Germany, connecting the North Sea to the Baltic Sea, and spans across 61 miles or 98 Km. When we consider shipping routes between two seas across the globe, it is cheap, short, and one of the most convenient routes.
In this article, we are going to learn about the Kiel Canal in detail, including its importance, historical milestones and events.
Table of Content
- Historical Milestones and Events
- Kiel Canal – Importance of European Trade
- Kiel Canal – Current Operation