Kiel Canal


The Kiel Canal is a freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula. This not only saves time but also avoids storm-prone seas and having to pass through the Sound or Belts.
Besides its two sea entrances, the Kiel Canal is linked, at Oldenbüttel, to the navigable River Eider by the short Gieselau Canal.

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, which 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 Eiderkanal was a part of a waterway from Kiel to the Eider River's mouth at Tönning on the west coast. It was only wide with a depth of, which limited the vessels that could use the canal to 300 tonnes.
After 1864, the Second Schleswig War put Schleswig-Holstein under the government of Prussia. A new canal was sought by merchants and by the German navy, which wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without the need to sail around Denmark.

Construction and expansion

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 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 Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal, and laid the final stone. British director Birt Acres filmed the opening of the canal; the Science Museum in London preserves surviving footage of this early film. The first vessel to pass through the canal was the aviso, sent through in late April to determine if it was ready for use.
The first trans-Atlantic sailing ship to pass through the canal was Lilly, commanded by Johan Pitka. Lilly, a barque, was a wooden sailing ship of about 390 tons, built 1866 in Sunderland, U.K. She had a length of, beam, depth of and a keel.
In order to cope with the increasing traffic and the demands of the Imperial German 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 such battleships could travel between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea without having to go around Denmark. The enlargement was completed with the installation of two larger canal locks in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau.

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. The government under Adolf Hitler repudiated its international status in 1936, but the canal was reopened to all traffic after World War II. In 1948, the current name was adopted.
The canal was partially closed in March 2013 after two lock gates failed at the western end near Brunsbüttel. Ships larger than were forced to navigate via Skagerrak, a detour. The failure was blamed on neglect and a lack of funding by the German Federal Government, which has been in financial dispute with the state of Schleswig-Holstein regarding the canal. Germany's Transport Ministry promised rapid repairs.

Operation

There are detailed traffic rules for the canal. Each vessel in passage is classified in one of six traffic groups according to its dimensions. Larger ships are obliged to accept pilots and specialised 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 bollards provided at intervals along the canal to allow the passage of oncoming vessels. Special rules apply to pleasure craft.

All permanent, fixed bridges crossing the canal since its construction have a clearance of.
Maximum length for ships passing the Kiel Canal is, with the maximum width of ; these ships can have a draught of up to. Ships up to a length of may have a draught up to. The bulker Ever Leader'' is considered to be the cargo ship that to date has come closest to the overall limits.

Crossings

Several railway lines and federal roads cross the canal on eleven fixed links. The bridges have a clearance of allowing for ship heights up to. 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. In sequence and in the direction of the official kilometre count from west to east these crossings are:
Local traffic is also served by 14 ferry lines. Most noteworthy is the “hanging ferry” beneath the Rendsburg High Bridge which needs to be replaced after a collision with a ship in 2016. All ferries are run by the Canal Authority and their use is free of charge.