Annually an average of 40,000 ships pass through the Kiel Canal, making it the busiest artificial seaway in the world. n old Swedish encyclopaedia for young people, called ”Lille jätten”, suggested in 1944 that the Panama Canal would be one of the modern world’s seven wonders. Without underestimating the efforts made during the excavation of the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, the Kiel Canal would earn this description too. Perhaps the time of the release of the book had something to do with this. The German initial success in World War II had turned into a disaster, making it more “politically correct” to declare the Panama Canal a wonder, instead of the German-controlled Kiel Canal. A matter of fact is, however, that both waterways – and of course also the Suez Canal – are true wonders. They form irreplaceable parts in the infrastructure of global shipping.
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Forming a shortcut between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea the Kiel Canal – or the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, as it is referred to in German – has never during its 115 years of existence lost any of its attraction. Originally it served primarily military purposes, but today it is a purely commercial sea lane, shortening the distance between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with some 170 nautical miles, depending of course on the location of the ports of departure and destination. For example for a vessel sailing from a port in the Northern Baltic to Hamburg, the distance saved is some 330 nautical miles. The initiative to establish an almost 100 km long artificial waterway between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea came from Reichskanzler Otto von Bismarck. The navy of the recently united German Empire needed a safe passage between its naval bases in Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. The work began on June 3, 1887. In no more than eight years 9,000 workers excavated 80 million cubic metres of land. They built two locks each in Brunsbüttel and Holtenau. In addition to that they completed two bridges, high enough to allow the vessels to sail under them. The canal had a width of 67 metres at the surface and a water depth of nine metres in a 22 metres wide channel along the middle. The festive opening ceremony was held by Kaiser Wilhelm II on June 20 and 21, 1895. To honour the emperor the waterway was named Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal. This name was in use until 1948. Already after the first ten years of operation, the canal turned out to be too small. Also the average 13 hours sailing time through the canal was considered too long. Between 1907 and 1914 the canal was widened to 103 metres and deepened to 11 metres in a 44 metres wide channel. In both ends new locks were built, the “Grosse Schleusen”, which together with the original smaller locks are in operation still today. When built, the large locks were the largest in the world. The western part of the Kiel Canal was further improved between 1965 and 2000. When completed, the width of the water surface was 162 metres and the navigable 11 metres channel had been widened to 90 metres. A widening of the remaining eastern part of the canal is planned. The global financial crisis and the following downturn