Kiel Canal

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Kiel Canal, German ship canal built across the isthmus of Schleswig-Holstein, 1887–95, to link the Baltic and North Seas. It extends for 98 kilometres (61 mls.) from Holtenau, at Kiel Harbour on the Baltic, to Brunsbüttelkoog at the mouth of the Elbe River. Known when it was built as the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, its construction was a strategic move by the German emperor to link the principal German naval bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, and it was designed to take the largest warships then in existence. The launching in 1906 of the first British Dreadnought, a new type of battleship, negated the strategic purpose of the canal, since all navies, including that of Germany, were forced to follow suit and build the new type, and the canal was not at first capable of taking them. However, it was enlarged between 1907 and 1914 and is currently 103 metres (338 ft) long and 11 metres (37 ft) deep. After the First World War (1914–18) it was, for all intents and purposes, internationalized by the Treaty of Versailles (1919), though its administration was left in German hands. In 1936 Hitler repudiated the terms under which it was run, but after the Second World War (1939–45) freedom of navigation was again guaranteed.

Kiel Canal artificial waterway, 61 mi (98 km) long, in Schleswig-Holstein, N central Germany, connecting the North Sea with the Baltic Sea. At sea level, the canal extends from Kiel on the Baltic to Brunsbüttelkoog at the mouth of the Elbe River. Locks at each end of the canal minimize tidal variation. Built (1887–95) to facilitate movement of the German fleet, the Kiel Canal was widened and deepened from 1905 to 1914. Large oceangoing ships can pass through the canal. Because of its great military and commercial importance the canal was internationalized by the Treaty of Versailles (1919), though its direct administration was left with the Germans. Hitler repudiated its international status in 1936, but free navigation in the canal was returned after World War II. The canal is also known as the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, for William II of Germany, and as the North Sea-Baltic Canal (Ger. Nord–Ostsee–Kanal ). Today the canal is a major passage for shipping in the Baltic region.