125 Years of the Kiel Canal – A Century-Old Structure Celebrates

Today, on June 20, 125 years ago, the Kiel Canal was opened, then known as the ‘Kaiser Wilhelm Canal’. It has carried its current name since 1948. The Kiel Canal is one of the most significant artificial waterways in the world, alongside the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. Originally built for military reasons, it has become indispensable for freight and cruise shipping today. The canal also holds great importance for the Port of Hamburg. Therefore, the port has published a special feature online for the anniversary.

(Brunsbüttel/Kiel) The Kiel Canal is now one of the most important artificially constructed waterways in the world. Approximately 30,000 sea vessels, including many feeder, cruise, and inland ships, pass through it annually. It has also become a popular destination for recreational boats and tourist trips – something unimaginable 125 years ago. Back then, the so-called ‘Eider Canal’ was more of a labyrinth of various rivers, streams, and brooks, and hardly navigable. To enable the imperial fleet to travel between the North and Baltic Seas without having to cross Danish territorial waters, Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck decided for the first time to create a breakthrough of the isthmus between Brunsbüttel and Kiel-Holtenau, and on June 3, 1887, they gave the go-ahead for the construction of a canal.

Special documentation on the Port of Hamburg website

9,000 Workers from Across Europe Built the Canal

Up to 9,000 workers from all over Europe completed the canal within 8 years, allowing it to be opened on June 20, 1895. The reigning Emperor Wilhelm II named it in honor of his grandfather as the ‘Kaiser Wilhelm Canal’. However, about 10 years after its completion, it became apparent that the ships of the imperial navy had grown significantly larger in the meantime, and the approximately 67-meter-wide waterway was no longer sufficient. Consequently, between 1907 and 1914, the fairway was widened from 22 to 44 meters. The canal, originally created for the navy, quickly evolved after World War II into a cruise and freight route between the Baltic and North Seas, gaining increasing international significance. In 1948, it was finally renamed the ‘Kiel Canal’.

Due to the increasing size of freight and cruise ships, the Kiel Canal faced the same problem in 1966 as it had nearly 50 years earlier – it was too small. During the second expansion of the canal, it ultimately took on its current appearance. With the exception of the eastern section, the fairway was expanded to 90 meters, and the total width to 162 meters. Today, the Kiel Canal is almost three times larger than the former Kaiser Wilhelm Canal was 125 years ago.

Over the years, the Kiel Canal has adapted to its requirements and the new circumstances. Not least for this reason, it remains, 125 years after its construction, the most important artificially constructed waterway in Germany, which is also indispensable for the Port of Hamburg.

Photos: © Loginfo24 / Image captions: Both photos taken at the Hohenhörn Bridge A 23 near Heide