Kiel

This article is about the city in Germany. There is also Kiel, Wisconsin in the United States of America.

Kiel["keel", ] is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the Bundesland Schleswig-Holstein. It has a population of 233,795 (113,274 males, 120,521 females).

Located on the Baltic Sea (Bay of Kiel) at the head of the Kieler Förde (Kiel fjord), the city has been one the country's main naval bases since the 1860s. Kiel is a center for German shipbuilders and the eastern terminus of the Kiel Canal. A renowned university, the Christian-Albrechts-Universität (established 1665), is located in Kiel.

Kiel is very famous for its sailing events, including the Kieler Woche, (Kiel Week), one of the biggest sailing events in the world. In 1936 and 1972, when the Olympic Games were held in Berlin and Munich respectively, the Olympic sailing competitions were held in Kiel-Schilksee.

Aerial view of the old city center

History

Kiel was originally founded in 1233 as Holstenstadt tom Kyle by Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg, and granted town privileges (Lübisches Stadtrecht) in 1242 by Adolf's eldest son, Johann I of Schauenburg.

Kiel, the capital of Holstein, was a member of the Hanseatic League from 1284 until it was evicted in 1518 for harbouring pirates. In 1431, the Kieler Umschlag (trade fair) was first held, which became the central market for goods and money in Schleswig-Holstein until it began to lose significance from 1850 on, being held for the last time in 1900. Kiel's university, the Christian-Albrechts-Universität, was founded on 29 September, 1665, by Christian Albrecht, duke of Holstein-Gottorf. A number of important scholars, including Theodor Mommsen and Max Planck, studied or taught there.

From 1773 to 1864, the town belonged to the King of Denmark. However, because the king ruled Holstein as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire only through a personal union, the town was not incorporated as part of Denmark proper. Thus Kiel belonged to Germany but was ruled by the Danish king. Even though the Empire was abolished in 1806, the Danish king continued to rule Kiel only through his position as Duke of Holstein. When Schleswig and Holstein rebelled against Denmark in 1848, Kiel became the capital of Schleswig-Holstein until the Danish victory in 1852.

Port facilities

During the Second War of Schleswig in 1864, Kiel and the rest of Schleswig and Holstein were conquered by an alliance of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. After the war Kiel was briefly administered by both the Austrians and the Prussians, but the Austro-Prussian War in 1866 led to the annexation of Kiel by Prussia in 1867. On 24 March, 1865, the Prussian king William I based Prussia's Baltic Sea fleet out of Kiel instead of Danzig (now known as Gdańsk, Poland).

When King William I of Prussia became Kaiser William I of the German Empire in 1871, he designated Kiel and Wilhelmshaven as Reichskrieghafen, or "Imperial War Harbour".

Because of its new role as Germany's main naval base, Kiel quickly increased in size in the following years, from 18,770 in 1864 to about 200,000 in 1910. Much of the old town center and other surroundings were leveled and redeveloped to provide for the growing city.

Kiel was the site of the sailors' mutiny which sparked the German Revolution in late 1918.

Because of its status as a naval port and as production site for submarines, Kiel was heavily bombed by the Allies during World War II; it is estimated that 80% of the remaining old town, 72% of the residential areas, and 83% of the industrial areas were destroyed. The city was rebuilt after the war, but city planners failed to revive the former cityscape; Kiel was less meticulously restored than other towns in Schleswig-Holstein like Lübeck, Flensburg or Schleswig.

Schleswig-Holstein Parliament, November 2004

In 1946, Kiel was named the seat of government for Schleswig-Holstein, and it officially became the state's capital in 1972. The Kieler Umschlag has been held again yearly since 1975. It is now a festival with music and food stalls, historical costumes, special bread, and a wedding, the Umschlagshochzeit for which every young bride and groom can apply. But above all, Kiel is most famous for its Kieler Woche sailing festival held annually in June.

Economy

Kiel is the home of HDW Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft GmbH, a shipyard founded in 1838 famed for its construction of submarines. HDW built the first German submarine Brandtaucher in 1850, and is today a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, the leading German group of shipyards.

Places of interest

In the vicinity of Kiel are seaside resorts such as Kiel-Strande, Kiel-Schilksee, Möltenort and Laboe. Laboe has an important naval memorial, as well as the WWII-era submarine U-995, a popular tourist site since 1972.

Sights in Kiel include:
* The Nikolaikirche (church of St Nicholas, 14th/15th century)
* Der Geistkämpfer (The Spirit Fighter), a sculpture by Ernst Barlach in front of the Nikolaikirche
* The ruins of the Castle (a 16th century castle not rebuilt after WWII)
* The Rathaus (town hall, 1911)
* a WWII-era air raid bunker (not open for tourism)
* Fernmeldeturm Kiel
* Holsteinstadion, home of the football club Holstein Kiel

Neighborhoods

Kiel is divided into 18 boroughs and 30 districts or neighborhoods. Each borough contains one or more districts, and has an advisory council with no budgetary powers. Here are the boroughs and districts, with corresponding district numbers:
*Mitte
**1 Altstadt
**2 Vorstadt
**3 Exerzierplatz
**4 Damperhof
*Ravensberg/Brunswik/Düsternbrook
**5 Brunswik
**6 Düsternbrook
**7 Blücherplatz
**9 Ravensberg
*Steenbek-Projensdorf
**8 Wik z.T.
*Wik
**8 Wik z.T.
*Schreventeich/Hasseldieksdamm
**10 Schreventeich
**11 Südfriedhof
**15 Hasseldieksdamm
*Gaarden
**12 Gaarden-Ost
**13 Gaarden-Süd und Kronsburg
*Hassee/Vieburg
**14 Hassee
*Ellerbek/Wellingdorf
**16 Ellerbek
**17 Wellingdorf
*Holtenau
**18 Holtenau
*Pries-Friedrichsort
**19 Pries
**20 Friedrichsort
*Neumühlen-Dietrichsdorf/Oppendorf
**21 Neumühlen-Dietrichsdorf
*Elmschenhagen/Kroog
**22 Elmschenhagen
*Suchsdorf
**23 Suchsdorf
*Schilksee
**24 Schilksee
*Mettenhof
**25 Mettenhof
*Russee/Hammer
**26 Russee
*Meimersdorf/Moorsee
**27 Meimersdorf
**28 Moorsee
*Wellsee/Kronsburg/Rönne
**29 Wellsee
**30 Rönne

Population growth

{| valign = "top" |

Year	Inhabitants
1300	1.000
1450	2.000
1682	3.310
1750	4.500
1768	5.268
1773	5.430
1781	5.739
1803	7.075
1825	10.035
1830	10.833
1. February 1835 ¹	11.622
1. February 1840 ¹	12.344
1. February 1845 ¹	13.572
1. February 1855 ¹	16.274
1. February 1860 ¹	17.541
3. December 1864 ¹	18.770