Kiel Canal Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, literally "North-[to]-Baltic Sea canal", formerly known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal) is a long 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
North Sea Canal sod, and straw, where disease, fights, and alcohol abuse were rampant. On 1 November 1876, the North Sea Canal was officially opened by King William III of the Netherlands. Over the years the canal has been widened and deepened several times. The North Sea Canal and the IJ have 10 side canals (in Dutch: "Zijkanaal"), which connect to rivers and other canals which used to flow into the former IJ Bay before its reclamation. Vessels with a draft of more than 14 metres should use the IJgeul. To protect access to the channel jetties were built in the sea. In