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
White Sea–Baltic Canal Sea Canal's structures. Work began on the gradual electrification of the canal's structures and machinery. In 1953, the locks' staff started including electricians; by 1957, the electrification of the locks of the northern slope of the canal was completed, and by 1959 all coastal and floating navigation lights were switched to electric power. The importance of White Sea–Baltic Canal for the national economy greatly increased after the commissioning of the modern Volga-Baltic Waterway in 1964. Canal capacity and the annual volume of freight traffic increased several-fold. Another upgrade of the canal took place in the 1970s. During the reconstruction, the