The busiest man-made waterway in the world (busier than Suez or Panama) begins just a few kilometres north of the centre of Kiel at Holtenau.
More than 120 years after it opened, the Kiel Canal is used by 31,000 ships and 15,000 recreational boats, cutting 460 kilometres from a journey around the Jutland Peninsula.
The easternmost locks at Holtenau are where construction began in 1887. On the south side is an outdoor visitor centre with information boards and telescopes set up for you to watch the traffic.
