Nord-Ostsee-Kanal

Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, also Kiel Canal, artificial waterway in northwestern Germany, linking the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The canal extends in a northeastern direction across the state of Schleswig-Holstein from Brunsbüttelkoog, near the mouth of the Elbe River, to Kiel, on the Baltic. The canal is very level, and has locks only at its ends to accommodate North and Baltic sea tides. Constructed between 1887 and 1895 and subsequently enlarged, the canal is 98 km (61 mi) long, 103 m (338 ft) wide, and 11 m (37 ft) deep. The canal shortened the distance between the North and Baltic seas by about 322 km (about 200 mi) and eliminated the difficult passage around Jutland. It was internationalized by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.