Kiel

Baltic port and capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany; population (2005 est) 234,400. It is a naval and commercial facility. Chief industries include fishing, marine engineering, ship-repairing, electronics, engineering, food-processing, and tourism. It is at the terminus of the Kiel Canal. Kiel Week in June is a major yachting venue. In World War I it was the headquarters of the German Imperial Fleet.

Features Educational and cultural facilities include Kiel University (1665); the Institute of World Economics; excellent libraries, theatres, and museums; an opera house; and the university's botanical gardens. There is a 13th-century castle, and a memorial to the 36,000 Germans who lost their lives in U-boats in both world wars.

History Kiel became a city in 1242 and was a member of the Hanseatic League, a confederation of trading cities. After 1871 it developed into the chief naval port of Germany. In 1918 the naval mutiny here was the precursor of Germany's defeat. After World War I the city's defences were destroyed, but it was refortified before World War II. Kiel was badly damaged during World War II.