KIEL 
History

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The city of Kiel was founded by Count Adolf IV in the 1200's, at the end of the Kieler Förde (Kiel Bay) that carves 11 miles into the land. Soon after 1244 a monastery had been built. This is a sign for the high density of population Kiel already had reached by that time.  Kiel was very well protected by the surrounding waters. In the thirteenth century a wooden fortification was built to strengthen the defense. The weak spots towards the land were protected by the castle of the count. After a while the citizens of Kiel managed to take over the office of the „Stadtvogt“ (the city governor), who originally was responsible to the duke. But unlike Hamburg, Kiel was never totally independent of the sovereign. During wars in the 13th century the defense of Kiel proved a success. Therefore, the army of Albrecht of Brunswik had to withdraw in 1263 without having fulfilled the mission to take over the city.

Trade was important, but Kiel always had to fight against the overwhelming foes and trade competitors, the Hansa cities of Lübeck and Hamburg. The more important transit-trade, which florished in the first deacades, increased and the people had to look for new markets. In 1283 Kiel received the Vitte (license of trade) for the markets of Schonen by the Danish King. Around the 13th century Kiel probably had 1800 to 2000 inhabitants. Because of the high losses during the plague this number decreased until the turn of the century down to around 1600.

In 1871 Kiel experienced a radical rise when it became a naval port. Emperor Wilhelm II. built the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal (Kiel-Canal), which is todays most frequented artficial waterway in the world, and founded there the Imperial Dockyard. The Kiel Canal was  completed in 1895. It has since been enlarged. Its width ranges from 336 to 531 feet (102.5 to 162 meters), and it is 36 feet (11 meters) deep and 61.3 miles (98.7 kilometres) long. During that time of maritime enthusiasm the first „Kiel Week“ took place in 1882 and became soon an international term. Allied bombs damaged the canal during World War II (1939-1945).

Kiel was heavily damaged during World War II  It was rebuilt along modern lines. Its central shopping and commercial district, with streets reserved for pedestrians only, is a model of city planning. The older section includes the Church of St. Nicholas and many cultural facilities. Kiel barely possesses historic buildings, but modern architecture has been introduced to the city with subtle intuition and created a suitable townscape. Today Kiel has 243.000 citizens and covers an area of 43 square miles.