Figure 1.--Kiel is perhaps best known for the Kiel Canal and is the eastern terminus. The Kiel Canal provided easier access to the Atantic for Baltic shipping. We see the boys here having a look at the harbor. The caption read, "Am Hafen". This mean just "At the harbor".

Kiel is a German port city on the Baltic coast. It is located at the base of the Jutland peninsula. It shares its name with the Bay of Kiel at the head of the Kiel Fjord. Kiel has been a major German naval base since 1860s. This was about the time that Prussia began to build a small navy. It is also the site of important shipyards. It is perhaps best known for the Kiel Canal and is the eastern terminus. The Kiel Canal provided easier access to the Atantic for Baltic shipping. It was apparently called the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal (Kaiser Wilhelmskanal). Kiel University founded in 1665 is one of Gerany's most prestigious universties. Important sailing competitions are held at Kiel, the most important on Kiel Week. The sailing events for the 1936 Berlin Olympics were held at Kiel. We see the boys here having a look at the Canal.

Kiel

Kiel is a German port city on the Baltic coast. It is located at the base of the Jutland peninsula. It shares its name with the Bay of Kiel at the head of the Kiel Fjord. Kiel has been a major German naval base since 1860s. This was about the time that Prussia began to build a small navy. It is also the site of important shipyards. Kiel University founded in 1665 is one of Gerany's most prestigious universties. Important sailing competitions are held at Kiel, the most important on Kiel Week. The sailing events for the 1936 Berlin Olympics were held at Kiel. We see the boys here having a look at the port. Kiel is perhaps best known for the Kiel Canal and is the eastern terminus.

Kiel Canal

Denmark controlled access to the Atantic ocean for the countries of te Baltic. The first connection through Grmany was the Eider Canal (1784). This proved inadequate in the 19th century as the size of both naval and merchant vesses grew. The Germans built the Kiel Canal for both strategic and commercial purposes. The German Navy wanted to link its bases in the Baltic and the North Sea without sailing around Denmark which was an unfriendly nation after Prussia seized Schleswig-Holstein. Today the canal is mostly important for commercial reasons, providing a direct sea outlet to Baltic sea countries. Construction was a major enginnering project. It took 8 years to build the Canal (1887-95). The Kiel Canal provided easier access to the Atantic for Baltic shipping. It was apparently in the 1930s called the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal (Kaiser Wilhelmskanal). It is now known as the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal. The canal is the world`s busiest artificial waterway. It runs for about 100 km through Schleswig-Holstein from Brunsbüttel in the west to Kiel-Holtenau in the east. It thus links the North Sea with the Baltic. This saves around a 250 nautical mile trip around the Jutland Peninsula (Skaw).

Youth Hostel

While in Kiel the boys stayed at what looks like a youth hostel. We see them having a meal there. I'm not sure how this was all financed. I don't think that the boys would have had to pay individually. We suspect that the boys stayed there for nothing. That either the HJ picked up the bill or thsat the hostel was fianced by the Government and HJ groups allowed to use it.