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Schleswig-Holstein: Districtless town Kiel

Area: 110.42 km²
Population: 245800

Some information about the shield of Kiel. The shield shows the nettel leave of the dukes of Schauenburg and in the middle you see a symbolized Hanse-Kogge, to show, that Kiel was in the past also a member of the Hanse.

The Hanse-Kogge was the ship, with which the traders brought in the middle ages her products over the seas. It was the first big ship between the boats of the the vikings and the later sailings ships. For a long time there were only pictures from coins and other pictures. Then some years ago, in theWeser river they found during excavation work a old ship. After a short time, it was realized that it was a Hanse-Kogge, which during a storm had teared off from it's mooring place in a ship yard in Bremen. Now they are in the process of trying to preserve the old wood in sugar water. After that the ship shall be shown in a ship museum in Bremen.

Now a little bit about Kiel, Kiel is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein at the Kieler Förde (Kiels Firth), seat of the States-Parliament. Kiel has many massive buildings distributed over the whole town center, the Christian-Albrechts-University with its facilities and instutions of sea-exploration and world-economy have world wide fame. Kiel is the center of the ship building, with the over sized portal-cranes of the Howaldt-shipyard, which have a decisive influence on the silhouette of the city. Roundabout 50,000 people in and around Kiel are dependant on this shipyard. Kiel is also the mecca of the sailing sport with the modern terracedc construction in Schilksee, where in 1972 the olympic sailing races were held. Kiel is a city with a lot of facets: urban, like a big city and monatanus in Mettenhof, where there are alone 20,000 inhabitants, but on the other side, rustic and leisurely in Molfsee with it's unique open-air museum.

Even in 1860, only 30,000 people lived in Kiel, 50 years later the town had already 210,000 inhabitants. The two Wilhelms (Emperors I and II) of Prussia saw the the future of Germany on the seas and had a lot of plans for Kiel. In 1871, Wilhelm I, appointed the city as the empires first warship harbor. In 1895 Wilhelm II, opened the Nord-Ost-See-Kanal (North East Sea Canal) formally, which was at that time named the Kaiser Wilhelm Kanal (the inernational name is Kiel-Canal). Wilhelm II cared for the employment and the economic upswing, never less in 1918 the workers turned away from him, in a hopeless situation, which they perceived better, than he did. The decisive impulse to abolish the monarchy and to establish a modern democracy in Germany came in that time from the worker- and soldier - councils in the harbor of Kiel.

But the "Weimarer Republik", which was built as the the consequence of this wasn't lasting. In 1945 the town was in ruins; 80% of it destroyed. The occupying power had in mind to let the town wither to a fishing a village, but they had not thought of the active politicans (Andreas Gayk and others) of Kiel after WWII. These politicans took care of a good planned reconstruction of the town. Today the downtown of Kiel is the undisputed metropolis of Schleswig-Holstien, with the almost completely new architectural core and it's green lung (Schrevenpark, Duesternbrook Wald (Wood), with well known companies (Hagenuk, Hell KG), with the shopping center in the Holstenstrasse and Sophienhof and last but not least the "Ostsee-Halle", in which the Bundesliga (highest class) handball-sportclub "THW-Kiel" plays its championship games. The "THW" wins most of its games, because of its enthusiastic fans, especially when playing in the "Ostsee-Halle". One time in the year, duing "Kiel's week" (Kieler-Woche, a summer festival, which has been celebrated for more than a 100 years) the town has the aura of a world metropolis. People from all the world romp around on the streets and promenade alng the Hindenburg-Ufer (Hindenburg-shore) and the Kiel-Linie( Kiel-Line, a walking way along the border of Kiel's Firth) transforms to a "Spiellinie" - a playing line - for all the little children. The town awards her "Kulturpreis" (culture prize), her most important award. In this week in Kiel everyone hopes for a fresh breeze and a shining blue sky (keep in mind the sailing championships on the Firth) - that weather, the the emperor did love so very much in the past.

Sharon D. Hagler