The Town: Kiel

Kiel – the city by the sea

The sea comes right into the heart of the city. The great natural feature in Kiel is the fjord with its beaches. The maritime aspect of the city with its harbours, the massive passenger ferries and the enormous cranes on the docks – that’s typical Kiel. Water is the element in Kiel. You can see it in the growing port, international oceanography, in the highly-specialised Navy, or in the world-class water sports. The Land Capital Kiel is a dockyards and Navy city rich in tradition, with a lively student scene, child-friendly people and urbane charm.

Living and working by the sea

Kiel is the seat of the Land Government, and Schleswig-Holstein’s most important services and educational centre. Almost three-quarters of all employees work in these areas. Kiel is a centre for banking. The dockyards deliver state-of-the-art marine technology, “Made in Kiel“. The Land Capital wants to open itself up even more to the water, to link the banks of the fjord more closely together, and to further develop Kiel as a centre for higher education and technology. Kiel has a lot to offer to businesses and individuals – employees with an excellent education, economically-priced business premises in prestigious locations, a good quality of life. Once you have come to Kiel, you won’t want to leave.

Kiel: Here beats the heart of Schleswig-Holstein

Kiel has more than 230,000 inhabitants. Here beats the heart of the economic and cultural region of Schleswig-Holstein. The people of Kiel, and visitors from all over the world, enjoy Kiel’s broad and diverse range of culture and an intellectual climate of openness, curiosity and productivity. Kiel offers a wide spectrum of culture – theatre and opera, cinema and concerts, musicals and choirs, galleries, museums, botanical gardens, cultural organisations or important concerts staged as part of the world-renowned Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. One of the largest halls for events in Germany is Kiel’s Ostseehalle. People from Scandinavia and the whole of the Baltic Sea area set great store on the extensive opportunities for shopping and the wide range of events and amenities from casino to variety.

Kieler Woche: The city seen at its best

A regatta in 1882 that’s how it all began. Today, the Kieler Woche with easily 2,000 vessels and 5,000 active sailors is a sports event which is well-known right round the globe. For the world sailing community, the Kieler Woche is “the mother and father of all regattas“ thanks to its sportive character and creativity. Anyone who wants to win at the Olympics, so the sailors say, must be able to win at the Kieler Woche. Festivals and events are something that comes naturally to Kiel. A particular highlight in the events calendar is the Kieler Woche. It’s the biggest sports festival in Northern Europe, and at the same time is a forum for political meetings and the biggest sailing event in the world. Guests from all around the world rave about this unique mixture.