The Bay of Kiel is a bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

 in the southwestern Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

, off the shores of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and the islands of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. It is connected with the Bay of Mecklenburg

Bay of Mecklenburg

The Bay of Mecklenburg , also known as the Mecklenburg Bay or Mecklenburg Bight, is a long narrow basin making up the southwestern finger-like arm of the Baltic Sea, between the shores of Germany to the south and the Danish islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn to the north, the shores of Jutland to...

 in the east, the Little Belt

Little Belt

The Little Belt is a strait between the Danish island of Funen and the Jutland Peninsula.The belt is about 50 km long and 800m to 28 km wide, the maximum depth is approximately 75 m, and contains numerous small Danish islands....

 in the northwest, and the Great Belt

Great Belt

The Great Belt is a strait between the main Danish islands of Zealand and Funen . Effectively dividing Denmark in two, the Belt was served by the Great Belt ferries from the late 19th century until the islands were connected by the Great Belt Fixed Link in 1997–98.-Geography:The Great Belt is the...

 in the North.

Maritime traffic entering or leaving the Baltic through the two Belts must enter the bay. Once in, through traffic to the Baltic passes through another strait, the Fehmarn

Fehmarn

Fehmarn is an island and - since 2003 - a town on this island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and ca. 18 kilometers south of the Danish island of Lolland...

 Belt, into the Bay of Mecklenburg

Bay of Mecklenburg

The Bay of Mecklenburg , also known as the Mecklenburg Bay or Mecklenburg Bight, is a long narrow basin making up the southwestern finger-like arm of the Baltic Sea, between the shores of Germany to the south and the Danish islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn to the north, the shores of Jutland to...

, which opens out into the Baltic Sea. In the other direction, traffic can either pass northward through the Great Belt, keeping Langeland

Langeland

Langeland is a Danish island located between the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel. The island measures 285 km² and, as of 1 January 2010, has a population of 13,277. The island produces grain and is known as a recreational area. A bridge connects it to Tåsinge via Siø - a small island with a...

 on the port side, or enter the Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The...

 and traverse the Kiel Canal

Kiel Canal

The Kiel Canal , known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula....

 directly to the mouth of the Elbe River and the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. The Kiel Fjord ends at Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein.

Geography

The southwest shore of the bay is the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. From the latter drains the Schlei

Schlei

The Schlei is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles from the Baltic near Kappeln and Arnis to the city of Schleswig. Along the Schlei are many small bays and swamps...

 inlet, actually a brackish estuary, at the head of which is the city named after it, Schleswig

Schleswig

Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...

. In that coast also are two other smaller bays: the Eckernförde Bay

Eckernförde Bay

Eckernförde Bay is a bay in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is about 16 km long and turns at the mouth, with the south bank on approximately ten km of the Bay of Kiel. The border with Kiel Fjord is at Bülker lighthouse...

 and the Flensburg Fjord

Flensburg Fjord

Flensburg Fjord , occasionally known as Flensburg Firth, is a 50 km long inlet of the Baltic Sea. The fjord or firth forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north....

. In the north are the Danish islands of Als, Ærø

Ærø

Ærø is one of the Danish Baltic Sea islands, and part of Region of Southern Denmark. The western portion of the island was the municipality of Ærøskøbing; the eastern portion of the island was the municipality of Marstal...

, and Langeland.

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord

Kiel Fjord is an approximately long fjord or firth of the Baltic Sea along the shores of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Formed by glacial movement during the last Ice Age, it lies between the Danish Wold and Wagria. It originates at the Hörn in centre-city Kiel and merges into the Bay of Kiel.The...

, projecting from the bay to the south, is about 17 km long and 1 km wide at its narrowest point. The strategic location was not lost on the founders of Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

, of which Kiel was intended to be a major city. It became a prolific shipyard, which made it a prime target of allied bombing in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Before the foundation of Kiel in 1242 and the construction of a walled city there, the region could not have escaped settlement, especially by the Vikings. Any archaeological trace of them, however, either lies under the city or was disturbed long ago.

Eckernförde Bay

Eckernförde Bay

Eckernförde Bay

Eckernförde Bay is a bay in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is about 16 km long and turns at the mouth, with the south bank on approximately ten km of the Bay of Kiel. The border with Kiel Fjord is at Bülker lighthouse...

 is about 16 km long and turns at the mouth, with the south bank on approximately ten km of the Bay of Kiel. The border with Kiel Fjord is at Bülker lighthouse. The once forested peninsula between Kiel Fjord and Eckernförde Bay formed the borderland between the Saxons

Saxons

The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 and the Danes in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. It was termed the Danish Wold. North of Eckernförde Bay is the Schwansen

Schwansen

Schwansen is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. It is located between the Eckernförde Bay in the south and the Schlei inlet in the north....

 region; at the end of the bay is the city of Eckernförde

Eckernförde

Eckernförde is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.All German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde....

. The bay itself hosted the sailing

Sailing at the 1936 Summer Olympics

Sailing/Yachting is an Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of the 1904 and possibly the 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program....

 events for the 1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

Schlei

The 42-km Schlei

Schlei

The Schlei is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany. It stretches for approximately 20 miles from the Baltic near Kappeln and Arnis to the city of Schleswig. Along the Schlei are many small bays and swamps...

 forms the border between the historical regions Angeln

Angeln

Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...

 and Schwansen

Schwansen

Schwansen is a peninsula in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Baltic Sea. It is located between the Eckernförde Bay in the south and the Schlei inlet in the north....

. This part of the bay hosted the sailing

Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad . With the exception of 1904 and possible 1916 sailing was always a part of the Olympic program....

 competitions for the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 held in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

.

Flensburg Fjord

Flensburg Fjord

Flensburg Fjord

Flensburg Fjord , occasionally known as Flensburg Firth, is a 50 km long inlet of the Baltic Sea. The fjord or firth forms part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north....

 is approximately 50 km long. It forms part of the border between Germany and Denmark and marks north border of Angeln

Angeln

Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...

.