Leuchtturm Kiel-Holtenau, Lighthouse at entrance of Kiel Canal, Holtenau, Germany
Kiel-Holtenau lighthouse is a brick structure beside the lock at the start of the Kiel Canal. The red building marks the point where the canal links Kiel Fjord and the Baltic Sea with the North Sea.
It was built in 1895 as a marker for the newly opened canal linking the two seas for the first time. This waterway was a major undertaking that changed maritime routes across Europe.
The octagonal brick base now serves as a wedding room, with a civil registry office inside. Above it, the Drei-Kaiser-Halle commemorates Wilhelm I, who laid the canal's foundation stone in 1887, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II. A semicircular relief over the main entrance shows the mermaids "Nordsee" and "Ostsee" reaching hands to each other.
Visitors can see the structure from outside when visiting the lock area or the harbor surroundings. It is easily accessible from the roadside and operates around the clock as a navigation aid.
The foundation stone, laid by Kaiser Wilhelm I on 3 June 1887, holds the founding charter of the Kiel Canal; glass plates with stereo photographs are said to be walled in with it. Above it, the octagonal Drei-Kaiser-Halle commemorates the three emperors who ruled during the canal's construction.
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