With a population of around ,, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. The world's busiest artificial waterway, the Kiel Canal , has a terminus in Kiel's Holtenau district. Most of Kiel is part of Holstein. The boroughs north of the Schwentine also belong to Wagria , while those north of the Kiel Canal are historically part of Southern Schleswig. Kiel is one of Germany's major maritime centres, known for a variety of international sailing events, including the annual Kiel Week , which is the biggest sailing event in the world.
Kiel is also known for the Kiel Mutiny , when sailors refused orders to prepare to engage the British Navy in the last weeks of World War I , sparking the German Revolution , which led to the abdication of the Kaiser and the formation of the Weimar Republic. The Olympic sailing competitions of the and the Summer Olympics were held in the Bay of Kiel.
Kiel has also been one of the traditional homes of the German Navy 's Baltic fleet, and continues to be a major high-tech shipbuilding centre. Kiel is an important sea transport hub, with passenger ferries to Sweden , Norway , Lithuania and other countries. Moreover, today the Port of Kiel is a popular destination for cruise ships touring the Baltic Sea. Kiel's recorded history began in the 13th century. Before then, in the eighth century, it was a Danish village. Until it was administered by Denmark in personal union.
In the city was annexed by Prussia and in it became part of Germany. Kiel was one of the founding cities of the original European Green Capital Award in As a part of Holstein, Kiel belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and was situated only a few kilometres south of the Danish border. The capital of the county later duchy of Holstein , Kiel was a member of the Hanseatic League from until it was expelled in for harbouring pirates. The Kieler Umschlag trade fair , first held in , became the central market for goods and money in the Duchy of Holstein.
It began to decline c. From to , the town belonged to the king of Denmark. However, because the king ruled Holstein as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire only through a personal union , the town was not incorporated as part of Denmark proper. Even though the empire was abolished in , the Danish king continued to rule Kiel only through his position as Duke of Holstein, which became a member of the German Confederation in After the war, Kiel was briefly administered by both the Austrians and the Prussians, but the Austro-Prussian War in led to the formation of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein and the annexation of Kiel by Prussia in The Imperial shipyard Kiel was established in in the town.
