Kiel Holtenau

Kiel Holtenau stands on the northern shore of the Kiel Canal entrance in Kiel-Holtenau, northern Germany. The brick tower rises twenty metres above its hill. Its light reaches twenty-four metres and guides vessels entering the canal. The light reaches eleven nautical miles in white, nine in red and eight in green. A green area surrounds the lighthouse beside the canal entrance.

Rower, a Kiel company, built the present structure on a mound formed from canal excavation. The foundation stone carries the founding document for the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. It reportedly contains stereoscopic photographs embedded in glass plates. Above it, the octagonal Three Emperors Hall commemorates Wilhelm I, Friedrich III and Wilhelm II. The Berlin firm Puhl & Wagner created the mosaics. A facade plaque records Wilhelm II’s inauguration and opening of the canal to world traffic.

A semicircular relief above the main entrance shows North Sea and Baltic Sea mermaids shaking hands. Two canal lighthouses appear behind the figures in the relief. The octagonal brick base also serves as a wedding room.