Kiel Canal connects

The Kiel Canal, officially known in Germany as the Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, is a 98-kilometer-long artificial waterway that connects the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau with the North Sea at Brunsbüttel [t1][t2]. Completed in 1895, it cuts across the base of the Jutland Peninsula in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein [t3][t6]. The canal was strategically designed to provide a shorter, safer route for vessels, allowing them to bypass the lengthy and often stormy 250 to 500-mile journey around the Danish Peninsula (Skagen) [t3][t4][t7]. It is recognized as one of the world's busiest man-made waterways, facilitating efficient maritime trade between Northern European ports [t2][t8]. In contrast, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas [c1], while the Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Sources

1. [1] FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: Transport and Communication > The Suez Canal > p. 63