File:Germany Before the First World War 1890 - 1914 HU68388.jpg

English: Germany Before the First World War 1890 - 1914

Opening of the Kiel Canal, 21 June 1895. The German Aviso SMS JAGD passes through the Holtenau Lock near Kiel. The opening ceremony spanned two days. On 20 June 1895, the German Imperial Yacht SMY HOHENZOLLERN, with Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Kaiserin on board, entered the lock at Brunsbüttel. The Kaiser cut a ribbon and officially opened this end of the Canal. The HOHENZOLLERN then led a convoy of 24 ships down the Canal to Holtenau. On 21 June, the Kaiser laid the final stone and named the new waterway the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal in a lavishly decorated ceremonial arena at Holtenau, Germany.

The Kiel Canal, a 61 mile long waterway linking the North Sea at Brunsbüttel, Germany to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau, Germany was source of international tension from its inception. Its construction allowed the increasingly powerful German Imperial Navy to move rapidly from its Baltic ports to open sea without travelling through the waters of other countries. During 1907 - 1914, it was enlarged to accommodate the larger warships then being constructed with the intention of enabling the Imperial Germany Navy to surpass the power of the British Royal Navy. The consequent escalation of tension between Germany and Britain contributed to the outbreak of the First World War.