Kiel,
Germany
capital of the German Federal State of
Schleswig-Holstein and seated at the east coast of a peninsula which is part
Danish (north) and part
German (South).
Kiel has about 240k habitants but is devided by a
glacial fjord-like bay (Kieler Förde) into two halves of about 100k inhabitant plus
suburbs. The two major districts are called west bank and east bank (Westufer/Ostufer) and connected by the Gablenz Bridge, which is said to be the longest in the world, because it connects
Germany to
Turkey due to the far greater
Turkish population in the east bank district.
Another phonmenon is the
weather: The regualar change of
summer and
winter does not seem to work properly:
Summer usually only comes once in _two_ years! Nevertheless: In "summer-years" the inhabitants populate the
parks and
beaches in and around Kiel. Some kilometers down the coast are two of the most famous beaches of the Kiel area: Kalifornien and Brasilien - two villages named after so far away and sunny places as
California and
Brazil.
In 1847 Kiel was made royal war
habor by the
German Emporor. This gave a significent upturn to Kiel's shipbuilding industry and came to a tragical head when in
WWII allied
bombs erased the shipyards and the inner city of Kiel in a strategy that mainly destroyed
military facilities.
After WWII the habitants of Kiel rebuilt their city in the style of the time which can regretfully be seen at most places in town:
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe brick office builings and grey
concrete-monsters replaced the picturesque Old Town. Remains of the old
u-boat facilities are being removed these days.
Nowadays Kiel does not only have a strong
Turkish community but also a >10% population of
students. The largest part of which studies at the Christian-Albrechts
University which is known for the wide scale of fields of studies and especially the
law faculty. But as you study in Kiel you will find your collegues are never to be seen privatly due to the many
commuters who never attend
student parties or local
pubs...