From the air, the old ground plan of the city can still clearly be seen. On a peninsula in the fjord, streets were laid out in the form of a twin cross, with the present-day Alter Markt and the Nikolaikirche in the centre.
The founder of the city, Adolf IV, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein, instantly recognised its favourable position by the sea. In 1223, he initiated the creation of his “Holstenstadt tom Kyle“ on a peninsula in the Kiel fjord.
1242 Kiel received its Town Charter. The natural deep-water harbour, secure from storms, was to become a base for trade throughout the Baltic Sea. But in realising this, the Count was several centuries ahead of his time. It is true that Kiel was for over 200 years a member of the Hanseatic League, but nevertheless, for a long time the city on the fjord remained only a regional centre.
From the 14th century, the nobility made Kiel the location of a capital market which was influential from Skagen to the Elbe, the annual “Kieler Umschlag“ (Kiel Trade Fair). Present-day traders and craftspeople commemorate this fair every February with a festival. One important impetus was the foundation of the University (which still bears his name) by Duke Christian Albrecht, which was founded in Kiel in 1665, and which, until today, continues to significantly influence the intellectual climate of the city.
In Kiel Castle, the Russian Tsar, Peter III, was born. The city was under German and Danish rule. In 1848, Kiel was the focus of the so-called Schleswig-Holstein Revolt – the attempt to remove both dukedoms from the overall control of the Danish state. It was only in 1865 that this aim was achieved. For a short time, Kiel was under an Austrian governor, and then was annexed by Prussia.
