Kiel Webcam – Baltic Ferry Port From a Church Tower

The Kiel Webcam looks roughly south from the tower of St. Nikolai Church in the old town of Kiel, across the inner end of the Kiel Fjord on Germany’s Baltic coast. The tall white Hafenhaus at the Schwedenkai stands in the middle of the frame with the Stena Line terminal at its foot, and across the water of the Horn lies the Norwegenkai, where the Color Line ships to Oslo berth. The rooftop parking deck of a shopping center at the Alter Markt runs along the bottom of the picture. Ferries come and go every day, and on a clear day the Kiel Transmission Tower rises on the skyline at the right.

About Kiel and Its Inner Harbor

Kiel is the capital of Schleswig-Holstein and sits at the head of a long, sheltered inlet of the Baltic Sea. Count Adolf IV of Holstein founded the town in 1233 as Holstenstadt tom Kyle, and it received Lubeck town rights in 1242. About 251,800 people lived in the city at the end of 2025. The Kiel Canal, the world’s busiest artificial waterway, meets the fjord in the northern district of Holtenau.

The camera’s perch is the city’s oldest building. Work on St. Nikolai Church began around 1242 on the Alter Markt, the old town’s central square. An air raid on May 22, 1944 set the spire alight and brought the burning roof down through the vaults, and after the war the church was rebuilt to designs by architect Gerhard Langmaack. Since 1954 Ernst Barlach’s sculpture Der Geistkampfer (The Spirit Fighter), made for the city of Kiel and first unveiled in 1928, has stood beside it.

Below the tower, the fjord narrows to its innermost tip, the Horn. Farther south the Horn Bridge crosses it, a three-segment folding bridge opened in 1997 that folds up into the shape of a letter N. Its main span is 25.5 meters (84 feet), and it links the city center on the west bank with the Gaarden district on the east bank. Two daily ferry routes leave from the quays in view: Stena Line to Gothenburg in Sweden, run by Stena Germanica and Stena Scandinavica from the Schwedenkai, and Color Line to Oslo with Color Fantasy and Color Magic from the Norwegenkai. On the right of the skyline, the Kiel Transmission Tower reaches about 230 meters (755 feet).

Weather and Climate in Kiel

Kiel has a cool, damp maritime climate. On the 1991 to 2020 averages, January highs reach 4.0°C (39°F) and nights dip to -0.4°C (31°F). April warms to highs of 12.7°C (55°F) with lows of 3.9°C (39°F). July is the warmest month at 22.2°C (72°F) by day and 13.0°C (55°F) at night, and October still averages 13.1°C (56°F) in the afternoon and 6.9°C (44°F) after dark. Rain and snow add up to about 754 millimeters (29.7 inches) a year.

The seasons show plainly on the camera. Around the winter solstice Kiel gets a little over 7 hours of daylight, and because the lens faces south, the low sun of the colder months sits close to the frame and can wash the sky into glare. By late June the days last more than 17 hours and the harbor stays light well into the evening.

Things to Do Near Kiel

The camera’s own square is a good place to start, with St. Nikolai Church and Barlach’s Geistkampfer on the Alter Markt. Holstenstrasse, one of the longest shopping streets in Germany, runs through the city center. Kiel’s maritime museum, the Schifffahrtsmuseum, occupies the former fish market building on the harbor, and a walk over the Horn Bridge leads to Gaarden and the Norwegenkai side of the water.

Farther out, the Holtenau locks mark the Baltic end of the Kiel Canal, and Laboe, across the outer fjord, has the Laboe Naval Memorial and the Second World War submarine U-995. Kiel Week brings the year’s biggest crowds in the last full week of June, and the ferries on camera sail overnight to Oslo and Gothenburg, arriving the next day.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Two more German ports and the far end of the Color Line route.

• Warnemunde Cruise Center Webcam
• Hamburg Harbor Webcam
• Oslo Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Kiel located?

Kiel is in northern Germany, at the head of the Kiel Fjord on the Baltic Sea, and is the capital of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. The camera is on St. Nikolai Church at the Alter Markt in the old town, a few hundred meters from the ferry quays it watches.

What can you see on the Kiel Webcam?

The fixed camera faces roughly south over the inner harbor. On the left, the water of the Horn leads to the long quay of the Norwegenkai on the far bank. The Hafenhaus and the Stena Line terminal fill the center, with a Stena ferry to the right of them when one is in port, and city rooftops and the transmission tower fill the right side. A rooftop parking deck runs across the foreground.

Can you see the Stena Line and Color Line ferries on the webcam?

Yes, when they are in port. Stena Germanica and Stena Scandinavica, the Gothenburg ships, berth at the Schwedenkai beside the Hafenhaus in the middle of the picture. Color Fantasy and Color Magic, the Oslo ships, use the Norwegenkai across the Horn on the left. Both routes run daily, so a ferry is usually alongside or maneuvering at some point in the day.

Does the Kiel Webcam show cruise ships at the Ostseekai?

No. The Ostseekai cruise terminal lies about half a kilometer (a third of a mile) northeast of St. Nikolai Church, behind the camera, so its berths are out of frame. This view covers the ferry quays at the Schwedenkai and the Norwegenkai instead.

Can you see the Kiel Canal locks or Laboe from this camera?

No. The Holtenau locks at the canal’s Baltic end are about 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of the camera, and Laboe is about 12 kilometers (7 miles) to the north-northeast across the outer fjord. The camera points the other way, toward the innermost tip of the fjord.

What is the weather like in Kiel?

Cool for much of the year, with January highs of 4.0°C (39°F) and July highs of 22.2°C (72°F). About 754 millimeters (29.7 inches) of rain and snow fall in an average year.

When is Kiel Week?

Kiel Week (Kieler Woche) is held every year in the last full week of June. The first race, on June 23, 1882, had 20 sailing yachts. Today about 5,000 sailors and 2,000 ships take part, and the festival draws about three million visitors a year.

Is the Kiel harbor webcam live at night?

Yes. The operator, kielmonitor.de, describes the stream as running 24 hours a day. After dark the picture depends on the lights at the quays and terminals, and in late December the sun sets before 4 pm local time.

Source: kielmonitor.de