Due to its geographic location about 90 km north of Hamburg, in the far north of Germany and on the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea, Kiel has become one of the main maritime centres within this region. The city is known for its variety of international sailing events. The most famous event is surely the annual Kiel Week (Kieler Woche), the biggest sailing event worldwide. The Olympic sailing competitions of the 1936 and the 1972 Olympics were held in Kiel.
Kiel once was the most important base of the German Navy's Baltic fleet, and still is a major high-tech shipbuilding centre with every kind of shipyards, boat service and repair firms. Its perfect location on the Kiel Fjord and the Nord-Ostsee Kanal (Kiel Canal), one of the world's most busiest waterways, still give Kiel an important rang as sea transport hub.
Another main part of its harbour importance comes from the large number of passenger ferries sailing from Kiel to Scandinavia and some East Baltic Countries. Most Baltic Sea cruises start and end in Kiel.
