Fehmarnbelt

Geographical location

The Fehmarn Belt (Danish: Femern, formerly furthermore Bælt ) is about 18 km wide strait between the south coast of Lolland and Fehmarn in the western Baltic Sea, it connects as sea the Great Belt and Bay of Kiel as Kiel- Baltic - way with the waters of the Bay of Mecklenburg and the eastern Baltic (see also Kadetrinne ). The German and Danish government decided in June 2007, a joint construction project to cross the Fehmarn Belt. The Danish Parliament spoke out on February 1, 2011 for the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel from.

Data

Approximately in the middle between the two islands runs a 9 km wide strip with water depths of 20-30 meters. The currents in the Fehmarn Belt are primarily drift currents, which are caused by the wind and are dependent on the prevailing wind over the Baltic Sea. The influence of tidal currents is small (no more than 0.2 to 0.3 nautical miles per hour).

Crossing

By ship the Fehmarn Belt of the bird's flight Puttgarden- Rodby is crossed.

On June 29, 2007 the Governments of Denmark and Germany agreed after years of discussion on the construction of a Fehmarn Belt fixed link. Construction of the approximately 19 kilometer link ( bridge or tunnel ) between Puttgarden on the Baltic island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland Rodby on to be in 2012. The 5.5 billion -euro building, whose cost will take over most of Denmark, is to be completed by 2018. On September 3, signed in 2008, the then Minister of Transport of Germany and Denmark, Wolfgang Tiefensee and Carina Christensen in Copenhagen the Treaty establishing a Fehmarn Belt fixed link. After recalculation of the cost in 2010 is again increasingly discussed the tunnel solution.

In 2005 Christof wall ratchet swam across the Fehmarn Belt in a time of 5 hours 11 minutes and since then holds the world record for the solo crossing of the Fehmarn Belt. On August 29, 2012 broke Bruno Baumgartner from Switzerland the previous record with a time of 4 hours and 53 minutes.

Shipwrecks in the Fehmarn Belt

On July 26, 1932, the sailing school ship Niobe capsized by an unforeseeable Gewitterböe and sank in a few minutes.

On 28 October 2007, the registered in Slovakia Turkish freighter Omer N capsized far from unknown causes 15 nautical miles west of the Danish city Gedser. Three crew members were rescued, four are only found dead. Four other people are still missing.