a seaport of Denmark, capital of the duchy of Holstein, is finely situated on a narrow peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Kielerfjord, a lake-like arm of the Baltic, 54 miles N. of Hamburg. It is well built and walled, and the environs and wooded banks of the bay afford numerous picturesque views of the surrounding country and the sea. The principal public buildings are the Glücksborg palace—the church of St Nicholas, an ancient edifice with a lofty tower—the university, and the convent church. Kiel is the seat of the Schleswig-Holstein State Assembly; and has a university, founded in 1665, with a large library, museum, botanic garden, and observatory. The excellence of its harbour, which affords safe anchorage near the town for the largest ships, and its position in the line of communication between the Baltic and German Ocean (by the Kiel Canal), have raised Kiel into commercial importance. In a political point of view, as the only great military haven on the S. coast of the Baltic, it is of still greater importance. A railway communicates with Altona and Hamburg, with branches to Rendsborg and Glücksborg, and steamers ply regularly to all the principal Baltic ports. The chief manufactures are sugar, soap, tobacco, ironmongery, hats, &c. Among the chief articles of trade are sprats and red herrings. Pop., including the suburbs, about 15,000.