Fehmarn Belt

Fehmarn Belt
The Fehmarn Belt. The German island of Fehmarn is located to the south and the Danish island of Lolland to the north
Fehmarn Belt is located in Germany
Fehmarn Belt
Fehmarn Belt
Location within Germany
Coordinates54°34′N 11°17′E / 54.567°N 11.283°E / 54.567; 11.283
Typestrait
Basin countriesGermany
Denmark
Max. length25 km (16 mi)
Min. width18.6 km (11.6 mi)
Max. depth30 m (98 ft)
Location of the ferry route.

Fehmarn Belt (German pronunciationⓘ) (Danish: Femern Bælt, former spelling Femer Bælt; Low German: Femernbelt) is a strait connecting the Bay of Kiel and the Bay of Mecklenburg in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Ferries operated by Scandlines connect Puttgarden and Rødby on the two islands.

The strait features an 18-kilometre-wide (11 mi) wide area with depths of 20–30 metres (66–98 ft). Currents in the strait are weak and mostly dependent on wind.

Swimming

It was initially swum across by Christof Wandratsch.

Tunnel

The Danish and German governments agreed on 29 June 2007 to build a fixed link to replace the current ferry route.

In 2011, the Danish parliament voted overwhelmingly (with seven of eight parties supporting) for the €5.1 billion project that was initially intended to open in 2020. The tunnel is to have three separate bores, two containing two motorway lanes each, and one with a double-track railway line. Construction started on 1 January 2021, and the tunnel is expected to open in 2029.

The tunnel will allow crossing between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarten in 10 minutes by car, or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry crossing.

Famous shipwrecks

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Bruno Baumgartner Busts Fehmarn Belt Record". dailynews.openwaterswimming.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Dänemark baut Supertunnel nach Deutschland". Der Spiegel, online edition (in German). 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  3. ↑ "Nu starter anlægsarbejdet på Femern Bælt-forbindelsen".
  4. 1 2 "The record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany". www.bbc.com. 22 April 2025. Retrieved 25 April 2025.