page_title: Holtenau
section_title: Kiel airport
hierarchical_section_title: Holtenau / History / Kiel airport
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Luftaufnahme des Verkehrslandeplatzes Kiel-Holtenau (EDHK) und des Heliport Kiel-Holtenau (ETMK)
context_page_description: Holtenau is a district of Kiel, on the southeastern part of the Danish Wahld. It was historically part of the Duchy of Schleswig, and has cultural influences from both Germany and Denmark.
  The district is located at the mouth of the Kiel Canal on the Kieler Förde. Its location has made Holtenau a significant part of the region's shipping industry. Until 2012, a naval airbase was also operational in Holtenau.
context_section_description: In the 1880s, forts were constructed along the Kiel Förde. Fort Holtenau was completed in 1888 and housed approximately 250 men. The fort, along with all of the other Kiel forts, was demolished after the First World War. The area previously housing the fort was cleared and leveled in 1925 to allow for an expansion of the Kiel Airport.
  The airport opened in 1927 as a private organization. In 1934 the city sold the land to the state, expanded, and converted to a military airbase. To allow for the expansion of the airbase and the construction of military facilities, many locals were forced to sell their properties. At the onset of the Second World War a quarter of all people living in Holtenau worked at the airbase as members of the Luftwaffe.
  The airport fell into decline after the war. In 1958, after the establishment of the German Navy, the Marineflieger reconstructed the base and created the naval pilot division of Marinefliegergeschwader 5 (MFG 5) at the new site. MFG 5 has since moved their division to Nordholz Naval Airbase.
  All military operations at the airbase ceased in 2012. At its closure the base covered 92 hectares of land, the majority of which is now being converted for public use.
caption: Aerial view of Holtenau and the former airport
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