Ehsan Danish

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
Coordinates	54°34′N 11°17′E / 54.567°N 11.283°E / 54.567; 11.283
Type	strait
Basin countries	Germany Denmark
Max. length	25 km (16 mi)
Min. width	18.6 km (11.6 mi)
Max. depth	30 m (98 ft)

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.

It was initially swum across by Christof Wandratsch.^[1]

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.^[2] The tunnel is to have three separate bores, two containing two motorway lanes each, and one with a double-track railway line.^[2] Construction started on 1 January 2021.^[3]

Once completed, the journey between Rødbyhavn in southern Denmark and Puttgarten in northern Germany, will take just 10 minutes by car, or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry crossing. The tunnel is due to open in 2029.^[4]

• 13 October 1644 The Danish men-of-war Delmenhorst, Lindormen and the Dutch Swarte Arendt was sunk during the Battle of Fehmarn (1644)
• 21 July 1932 The German school ship Niobe capsized during a white squall

• Fehmarn Belt Lightship