Description & Facts: Kiel is the capital and most populous city of the northern German state Schleswig-Holstein. Kiel is approximately 90 km to the north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the Baltic Sea, Kiel has become one of the main maritime centres of Germany. For instance, the city is known for a variety of international sailing events, including the annual Kiel Week, which is the biggest sailing event in the world. The Olympic sailing competitions of the 1936 and the 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Kiel. Kiel has also been one of the traditional homes of the German Navy's Baltic fleet, and continues to be a major high-tech shipbuilding centre. Kiel is an important sea transport hub due to its location at the Kiel Fjord and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, Kiel Canal. A number of passenger ferries to Sweden and other countries operate from here. Kiel's 2005 GDP per capita was 35,618 , is well above the national average of Germany and equals 159% of the European Union average. Within Germany and parts of Europe, the city is known for its leading handball team, THW Kiel. The city is home to the University of Kiel (established in 1665). The city districts of D sternbrook, Schreventeich, Ravensberg are popular places to live with many 19th century buildings, villas, and tree-lined streets. The government offices, ministries and parliament of the state of Schleswig-Holstein are also mainly based in these neighbourhoods, particularly D sternbrook. In contrast to the heavy bombing destruction of the central parts of the city during World War II, most of the residential areas have not been severely damaged. Hence, Kiel's more modern-style inner city and Kiel's more historic/elaborate residential areas stand in an architectural contrast to one another. There are plans of large-scale improvement and building efforts for the inner city, caring for better pavements, better access to and view of the waterfront and a generally more attractive feel. However, these plans are yet to be implemented in the upcoming years. The oldest building in the city is the 13th century Nikolaikirche (St Nicholas' Church), which has a sculpture of Ernst Barlach in front of it called Der Geistkeampfer. Kiel is Schleswig-Holstein's largest city, and therefore Kiel's shopping district is a major attraction, and will see further improvement and renovation efforts in the upcoming years. Kiel's Holstenstrasse (Holsten Street) is one of the longest shopping miles in Germany. The Rathaus (town hall), which was built in 1911, has an operating paternoster and its tower was designed after a model from Venice, Italy. The square in front of it is bordered by a lake and the Opera House. There are also a number of lakes and parks in the city centre, e.g. Schrevenpark (Schreven Park). There are two botanic gardens, the Alter Botanischer Garten and Neuer Botanischer Garten. As Kiel is situated near the sea, popular places to visit in spring and summer are also the beaches to the north of Kiel such as Kiel-Strande, Kiel-Schilksee, Miltenort and Laboe. Kiel Week is the largest sailing event in the world, and takes place every last week in June. Many thousands boats and ships of all kinds and times take part in the parade. Kiel Week is also a festival, Volksfest and fair at the same time as it is a maritime event. There are a number of sports venues in Kiel, most notably the Sparkassen-Arena (formerly known as Ostseehalle), which is the home ground of one of the most successful team handball clubs in the world and multiple German champion, THW Kiel. There is currently no top Bundesliga football club in Kiel, but Holstein Kiel plays at Holsteinstadion. There are a number of yachting and sailing clubs in picturesque settings. Kiel also features a number of museum, including zoological, geological, historical, fine art, industrial, and military museums.