{{Short description|Strait in Germany and Denmark}} {{More citations needed|auto=yes|date=February 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Fehmarn Belt | image = La2-demis-fehmarn.png | caption = The Fehmarn Belt. The German island of Fehmarn is located to the south and the Danish island of Lolland to the north | image_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry = | depth = | max-depth = {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} | inflow = | outflow = | catchment = | basin_countries = Germany<br />Denmark | length = {{convert|25|km|abbr=on}} | width = | min_width = {{convert|18.6|km|abbr=on}} | islands = | etymology = | location = | pushpin_map = Germany | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|54|34|N|11|17|E|region:DE-SH_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | part_of = | alt = | type = strait | cities = | area = | oceans = }}
thumb|Location of the ferry route.
'''Fehmarn Belt''' ({{audio|De-Fehmarnbelt.ogg|German pronunciation}}) ({{Langx|da|Femern Bælt}}, former spelling ''Femer Bælt''; {{Langx|nds|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 {{Convert|18|km|4=-wide|adj=mid}} wide area with depths of {{convert|20|–|30|m}}. Currents in the strait are weak and mostly dependent on wind.
== Swimming == It was initially swum across by Christof Wandratsch.<ref name=swimmers>{{cite web |url=http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2012/11/bruno-baumgartner-busts-fehmarn-belt.html |title=The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Bruno Baumgartner Busts Fehmarn Belt Record |website=dailynews.openwaterswimming.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908100549/http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2012/11/bruno-baumgartner-busts-fehmarn-belt.html |archive-date=8 September 2015}}</ref>
==Tunnel== {{Main|Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link}} 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.<ref name=SUPERTUNNEL>{{cite news |title=Dänemark baut Supertunnel nach Deutschland |url=http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/0,1518,742887,00.html |access-date=1 February 2011 |newspaper=Der Spiegel, online edition |date=1 February 2011 |language=German}}</ref> The tunnel is to have three separate bores, two containing two motorway lanes each, and one with a double-track railway line.<ref name=SUPERTUNNEL /> Construction started on 1 January 2021,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trm.dk/nyheder/2021/nu-starter-anlaegsarbejdet-paa-femern-baelt-forbindelsen/ |title=Nu starter anlægsarbejdet på Femern Bælt-forbindelsen}}</ref> and the tunnel is expected to open in 2029.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-22 |title=The record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy70y2x3xj6o |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
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.<ref name=":0" />
== Famous shipwrecks ==
* 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
== See also == {{Commons category|Fehmarn Belt}} *Fehmarn Belt Lightship
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Straits of Denmark Category:Bodies of water of Schleswig-Holstein Category:Straits of the Baltic Sea Category:Straits of Germany Category:Denmark–Germany border Category:International straits