The Bundeswehr is expected to return to the once abandoned site of the former Naval Air Wing 5 (MFG 5) in Holtenau. This means that long-standing urban development goals are facing a fundamental reorganisation.

In a few years' time, the naval battalion from Eckernförde is to be stationed where a new residential and business district on the waterfront was to be built under the project name Holtenau-Ost. The navy describes the partial reactivation as a necessary response to the changed security policy situation and the planned increase in Bundeswehr personnel.

The details are governed by an agreement that the city and the Bundeswehr have negotiated over the past few months. On Wednesday 15 April, Ulf Kämpfer and Jan C. Kaack signed a letter of intent. This letter of intent seals the agreement on the approximately 90-hectare site. The city had actually acquired the site in 2020 for around 30 million euros in order to realise a district with around 2,200 flats. But times have changed: The navy now needs the land itself to house the naval battalion with around 1,500 soldiers. A third of the land remains with the city in order to build around 700 flats. This is a compromise, as Kiel will be compensated with extensive compensation areas that will allow the construction to continue.
The planned areas are the Bundeswehr Service Centre and the Belvedere barracks in Kiel Wik, an unused area in Meimersdorf to the south of the city and the Max Rubner Institute site. Optimistically, this could even mean more flats than originally planned.

According to the former Lord Mayor of Kiel, Dr Ulf Kämpfer (SPD), Holtenau-Ost was the city's most important development project and a highly attractive residential location on the waterfront. However, simply rejecting the federal government's request was not a realistic option. On the one hand, the global situation did not stop at local politics, and on the other hand, the federal government could have enforced the return of the land in extreme cases. Negotiations were therefore the most sensible option for both sides. Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, the inspector of the navy, expressed a similar view, acknowledging Kämpfer: „You didn't make it easy for us.“ It was an "intense tug-of-war", as the Flensburger Tageblatt newspaper wrote on 16 April, and the mayor even wanted to know the exact reason for the positions of the helicopter flight paths.

It remains unclear whether and to what extent the city will be financially relieved. As the city has already made considerable advance payments in the context of urban development, compensation is also being demanded. No figures were discussed. Nevertheless, Mr Kämpfer was convinced that what had been achieved had been achieved. He described the conclusion of the talks before the end of his term of office as a matter close to his heart. After two terms in office, he did not stand for re-election and left office in April.

The political reactions turn out differently. The President of the Kiel Chamber of Industry and Commerce speaks of a „six in the lottery“. The Left Party in the council assembly rejects the result as a „capitulation to the Bundeswehr“ and announces resistance. The Greens do not fundamentally question the return of the Bundeswehr, but speak of a „bitter aftertaste“. The CDU criticises the fact that during Kampfer's twelve years in office, no decisions were taken on the no flats have been built on municipal land since 2020. Until the agreement is concluded, considerable work now awaits Kämpfer's successor Dr Samet Yilmaz (Alliance 90/The Greens) and the council assembly, which is due to give its approval in June 2026.

There were critical questions at a public information event. Among those affected are members of the „Schlagloch“ wagon group, who have been living on the site since 2024, as well as residential boats from the „Schwentineflotte“ in Plüschowhafen harbour, which will be used by the navy again. There are also no new locations yet for around 600 refugees who are currently housed in the old barracks. So far, there has only been a commitment to look for solutions.

Classification: The navy finally left the site in 2013 after the relocation of the Mrinefliegergeschwader 5 to Nordholz near Cuxhaven. Since then, plans have been made and money invested over the years. However, there have been no visible results in the form of new flats or designated commercial areas. What remains is a political promise that disappoints many. For the Bundeswehr, on the other hand, this opens up the rare opportunity to once again have access to a large site with the necessary harbour connection in a suitable location.

kdk, hsc, taz, NDR, Flenburger Tageblatt