For your motorhome journey across the Fehmarn Belt, which connects the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland, the current method of crossing is via a regular ferry service between Puttgarden and Rødby. This is 2wthe route you will take today with your motorhome, which typically takes about 45 minutes, not including any waiting time. However, this is set to change with the construction of the Fehmarnbelt fixed link, which is an immersed tunnel project. Once completed, this 18-kilometer tunnel will dramatically cut the road journey time for vehicles, including motorhomes, to just 10 minutes. The tunnel, which is currently under construction and is expected to open around 2029, will be the world’s longest immersed tunnel with both a four-lane motorway and a double-track electrified railway. Until then, the ferry remains your practical option. The history of the Fehmarn Belt strait, as part of the Baltic Sea, is rich and marked by maritime events and trade. In the early Middle Ages, the Norse built a trade empire around the Baltic, a period known as the Viking Age, where the sea was referred to as Austmarr or “Eastern Sea.” The sea has long been a key commercial route for lumber, iron, furs, and amber, as well as a battleground. One of the most significant historical events here is the Battle of Fehmarn in 1644, which was part of the Torstenson War between Denmark-Norway and Sweden. Several warships were lost during this battle, including the Danish men-of-war Delmenhorst and Lindormen. Marine archaeologists have been busy in the area, particularly in advance of the tunnel construction, and have discovered the wreck of the Delmenhorst. Another tragic shipwreck occurred much later in 1932 when the German sail training ship Niobe capsized during an unforeseeable squall, resulting in the loss of 69 crew members, and a memorial to this disaster stands on the beach at Gammendorf on Fehmarn.