Direct links to Scandinavia and Eastern Europe by sea and road and Hamburg, the “gateway to the world”, right next door: as a business location, Schleswig-Holstein is not only situated at the heart of Europe but also well connected to global markets.

A well-developed road and rail network ensures fast connections from Schleswig-Holstein to national and international transport routes. Trade with Scandinavia profits from its proximity as well as from the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden and the planned Fehmarn Belt Bridge. Moreover, Schleswig-Holstein has good rail freight connections.

The seaports and direct access to the Baltic and North Sea are of particular significance in the state between the seas.
Schleswig-Holstein can point to around 15 million passengers per year travelling by ship and 34 mt of cargo handled in the state’s 30 seaports. The recession led a fall of 15.3% in the  volume of cargo handled in 2009. The ports of Lübeck, Kiel, Brunsbüttel and Puttgarden account for the lion’s share of total turnover.
Some 30,000 ships pass through the Kiel Canal each year and nowhere in Schleswig-Holstein is more than two hours from the Port of the Hamburg, a hub of international maritime traffic.

Schleswig-Holstein is also the ideal base for doing business with Scandinavia, Russia and the markets of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. From their favourable location in the southwest of the Baltic Region numerous ferry links serve as an effective bridge from Schleswig-Holstein to the countries around the Baltic.

The international air traffic hub is Hamburg Airport. Lübeck Airport has a number of scheduled and charter flights to international destinations and there are national or local flights to Kiel Airport and a number of smaller airports in the state.