Population:278,000Federal State:Nordrhein-WestfalenAirports:Düsseldorf AirportOrigins:Gelsenkirchen – a lush green city with a colourful history.
Gelsenkirchen was first officially documented circa 1150. Even before the economic boom generated by the coal industry, buildings were constructed in the region which still attract visitors to Gelsenkirchen today: the Lüttinghof mansion (1308), the city’s oldest historical building, the Schloss Berge, a palace boasting 73 hectares of parkland, the Berger Reservoir or the Schloss Horst, an expensively restored palace which also serves as a registry office, attracting countless young couples each year.Football Clubs:FC Schalke 04 (Bundesliga)

But nothing brings the people of Gelsenkirchen together more so than football. The sport enjoys both a great tradition – with FC Schalke 04 having brought seven league titles to the city – and passionate supporters. The Aufschalke Arena is regularly sold out at home games.
Schalke alone has a membership base of some 48,000 fans. However, the blues are not the only team in town. Over 10,000 lovers of the beautiful game turn out each Saturday for Gelsenkirchen’s 70 clubs. The city’s 275,000 inhabitants are eagerly looking forward to the 2006 FIFA World CupTM with the tournament slogan, “A time to make friends™”, as their rallying cry. Football is truly at home in Gelsenkirchen, and visiting fans for the four group games and quarter-final will enjoy optimal facilities and a very warm welcome. Gelsenkirchen’s hospitality is regularly experienced by fans at international games and at UEFA Cup encounters. Down the years the city has thrown out the red carpet for the 1974 FIFA World Cup finals, the 1988 European Championship and the 2004 Champions League Final.

The city is ideally located for a FIFA World Cup Host City. Fellow Host City Dortmund is just 30 minutes away by motorway, while the stadium in Cologne can be reached in an hour. Some 6.4 million people live within a 50 kilometre radius of Gelsenkirchen.

Energy is another subject close to the city’s heart. As with the whole of the Ruhr Valley, Gelsenkirchen was once dominated by the coal industry. Today, the city is more renowned for cleaner solar energy and has developed into a national business and research centre for solar technology.
The end of coal exploitation has also made way for a rich cultural landscape with mineshafts being replaced by theatres and cabarets. The transition from coal to culture is epitomised by the former Consol colliery, while the installation of lighting has transformed the Rungeberg slag heap into a nocturnal landmark.

However, it is not only industrial romanticism that attracts visitors to the former mining town. Visitors to Schloss Horst can enjoy a journey back to the Renaissance period with organised tours through the magnificently restored palace. And for those who prefer to look to the future, there is a solar exhibition in the science park.

The lights in the solar city do not go out after the final whistle. Lovers of the stage, ballet and opera will be perfectly at home in the Musiktheater im Revier (MiR). In fact they will be spoilt for choice, for no other European city can boast so many theatres and museums in such a concentrated area as that in the Ruhr between Duisburg and Hamm.

Football fans can preserve their energy for upcoming games by relaxing in the countless peaceful green areas around the city. The sacred turf of the Arena is far from the only attractive greenery in Gelsenkirchen, with around a third of the city dedicated to parks, forests and meadows, including the parkland at the Schloss Berge, the Nordsternpark, former site of the Federal German Garden Exhibition, the Nienhausen Revierpark or forests such at the Resser Mark. The “Erlebniswelt Zoom” wildlife park also gives visitors the opportunity to observe animals from Africa, Asia and Alaska.

Major events at the former Gelsenkirchen Arena AufSchalke

• Home of Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 with 1997 UEFA Cup Final against Inter Mailand