Gelsenkirchen-Buer looking south towards downtown Gelsenkirchen, 1955
The same view 50 years later
Municipal forest of Buer (Buerscher Stadtwald)A former mining settlement
Gelsenkirchen (UK: /ˈɡɛlzənkɪərxən/, US: /ˌɡɛlzənˈkɪərxən/,[3][4][5]German:[ˌɡɛlzn̩ˈkɪʁçn̩]ⓘ; Westphalian: Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies at the centre of the Ruhr, the largest urban area of Germany, of which it is the fifth largest city after Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg and Bochum. The Ruhr is located in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, one of Europe's largest urban areas. Gelsenkirchen is the fifth largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, Bochum, Bielefeld and Münster, and it is one of the southernmost cities in the Low German dialect area. The city is home to the football club Schalke 04, which is named after Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. The club's current stadium Veltins-Arena, however, is located in Gelsenkirchen-Erle [de].
Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution led to the growth of the entire area. In 1840, when the mining of coal began, 6,000 inhabitants lived in Gelsenkirchen; in 1900 the population had increased to 138,000. In the early 20th century, Gelsenkirchen was the most important coal mining town in Europe. It was called the "city of a thousand fires" for the flames of mine gases flaring at night. In 1928, Gelsenkirchen was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Gelsenkirchen-Horst [de]. The city bore the name Gelsenkirchen-Buer, until it was renamed Gelsenkirchen in 1930. The city remained a center of coal mining and oil refining during the Nazi Era, so it was often a target of Allied bombing raids during World War II. There are no longer colliers in Gelsenkirchen with the city searching for a new image, having been hit for decades with one of the highest unemployment rates in Germany.
^Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2020, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 19 June 2021.
^ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden Nordrhein-Westfalens am 31. Dezember 2022 – Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes auf Basis des Zensus vom 9. Mai 2011" (in German). Landesbetrieb Information und Technik NRW. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
^"Gelsenkirchen". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^"Gelsenkirchen" (US) and "Gelsenkirchen". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
^"Gelsenkirchen". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
Gelsenkirchen (UK: /ˈɡɛlzənkɪərxən/, US: /ˌɡɛlzənˈkɪərxən/, German: [ˌɡɛlzn̩ˈkɪʁçn̩] ; Westphalian: Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany...
Dortmund, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Leipzig, Frankfurt, and Gelsenkirchen. Düsseldorf, which was not used in 2006 but had previously been used...
A Fachhochschule (German: [ˈfaxhoːxʃuːlə] ; plural Fachhochschulen), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German...
for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof football stadium in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It opened on 13 August 2001, as the...
compete for the title at the Championship Game in the Veltins-Arena Gelsenkirchen, Germany on September 22, 2024. Dragons Thunder Galaxy Sea Devils Surge...
The Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen AG (English: Bochum-Gelsenkirchen Tramways Corporation), abbreviated BOGESTRA, is a public transport operator...
to east: Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, Hamm and the districts of Wesel, Recklinghausen...
Manila Tokyo Fukuoka Brunei Honolulu Bremen Cologne Amsterdam Kiel Gelsenkirchen Milan Lausanne Betterbourg Lyon Paris Vienna Munich Sheffield London...
studio album Power Up (2020). The tour is set to start on 17 May 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The Pretty Reckless will serve as the supporting act for the...
Any Given Day is a German metalcore band formed in 2012 in Gelsenkirchen. The band was formed in 2012 by singer Dennis Diehl, guitarists Andy Posdziech...
Trabrennbahn Gelsenkirchen, also known as GelsenTrabPark, is located in the Feldmark quarter of Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The track, built in 1912, is used...
Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. It connects the city to the regional and long-distance rail service...
ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen, founded on April 14, 1949, as "Ruhr-Zoo", is one of the most modern zoological gardens in Germany. It was founded on...
Bep Thomas (Netherlands) 14 June 1988 (1988-06-14) 17:15 Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen Attendance: 64,812 Referee: Bob Valentine (Scotland) 14 June 1988 (1988-06-14)...
played on the same stage in the U.S. On February 17, 2011, a show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on July 2, 2011, was announced. On February 22, a "big four"...
FC Schalke 04 is a German football club based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Top scorer shown in bold when he was also the league's highest...
in Germany, having also taken place in Stuttgart in 1959 and 1988, Gelsenkirchen in 2004, and Berlin in 2015, equalling the record of nine European Cup...
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