Gelsenkirchen
The Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) Opera House of Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Coordinates	51°31′0″N 7°06′0″E / 51.516667°N 7.1°E / 51.516667; 7.1Coordinates: 51°31′0″N 7°06′0″E / 51.516667°N 7.1°E / 51.516667; 7.1
Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Münster
District	Urban district
Lord Mayor	Frank Baranowski (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	104.84 km2 (40.48 sq mi)
Elevation	60 m  (197 ft)
Population	257,981 (31 December 2010)[1]
- Density	2,461 /km2 (6,373 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	GE
Postal codes	45801-45899
Area code	0209
Website	www.gelsenkirchen.de

Gelsenkirchen-Buer looking south towards downtown Gelsenkirchen, 1955

The same view as above 50 years later

In the city-forest of Buer (Buerscher Stadtwald)

A former mining settlement

Gelsenkirchen (German pronunciation: [ˌɡɛlzənˈkɪʁçən]) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000.

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, 6000 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 gasses being flared during the nights. In 1928 Gelsenkirchen was merged with the adjoining cities of Buer and Horst. The city bore the name Gelsenkirchen-Buer, until it was renamed Gelsenkirchen in 1930. During the Nazi era Gelsenkirchen remained a centre of coal production and oil refining, and for this reason it was bombed by Allied air raids in World War II. During the war, it was the site of a women's subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp.^[2] Today in Gelsenkirchen there are no collieries any more and Gelsenkirchen is searching for a new image, having been hit for decades with one of the highest unemployment rates of Germany. Today Germany's largest solar power plant is located in the city. In Gelsenkirchen-Scholven there is a coal-fired power station with the tallest chimneys in Germany (302 m). Gelsenkirchen is home of the famous football club Schalke 04, which is named after the borough Schalke, while the club's arena, the Veltins-Arena, is located in the borough Erle.

History[link]

Ancient and medieval times[link]

Although the part of town now called Buer was first mentioned by Heribert I in a document as Puira in 1003, there were hunting people on a hill north of the Emscher as early as the Bronze Age – and therefore earlier than 1000 BC. They did not live in houses as such, but in small yards gathered together near each other. Later, the Romans pushed into the area. In about 700, the region was settled by the Saxons. A few other parts of town which today lie in Gelsenkirchen's north end were mentioned in documents from the early Middle Ages, some examples being: Raedese (nowadays Resse), Middelvic (Middelich, today part of Resse), Sutheim (Sutum; today part of Beckhausen) and Sculven (nowadays Scholven). Many nearby farming communities were later identified as iuxta Bure ("near Buer").

It was about 1150 when the name Gelstenkerken or Geilistirinkirkin cropped up for the first time. At about the same time, the first church in town was built in what is now Buer. This ecclesia Buron ("church at Buer") was listed in a directory of parish churches by the sexton from Deutz, Theodericus. This settlement belonged to the Mark. However, in ancient times and even in the Middle Ages, only a few dozen people actually lived in the settlements around the Emscher basin.

Industrialisation[link]

Up until the middle of the 19th century, the area in and around Gelsenkirchen was only thinly settled and almost exclusively agrarian. In 1815, after temporarily belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg, the land now comprising the city of Gelsenkirchen passed to the Kingdom of Prussia, which assigned it to the province of Westphalia. Whereas the Gelsenkirchen of that time – not including today's north-end communities, such as Buer – was put in the Amt of Wattenscheid in the Bochum district, in the governmental region of Arnsberg, Buer, which was an Amt in its own right, was along with nearby Horst joined to Recklinghausen district in the governmental region of Münster. This arrangement came to an end only in 1928.

After the discovery of coal – lovingly known as "Black Gold" – in the Ruhr area in 1840, and the subsequent industrialization, the Cologne–Minden Railway and the Gelsenkirchen Main Railway Station were opened. In 1868, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of an Amt within the Bochum district which encompassed the communities of Gelsenkirchen, Braubauerschaft (as of 1900, Bismarck), Schalke, Heßler, Bulmke and Hüllen.

Friedrich Grillo founded the Corporation for Chemical Industry (Aktiengesellschaft für Chemische Industrie) in Schalke in 1872, and also the Schalke Mining and Ironworks Association (Schalker Gruben- und Hüttenverein). A year later, and once again in Schalke, he founded the Glass and Mirror Factory Incorporated (Glas- und Spiegel-Manufaktur AG).

After Gelsenkirchen had become an important heavy-industry hub, it was raised to city in 1875.

Gelsenkirchen becomes a city[link]

Former Zeche Nordstern

Contrasts in the inner-city

Bus, tram and subway stop/station Buerer Straße

In 1885, after Bochum district was split up, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of its own district (Kreis), which would last until 1926. The cities of Gelsenkirchen and Wattenscheid, as well as the Ämter of Braubauerschaft (as of 1900, Bismarck), Schalke, Ückendorf, Wanne and Wattenscheid all belonged to the Gelsenkirchen district. A few years later, in 1896, Gelsenkirchen split off from Gelsenkirchen district to become an independent city (German: kreisfreie Stadt). In 1891, Horst was split off from the Amt of Buer, which itself was raised to city status in 1911, and to an independent city status the next year. Meanwhile, Horst became the seat of its own Amt. In 1924, the rural community of Rotthausen, which until then had belonged to the Essen district, was made part of the Gelsenkirchen district.

In 1928, under the Prussian local government reforms, the cities of Gelsenkirchen and Buer along with the Amt of Horst together became a new kreisfreie Stadt called Gelsenkirchen-Buer, effective as of 1 April that year. From that time, the whole city area belonged to the governmental district of Münster. In 1930, on the city's advice, the city's name was changed to Gelsenkirchen, effective 21 May. By this time, the city was home to about 340,000 people.

In 1931, the Gelsenkirchen Mining Corporation (German: Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-Aktien-Gesellschaft) founded the Gelsenberg Petrol Corporation (German: Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG). In 1935, the Hibernia Mining Company founded the Hydrierwerk Scholven AG GE-Buer hydrogenation plant. Scholven/Buer began operation in 1936 and achieved a capacity of "200,000 tons/year of finished product, mainly aviation base gasoline.".[1] After 1937, Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG opened the Nordstern plant for converting bituminous coal to synthetic oil.^[3]

The Third Reich[link]

The 9 November 1938 Kristallnacht anti-Jewish riots destroyed Jewish businesses, dwellings, and cemeteries, and a synagogue in Buer and one in downtown Gelsenkirchen. (A new downtown Gelsenkirchen synagogue was opened on 1 February 2007.)

Gelsenkirchen was a target of strategic bombing during World War II, particularly during the 1943 Battle of the Ruhr and the Oil Campaign of World War II. Three quarters of Gelsenkirchen was destroyed^{[citation needed]} and many above-ground air-raid shelters such as at Hans-Sachs-Haus downtown and the town hall in Buer are in nearly original form.

Werner Mölders the legendary Luftwaffe Fighter pilot Oberst was born here.

The Gelsenberg Lager subcamp of KZ Buchenwald was established in 1944 to provide forced labor of about 2000 Hungarian women and girls for Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG. About 150 died during September 1944 bombing raids (shelters and protection ditches were forbidden to them).^[4]

From 1933 to 1945, the city's mayor was the appointed Nazi Carl Engelbert Böhmer. In 1994, the Institute for City History opened the Documentation centre – Gelsenkirchen under National Socialism (German: Dokumentationsstätte "Gelsenkirchen im Nationalsozialismus).

After the war[link]

On 17 December 1953, the Kokerei Hassel went into operation, billed as Germany's "first new coking plant" since the war. When postal codes (Postleitzahlen) were introduced in 1961, Gelsenkirchen was one of the few cities in West Germany to be given two codes: Buer was given 466, while Gelsenkirchen got 465. These were in use until 1 July 1993. The "first comprehensive school in North Rhine-Westphalia" was opened in 1969. Scholven-Chemie AG (the old hydrogenation plant) merged with Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG to form the new corporation VEBA-Oel AG. In 1987, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass before 85,000 people at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion. The Pope also became an honorary member of FC Schalke 04.

In 1997, the Federal Garden Show (Bundesgartenschau or BUGA) was held on the grounds of the disused Nordstern coalmine in Horst. In 1999, the last phase of the Emscher Park International Building Exhibition, an undertaking that brought together many cities in North Rhine-Westphalia, was held. Coke was produced at the old Hassel coking works for the last time on 29 September 1999. This marked the shutdown of the last coking plant in Gelsenkirchen, after being a coking town for more than 117 years. In the same year, Shell Solar Deutschland AG took over production of photovoltaic equipment. On 28 April 2000, the Ewald-Hugo colliery closed – Gelsenkirchen's last colliery. Three thousand coalminers lost their jobs. In 2003, Buer celebrated its thousandth anniversary of first documentary mention, and FC Schalke 04 celebrated on 4 May 2004 its hundredth anniversary.

Today, Gelsenkirchen is a centre for sciences, services, and production, with good infrastructure.

Panorama of Gelsenkirchen

Population development[link]

The following figures are estimates, census data, or official extrapolations of Gelsenkirchen's population at various times.

Population development

¹ Census figures

Demographics[link]

As of 2009^[update], Gelsenkirchen had a population of 259,700 of whom 71,000 (~27%) were of non-German origin/ethnicity. Turks account for 15,5% of the total population and for 56% of the immigrant population.

Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Gelsenkirchen by country of origin per 31 December 2007:^[5]

This table's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (November 2011)

Economy and infrastructure[link]

Headquarters of the Gelsenwasser AG

Highways and main roads in Gelsenkirchen

Two vintage trams on hand for the reopening of the Essenerstraße stop in Horst

Stadtbahn at main railway station

Gelsenkirchen presents itself above all as a centre of solar technology. Shell Solar Deutschland GmbH produces solar cells in Rotthausen. Scheuten Solar Technology has taken over its solar panel production. There are other large businesses in town: TreuHandStelle, Gelsenwasser, e.on, BP Gelsenkirchen GmbH, Shell Solar Deutschland GmbH and Pilkington. According to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Gelsenkirchen is, after Leipzig, Karlsruhe and Bremen, Germany's fourth business-friendliest city.

Transport[link]

Gelsenkirchen lies on autobahns A 2, A 40, A 42 and A 52, as well as on Bundesstraßen (Federal Highways) B 224, B 226 and B 227. Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof (central station) lies at the junction of the Duisburg–Dortmund, the Essen–Gelsenkirchen and the Gelsenkirchen–Münster lines.

As for waterways, Gelsenkirchen can be reached along the Rhine-Herne Canal, where a commercial-industrial harbour is to be found. The harbour has a yearly turnover of 2,000,000 t and a water surface area of about 1.2 km², one of Germany's biggest and most important canal harbours, and is furthermore connected to Deutsche Bahn's railway network at Gelsenkirchen Hauptbahnhof.

Local transport in Gelsenkirchen is afforded by trams and buses run by the Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahn AG (BOGESTRA), as well as by Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH in the city's north end (despite its name, it nowadays runs only buses). The Stadtbahn train U11, which connects Horst to Essen, as well as tram line 107, which connects Gelsenkirchen Central Station to Essen, are operated by EVAG. Tram line 302 connects the city to Bochum. All these services have an integrated fare structure within the VRR. There are three tram lines, one light rail line, and about 50 bus routes in Gelsenkirchen.

Media[link]

Gelsenkirchen is the headquarters of the Verband Lokaler Rundfunk in Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. (VLR) (Network of Local Radio in North Rhine-Westphalia Registered Association (VLR). REL (Radio Emscher-Lippe) is also headquartered in Gelsenkirchen.

Among newspapers, the Buersche Zeitung was a daily till 2006. Then the paper was closed down, though economically there was no reason for it. The Dortmund paper Ruhr Nachrichten did the local news section. Now, the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung is the only local newspaper in Gelsenkirchen and has so to say a monopoly. The local radio station REL also reports the local news.

There is also a free weekly newspaper, the Stadtspiegel Gelsenkirchen, along with monthly, or irregular, local publications called the Familienpost and the Beckhausener Kurier.

Miscellaneous[link]

On the occasion of 2006 FIFA World Cup, the transport infrastructure in Gelsenkirchen leading to the Veltins-Arena underwent modifications. Likewise, the main railway station underwent extensive reconstruction, with completion planned in time for the championship.

Education[link]

Gelsenkirchen has 51 elementary schools (36 "community" schools, 12 Catholic schools, 3 Evangelical schools), 8 Hauptschulen, 6 Realschulen, 7 Gymnasien, and 4 Gesamtschulen, among which the Gesamtschule Bismarck, as the only comprehensive school run by the Westphalian branch of the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church, warrants special mention.

The Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen, founded in 1992, has campuses in Bocholt and Recklinghausen with the following course offerings: Economics, Computer Science, Physical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Supply and Disposal Engineering.

Also found in Gelsenkirchen is one of the seven locations of the Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW (Fachhochschule for public administration North Rhine-Westphalia) offering as fields of study Municipal Administrative Service, Police Training, and Administrative Economics. There is also a folk high school as well as a city library with three branches in Horst, Buer and Erle with more than 700,000 books, films, and CDs.

Sports[link]

The Veltins Arena AufSchalke

Gelsenkirchen is home of the football club FC Schalke 04. Schalke's home ground, Veltins-Arena, is generally regarded as one of the most innovative stadiums built in recent years. It was one of 12 German cities to host matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and hosted the matches between Poland and Ecuador, Argentina and Serbia and Montenegro, Portugal and Mexico, and USA and Czech Republic.

Gelsenkirchen has also hosted two important Yugoslav games. These games were Serbia's two largest FIFA World Cup results. They were a 6–0 loss to Argentina and a 9–0 win over Zaire. It is also the birthplace of football players Mesut Özil and Manuel Neuer, who both currently play for the Germany national football team.

Twinned towns[link]

• Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom (since 1948)
• Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1969)
• Shakhty, Russia (since 1989)
• Olsztyn, Poland (since 1992)
• Cottbus, Germany (since 1995)
• Büyükçekmece, Turkey (since 2004)
• Kutaisi, Georgia
• Campo Grande, Brazil (since 2007)
• Doncaster, United Kingdom

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gelsenkirchen

• Official city website, with information in English including British/Irish influence during the 19th century
• Gelsenzentrum – Documetation center of urban and contemporary history of Gelsenkirchen
• Musiktheater im Revier
• Gelsenkirchen at MapQuest (interactive)
• About the football World Cup 2006 in Gelsenkirchen

v t e Urban and rural districts in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany Urban districts Bielefeld Bochum Bonn Bottrop Dortmund Duisburg Düsseldorf Essen Gelsenkirchen Hagen Hamm Herne Köln (Cologne) Krefeld Leverkusen Mönchengladbach Mülheim Münster Oberhausen Remscheid Solingen Wuppertal Rural districts Aachen Borken Coesfeld Düren Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Euskirchen Gütersloh Heinsberg Herford Hochsauerlandkreis Höxter Kleve (Cleves) Lippe Märkischer Kreis Mettmann Minden-Lübbecke Oberbergischer Kreis Olpe Paderborn Recklinghausen Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Rhein-Erft-Kreis Rhein-Kreis Neuss Rhein-Sieg-Kreis Siegen-Wittgenstein Soest Steinfurt Unna Viersen Warendorf Wesel