Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

), it lies at the centre of the

Ruhr area The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

, the largest urban area of Germany, of which it is the fifth-largest city after

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

and Bochum. The Ruhr is located in the

Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region () is the Metropolitan regions in Germany, largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A wikt:polycentric, polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the reg ...

metropolitan region, the second-biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union. Gelsenkirchen is the fifth-largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, Bochum,

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

and

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, and it is one of the southernmost cities in the

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

dialect area. The city is home to the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club Schalke 04, which is named after Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. The club's current stadium Veltins-Arena, however, is located in . Gelsenkirchen was first documented in 1150, but it remained a tiny village until the 19th century, when the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

led to the economic and population growth of the region. In 1840, when the mining of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

began, 6,000 inhabitants lived in Gelsenkirchen; by 1900 the population had increased to 138,000. In the early 20th century, Gelsenkirchen was the most important coalmining 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 . 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 was often a target of Allied bombing raids during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: nevertheless, over a third of the city's buildings date from before 1949. There are no longer coalmines in and around Gelsenkirchen; the city is searching for a new economic basis, having been afflicted for decades with one of the country's highest unemployment rates.

History

Ancient and medieval times

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 The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

– 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 The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

. A few other parts of town which today lie in Gelsenkirchen's north end were mentioned in documents from the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, 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 ("near Buer"). It was about 1150 when the name ''Gelstenkerken'' or ''Geilistirinkirkin'' appeared up for the first time. At about the same time, the first church in town was built in what is now Buer. This ("church at Buer") was listed in a directory of

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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

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 The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, which assigned it to the

province of Westphalia The Province of Westphalia () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. In turn, Prussia was the largest component state of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918, of the Weimar ...

. Whereas the Gelsenkirchen of that time – not including today's north-end communities, such as Buer – was put in the of Wattenscheid in the Bochum district, in the governmental region of Arnsberg, Buer, which was an 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 in 1928. After the discovery of

– lovingly known as "Black Gold" – in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

area in 1840, and the subsequent

industrialisation Industrialisation ( UK) or industrialization ( US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive reorganisation of an economy for th ...

, the

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

–

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

Railway and the Gelsenkirchen Main Railway Station were opened. In 1868, Gelsenkirchen became the seat of an within the Bochum district which encompassed the communities of Gelsenkirchen, Braubauerschaft (since 1900, ), Schalke, Heßler, Bulmke and Hüllen. Friedrich Grillo founded the Corporation for Chemical Industry () in Schalke in 1872, as well as founding Vogelsang & Co. with the Grevel family (later ), and also the Schalke Mining and Ironworks Association (). A year later, and once again in Schalke, he founded the Glass and Mirror Factory Incorporated (). After Gelsenkirchen had become an important heavy-industry hub, it was raised to city in 1875.

Independent city

In 1885, after the 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 of Braubauerschaft (in 1900, Bismarck), Schalke, , 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 An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

(). In 1891, Horst was split off from the 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 . In 1924, the rural community of Rotthausen, which until then had belonged to the

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 of Horst together became a new called Gelsenkirchen-Buer, effective on 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 () founded the Gelsenberg Petrol Corporation (). In 1935, the Hibernia Mining Company founded the coal liquefaction plant. Scholven/Buer began operation in 1936 and achieved a capacity of 200,000 tons/year of finished product, mainly aviation base gasoline. After 1937, Gelsenberg-Benzin-AG opened the Nordstern plant for converting bituminous coal to synthetic oil.

Nazi Germany

The 9 November 1938 Kristallnacht antisemitic riots destroyed Jewish businesses, dwellings and cemeteries, and a

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

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 World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close ...

, particularly during the 1943 Battle of the Ruhr and the oil campaign. Three quarters of Gelsenkirchen was destroyed and many above-ground air raid shelters such as near the town hall in Buer are in nearly original form.

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

Werner Mölders, the legendary

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

fighter pilot, was born here. The Gelsenberg Lager subcamp of the

Buchenwald concentration camp Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Nazi Germany, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (pre-1938 ...

was established in 1944 to provide forced labour 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). There was also a camp for

Sinti The Sinti (masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintetsa, Sinta'') are a subgroup of the Romani people. They are found mostly in Germany, France, Italy and Central Europe, numbering some 200,000 people. They were traditionally Itinerant groups i ...

and

Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...

(see '' Romani Holocaust'') in the city. From 1933 to 1945, the city's mayor was the appointed

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Carl Engelbert Böhmer. In 1994, the Institute for City History opened the documentation centre "Gelsenkirchen under National Socialism" ().

After the war

On 17 December 1953, the went into operation, billed as Germany's "first new coking plant" since the war. The Scholven Power Station was built in the late 1960s with further development until 1985, one of the largest in Europe at the time. Its chimneys are among the tallest in Germany. When

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

s were introduced in 1961, Gelsenkirchen was one of the few cities in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

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 A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

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 Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

before 85,000 people at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion. The Pope also became an honorary member of

FC Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, ...

. In 1997, the Federal Garden Show ( or ) was held on the grounds of the disused coalmine in Horst. In 1999, the last phase of the Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park, 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.

Jewish history

19th century

The

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community of Gelsenkirchen was officially established in 1874, relatively late compared to the Jewish

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

communities in Germany. In a list of 1829 to determine the salary for the Chief Rabbi of Westphalia, , three families were named: the families of Ruben Levi, Reuben Simon, and Herz Heimann families."Das Judentum in Gelsenkirchen"
by Chajm Guski With the growth of the town during the second half of the 19th century, its Jewish population also grew bigger, with about 120 Jews living in town in 1880, and a

established in 1885. With the growth of the community, a bigger building was built to serve as the community school.

20th century

The community continued to grow and around 1,100 Jews were living in Gelsenkirchen in 1901, a number that reached its peak of 1,300 individuals in 1933. At the turn of the 20th century the Reform Jewish community was the most dominant among all Jewish communities in town, and after an organ was installed inside the synagogue, and most prayers performed mostly in German instead of traditional Hebrew, the town's orthodox community decided to stop attending the synagogue and tried to establish a new orthodox community, led by Dr. Max Meyer, Dr. Rubens and Abraham Fröhlich, most of them living on Florastraße. In addition, another Jewish orthodox congregation of Polish Jews was found in town. In 1908, a lot on Wanner Straße was purchased and served the community as its cemetery until 1936, today containing about 400 graves. In addition, another cemetery was built in 1927 in the suburb of Ückendorf.

Nazi Germany

With the rise of

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and National Socialism in 1933, Jewish life in Gelsenkirchen was still relatively unaffected at first. In August 1938, 160 Jewish businesses were still open in town. In October 1938, though, an official ban restricted these businesses and all Jewish doctors became unemployed. In the same month, the Jewish community of the town was expelled. Between 1937 and 1939, the Jewish population of Gelsenkirchen dropped from 1,600 to 1,000. During Kristallnacht, the town's synagogue was destroyed, after two thirds of the town's Jewish population had already left. On 27 January 1942, 350 among the 500 remaining Jews in town were deported to the Riga Ghetto; later, the last remaining Jews were deported to Warsaw and the Theresienstadt concentration camp.

The Gelsenkirchen transport

On 31 March 1942, a Nazi deportation train set out from Gelsenkirchen and, carrying 48 Jews from the town area, made its way to the Warsaw Ghetto. The train was the first to deport Jews to Warsaw and not to

Trawniki concentration camp The Trawniki was a Nazi concentration camps, concentration camp set up by Nazi Germany in the village of Trawniki about southeast of Lublin during the occupation of Poland in World War II. Throughout its existence the camp served a dual function ...

in southern Poland, as used before. After it left Gelsenkirchen, the train was boarded by other Jews from

and a few other stops along the way, and mostly by the Jews of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, 500 in number. The arrival of this transport from Westphalia and Upper Saxony was recorded in his diaries by Adam Czerniakov, the last chairman of the Warsaw Ghetto Judenrat. He stated that those older than 68 were allowed to stay in Germany. The majority of these deportees were killed later on the different death sites around modern-day Poland.

After World War II

In 1946, 69 Jews returned to Gelsenkirchen and in 1958, a synagogue and cultural centre were built for the remaining community. In 2005, about 450 Jews were living in town. During the last decade of the 20th century, a noted number of Jews came to the town, after emigrating out of the former USSR. This situation made it necessary to extend the synagogue. Eventually, a new and bigger synagogue was built to serve the increasing Jewish community of Gelsenkirchen. The current community practices Orthodox Judaism, even though no family practices it at home. On 16 May 2014, antisemitic graffiti were painted on the town synagogue.

Sites

The building at Husemannstraße 75 belonged to Dr. Max Meyer, who built it between 1920 and 1921. A

mezuzah A ''mezuzah'' ( "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew language, Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jews affix in a small case to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical pa ...

sign can still be seen on the top right side of the door. On Florastraße, near Kennedyplatz, (formerly Schalker Straße 45), stands the house of the Tepper family, a Jewish family that vanished during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. As part of the national

Stolperstein A (; plural ) is a concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literal translation, Literally, it means 'stumbling stone' and metaphorically 'stumbling block'. ...

project, five bricks, commemorating the Jewish inhabitants, were installed outside the house.

Climate

Economy and infrastructure

Gelsenkirchen presents itself 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: , Gelsenwasser, e.on, BP Gelsenkirchen GmbH, Shell Solar Deutschland GmbH and

Pilkington Pilkington is a glass-manufacturing company which is based in Lathom, Lancashire, England. It includes several legal entities in the UK, and is a subsidiary of Japanese company Nippon Sheet Glass (NSG). It was formerly an independent company ...

. ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen is a zoo founded in 1949 as "Ruhr-Zoo" which is now operated by the city.

Transport

Gelsenkirchen lies on

autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

s 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. The Rhine–Herne Canal has a commercial-industrial harbour in Gelsenkirchen. has a yearly turnover of 2 million tonnes and a water surface area of about , 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 provided by the Bochum/Gelsenkirchen tramway network and buses run by the Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahn AG (BOGESTRA), as well as by buses operated by Vestische Straßenbahnen GmbH in the city's north (despite its name, it nowadays runs only buses). Some Stadtbahn and tram lines are operated by . 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

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). REL (''Radio Emscher-Lippe'') is also headquartered in Gelsenkirchen. Among newspapers, the ''Buersche Zeitung'' was a daily till 2006. The '' Ruhr Nachrichten'' ceased publication in Gelsenkirchen in April 2006. Now, the '' Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung'' is the only local newspaper in Gelsenkirchen. The local station 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''.

Education and science

Gelsenkirchen has 51

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s (36 public schools, 12 Catholic schools, 3 Protestant schools), 8 ''

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

n'', 6 ''

Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...

n'', 7 '' Gymnasien'', and 5 ''

Gesamtschule A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

n'', among which the ''Gesamtschule Bismarck'', as the only comprehensive school run by the Westphalian branch of the Evangelical (

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

) Church, warrants special mention. The ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

Gelsenkirchen'', founded in 1992, also has campuses in Bocholt and Recklinghausen. It offers courses in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, Engineering Physics,

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

, and Supply and Disposal Engineering. There is a '' Volkshochschule'' for adult education as well as a city library with three branches. The Institute for Underground Infrastructure, founded in 1994 and associated with the Ruhr University Bochum, provides a wide range of research, certification, and consulting services. The

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

created in 1995 by Internationale Bauausstellung Emscher Park, , provides a pathway to restructure the local economy from coal- and steel-based industries to solar energy and project management.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Gelsenkirchen is Karin Welge of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Karin Welge , align=left, Social Democratic Party , 31,341 , 40.4 , 29,397 , 59.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Malte Stuckmann , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 19,468 , 25.1 , 20,101 , 40.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Jörg Schneider , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 9,355 , 12.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, David Fischer , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 7,188 , 9.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Susanne Cichos , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 3,360 , 4.3 , - , , align=left, Ali-Riza Akyol , align=left, Voter Initiative NRW , 2,752 , 3.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martin Karl-Heinz Gatzemeier , align=left, The Left , 2,300 , 3.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Claudia Kapuschinski , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

, 1,722 , 2.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 77,486 ! 98.8 ! 49,498 ! 98.9 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 924 ! 1.2 ! 548 ! 1.1 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 78,410 ! 100.0 ! 50,046 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 188,716 ! 41.5 ! 188,369 ! 26.6 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Gelsenkirch city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 27,082 , 35.1 , 15.2 , 31 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 17,932 , 23.2 , 2.2 , 20 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 9,944 , 12.9 , 7.9 , 11 , 8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 9,457 , 12.2 , 6.4 , 11 , 7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 3,114 , 4.0 , 2.0 , 4 , 3 , - , , align=left, Voter Initiative NRW (WIN) , 2,804 , 3.6 , 0.3 , 3 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 2,671 , 3.5 , 1.2 , 3 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Animal Welfare Here! (Tierschutz hier!) , 1,735 , 2.2 , New , 2 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 1,527 , 2.0 , New , 2 , New , - , , align=left, Alternative, Independent, Progressive Gelsenkirchen (AUF) , 943 , 1.2 , 0.2 , 1 , ±0 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independents , 30 , 0.0 , – , 0 , – , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 77,239 ! 98.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,143 ! 1.5 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 78,382 ! 100.0 ! ! 88 ! 25 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 188,716 ! 41.5 ! 1.6 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Culture

* Musiktheater im Revier * Hans-Sachs-Haus * * Architecture ( Brick Expressionism), heritage listings * ZOOM Erlebniswelt Gelsenkirchen/Ruhr-Zoo * Industrial Heritage Trail (''Route der Industriekultur'') – Gelsenkirchen * Nordsternpark * Ruhr.2010 –

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

* Rock Hard Festival * Filming of '' The Miracle of Father Malachia''

Sport

Gelsenkirchen is home of the football club

, currently in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. The club has won 7 Bundesliga titles. Schalke's home ground is Arena AufSchalke. It was one of 12 German cities to host matches during the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, hosting matches between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and USA and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is also host to four matches during the 2024 European Championships. German football players İlkay Gündoğan, Mesut Özil, Olaf Thon and Manuel Neuer were born in Gelsenkirchen. German football manager Michael Skibbe was also born in Gelsenkirchen. Turkish footballer Hamit Altintop was also born here Since 1912, Gelsenkirchen owns the harness racing track Trabrennbahn Gelsenkirchen (also referred as GelsenTrabPark).

Notable people

* Alfons Goldschmidt (1879–1940), journalist, economist, university lecturer * Claire Waldoff (1884–1957),

kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...

singer in Berlin * Wilhelm Zaisser (1893–1958), communist politician, first Minister for State Security of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

* Hans Krahe (1898–1965),

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, linguist * Anton Stankowski (1906–1998), graphic designer, photographer, painter * Werner Mölders (1913–1941), officer of the Luftwaffe * Klaus Wolfgang Niemöller (1929-2024), musicologist * Harald zur Hausen (1936-2023), virologist, Nobel laureate (2008), 1983–2003 chief scientific officer of

German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German language, German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German ...

in Heidelberg * Heinrich Breloer (born 1942), film director * Gerd Faltings (born 1954), mathematician, Fields medalist (1986) * Susanne Neumann (1959–2019), author, activist * Tom Angelripper (born 1963), singer and bassist of the thrash metal band Sodom *

Oliver Mark Oliver Mark (born 1963) is a German photographer, known primarily for his Portrait photography, portrait photographs of international celebrities. Career In the 1990s, Mark began photographing celebrities. He made portraits of public figures in ...

(born 1963), photographer * Gregor Hagedorn (born 1965), botanist * Anne Schwanewilms (born 1967),

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

* Katrin Becker (born 1967), theoretical physicist * Kai Twilfer (born 1976), author and businessman *

Terry Reintke Theresa Reintke (born 9 May 1987) is a German politician who has been serving as a member of the European Parliament from Germany since 2014. She is co-president of the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament. She is a member of the Allian ...

(born 1987), politician and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) for the Greens-EFA group

Sport

* Ernst Kuzorra (1905–1990), footballer and manager, 12 caps and 7 goals for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 6x German Champion, 450 Appearances and 419 Goals for

Schalke Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a Professionalism in association football, professional sports club from the Gelsenkirchen-Schalke, Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, N ...

, part of their 'Team of the Century' * Fritz Szepan (1907–1974), footballer with 34 caps and 8 goals for

, 6x German Champion, 434 Appearances and 309 Goals for

, part of their 'Team of the Century' * Norbert Nigbur (born 1948), footballer with 6 caps for

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

winner, 440 appearances for

, part of their 'Team of the Century' * Michael Skibbe (born 1965), former football player and current coach * Olaf Thon (born 1966), footballer and manager, 52 caps for

1990 World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

winner, 3x

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

Winner, 383 appearances for

, part of their 'Team of the Century' * Hamit Altıntop (born 1982), footballer with 82 caps and 7 goals for

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, league winner in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

* Manuel Neuer (born 1986), footballer with 117 caps for

, 2014 World Cup winner, 11x

Winner, 2x Champions League Winner and 5x World's Best Goalkeeper * Mesut Özil (born 1988), footballer with 92 caps and 23 goals for

, 2014 World Cup winner and

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

winner * İlkay Gündoğan (born 1990), footballer with 66 caps and 17 goals for

, league winner in

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Gelsenkirchen is twinned with: *

Zenica Zenica ( ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina (1969) * Shakhty, Russia (1989) *

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, Poland (1992) *

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

, Germany (1995) * Büyükçekmece, Turkey (2004) *

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, United Kingdom (1948)

References

External links

* * (in German),
2006 archive
in English)
Gelsenzentrum – Documentation center of urban and contemporary history of GelsenkirchenMusiktheater im RevierGelsenkirchen at MapQuest (interactive)
{{Authority control Oil campaign of World War II Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Urban districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Holocaust locations in Germany Münster (region)

History

Ancient and medieval times

Industrialisation

Independent city

Nazi Germany

After the war

Jewish history

19th century

20th century

Nazi Germany

The Gelsenkirchen transport

After World War II

Sites

Climate

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Media

Education and science

Politics

Mayor

City council

Culture

Sport

Notable people

Sport

Twin towns – sister cities

See also

References

External links