|
|
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen.
* Located in the Ruhr in west central Germany
* Coal mining/heavy industry
* Population 285,000 including 10,000 people of Turkish descent
* 40 km (25 miles) from Düsseldorf International Airport
* Castle: built from 16th – 18th century
* Port on the Rhine-Herne Canal
* Connected by four autobahn highways
World Cup 2006 Matches in Gelsenkirchen
Fri June 9 Poland v Ecuador
Mon June 12 USA v Czech Republic
Fri June 16 Argentina v Saudi Arabia
Wed June 21 Portugal v Mexico
Sat July 1 2 v 4 [QFB]
Gelsenkirchen dates back to the twelfth century but rapidly industrialized in the nineteenth century with the discovery of coal, becoming an important European center of iron and steel production, earning itself the name of the "city of a thousand fires" and drawing the attention of Allied bombers during World War II.
Now with the closure of the last coal mine in the area in the late 1990s, the city is striving to reinvent itself with new technologies such as solar energy and high-tech industry.
Places to visit include Gelsenkirchen Castle, which was built from 16th – 18th century. Other romantic buildings include the Palace Horst, Palace Berge as well as the Haus Lüttinghof.
The many canals in the area, which served the old coal and iron industries, are being converted for leisure activities on the British model.
Images of Gelsenkirchen courtesy of www.stadtmarketing.de
Gelsenkirchen Tourist Offices
Hauptbahnhof, Empfangshalle 60329, Frankfurt am Main.
Tel. +49 (0) 69 21 23 88 49
Getting to Gelsenkirchen
Air
Düsseldorf Airport is 40 km (25 miles) away.
Bus/Road
Connections to all parts of Germany via the autobahn.
A climate-neutral World Cup
Click here for the 2006 Fifa World Cup venues
Click here for general information
|
