ENGLAND’S Euros adventure began in Gelsenkirchen, the smallest of Germany’s host venues by a considerable distance and a place that supporters of the national team know only too well as it was the location of the Three Lions’ exit from the 2006 World Cup at the hands of a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal.

Gelsenkirchen still feels a strange choice of venue for a major tournament, with its population of 260,000 making it a bit bigger than Darlington but nowhere near the size of Middlesbrough. As a city, it certainly lacks the aesthetic appeal of some of the bigger places England fans will be visiting as the tournament develops, with its industrial heritage clearly evident in the vast warehouses and factories that have either been redeveloped or stand slowly rotting away.

Gelsenkirchen was known as the ‘City of 1,000 Fires’ because of the huge coking plants that emerged to support the mining industry that was the industrial bedrock of the Rhine-Ruhr region in Germany’s North-West.

The coal seam that runs beneath what is now Gelsenkirchen was discovered in 1840, transforming what was then a largely agricultural region into one of Europe’s leading industrial powerhouses.

The city became even more important during the Second World War, when the importance of Germany’s coal-mining industry was magnified. Gelsenkirchen was a key base for Germany’s armaments industry during the war, and also housed a huge hydrogenation plant that produced synthetic gasoline by liquefying coal. As a result, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies, with three-quarters of the city being destroyed by air raids on the Rhine and Ruhr regions. Very little of the pre-war city remains, although huge high-rise bunkers can still be found alongside more modern buildings.

No doubt thanks to its industrial heritage, the region around Gelsenkirchen was hugely important to the development of German football. Dortmund is just down the road, along with Dusseldorf, Duisburg and Essen, and Gelsenkirchen is home to Schalke 04, who play in the Veltins Arena that was the venue for Sunday’s game.

Hartlepool United fans in GelsenkirchenHartlepool United fans in Gelsenkirchen (Image: The Northern Echo)

With more than 180,000 active members, Schalke is the heartbeat of the local sporting scene, having claimed seven German titles, five German cups and the UEFA Cup in 1997. Like some of the historic teams from England’s industrial heartland, however, they have fallen on hard times. Despite having been in the Champions League as recently as the 2018-19 season, Schalke were relegated from the Bundesliga in both 2021 and 2023. Last season, they finished a disappointing campaign in tenth position in the German second tier.


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THE Veltins Arena is about four miles out of Gelsenkirchen, and there were chaotic scenes in the aftermath of Sunday evening’s game as supporters tried to get back into the city centre and then on to the likes of Essen and Dusseldorf where they have been staying.

With thousands of fans exiting the stadium at the same time, massive queues formed on the approaches to the tram station and car parks. Perhaps predictably, the transport infrastructure could not cope and supporters were left queuing for hours before many gave up and embarked on the four-mile walk back into the city.

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German transport has a reputation for being ultra-reliable, but in the last year or so, the country has been subjected to the same industrial-relations issue that have brought England’s pubic sector and transport system to its knees. Strikes have been commonplace in Germany too, with the leading rail unions locked in a lengthy dispute over working conditions and pay.

There was a breakthrough in March that meant strikes were effectively ruled out for the duration of Euro 2024, but the knock-on effect of so much disruption is still being felt. Cancellations and delays are common, with the German rail network suffering from the same issues of ageing trains and track problems as at home.


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WITH Gelsenkirchen’s small size meaning accommodation options within the city were both hard to find and extremely expensive, I spent the weekend in Essen, which is about 20 miles away to the south.

Essen is bigger than Gelsenkirchen, but has a similar history and heritage in terms of its strong links to heavy industry in general, and mining in particular.

Essen’s coal-mining traditions were a major influence on the city’s choice of its twin towns – with its English relation being Sunderland.

Sunderland is twinned with EssenSunderland is twinned with Essen (Image: The Northern Echo)

An explanation on Essen’s official website reads: “In the year 1949, communication between the former military enemies was not an easy matter. It was achieved by a certain Mr Nicholson, training officer of the former British military government in Dusseldorf.

“This man rose above and beyond the call of duty. He sought tirelessly for new ways of understanding each other, to give the up-and-coming generation in particular a new image of the former enemy country.

“He suggested to the Essen Jugendamt (Youth Office) that they should establish a friendship with an English city. The choice of Sunderland was no accident. It is true that the coastal city is smaller than Essen, with a population of just 350,000, but it has a lot in common with the Ruhr metropolis in terms of economic and demographic structure.

“Sunderland was also characterised by the mining industry for a long time, and had the most important coal export harbour of the district in Durham. The exchange of initially sceptical but soon enthusiastic young people was followed by meetings of German and English sports clubs, choirs and theatre groups. For many schools in Essen, visits to Sunderland became an established part of their educational programme.”