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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 ...
Feb 15, 2024 · A coal mining center that's reinvented itself as a sustainable hub. Located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen has around 250,000 inhabitants and is part of the wider Ruhr conurbation (home to more than 5 million people).
The city is part of the metropolitan area of the Ruhr region and has a long history of industrialism, mainly through coal mining. The last pit closed in 2000. Today, the former Rheinelbe and Rungenberg waste tips are lookout points and recreation areas on the "Industrial Heritage Trail".
From the early 17th century, the Hohenzollern rulers of Brandenburg-Prussia gained territories in Westphalia and became predominant there in 1803, when they acquired Paderborn and most of Münster. At the same time, Hesse-Darmstadt acquired Cologne’s part of Westphalia.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Gelsenkirchen was a village of fewer than 1,000 inhabitants in 1850, but the opening in 1853 of its first coal mine and its favourable position on the Rhine-Herne Canal stimulated its rapid development as a Ruhr inland port and industrial centre. It was chartered in 1875 and absorbed the neighbouring towns of Buer and Horst in 1928.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Gelsenkirchen is a city located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its industrial heritage, particularly in coal mining and heavy industry. Despite this history, the city has diversified its economy and is now home to a variety of businesses in the service and technology sectors.
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Industrial Legacy. The city of Gelsenkirchen is part of the Ruhr region, Germany’s largest conurbation of coal mining, steel production and electricity generation. During the industrial era, Gelsenkirchen was one of Europe’s major coal and steel cities and earnt the name “City of the thousand fires”, referring to the many small fires in ...