Walking tours of the Schalker Meile explore a fascinating football history in Gelsenkirchen
The walk from Gelsenkirchen city centre to Schalke is one tens of thousands of fans make every home game. Not only does this trace the historic development of the club, from the modest pitch at Grenzstraße to the Kampfbahn Glückauf of 1930s’ lore, out to the modern out-of-town arena built for big international tournaments, but it allows supporters to congregate at lively Schalke bars halfway along.
This is hallowed ground, where Germany’s industrial Ruhr area first established itself as a successful football power. The square beside the main artery of Kurt-Schumacher-Straße is named Ernst-Kuzorra-Platz after the great Schalke 04 player who graced the ground nearby, the Kampfbahn Glückauf. Deserted by the Königsblauen, the Royal Blues, in 1973, the stadium was commandeered for use as a public viewing area for the 2006 World Cup.
It was there that lifelong Schalke fan Olivier Kruschinski realised that he was sitting on a goldmine of football legend. Instead of a fan mile, why not the Schalker Meile, covering the touchstones he describes in his book, Schalke erleben – Ein Königsblauer Streifzug durch Gelsenkirchen (‘Experience Schalke – A Royal Blue Foray through Gelsenkirchen’).
While his beloved club, forged from the coal-mining community of Schalke, has sunk to the second-tier 2.Bundesliga, the walking tours Olivier offers in three languages are more popular than ever.
On the eve of Schalke’s vital game with league leaders St Pauli on Friday, March 1, Libero takes a foray alongside the man with blue blood in his veins:
Libero: Please tell us a little about yourself and when you started watching Schalke.
Olivier Kruschinski: Glück auf! I’ve been a Schalke player since birth, I had the Schalke DNA instilled in me. “You don’t become Schalke, you are Schalke!” It’s a family story: my grandfather, my father, me… and now my own children.
Libero: Please tell us about the Schalker Meile, how and when did it develop?
Olivier: I established the name in 2006, on the occasion of the 2006 World Cup. At that time, public viewing took place at the Kampfbahn Glückauf, along with a Fan Mile, like in all the other host cities around Germany. That sounded too glib for me because here in Schalke, we have a great treasure, our own USP. The core brand of Schalke is Schalke!
That was the starting signal for the Schalker Meile project. It was and is about giving a very special place a face, a soul. It’s an urban initiative based on the historic football places of lore, unique in all of Germany.
Libero: What type of tours do you offer and which are the most popular?
Olivier: I offer various tours with different focuses. The most popular is the Mythos Tour, which runs through Schalke on foot. Almost all of Schalke’s most important sights are visited, including the Church of St Joseph, Schalke Market, the Schalker Meile, the Kampfbahn Glückauf, and so on. I offer tours in German, English and French.
Libero: How have the tours changed over the years? Are there any new sights?
Olivier: Mainly thanks to the urban planning commitment on the part of our Schalker Markt Foundation, among others’, new attractions have been introduced. These include the true-to-original and listed reconstruction of the historic entrance portal of the Kampfbahn Glückauf from 1928, the restoration of the cenotaph, the Walkway of Legends, the SCHALKE XXL selfie spot, as well as numerous heritage signboards, such as the one at Schalke Market.
Libero: Apart from Germans, where do the other visitors come from and who asks the most interesting questions?
Olivier: I’ve been doing tours since 2001 and have had almost 250,000 visitors since then. These often come from the football-related or tourist sector, mostly not from the Ruhr area but from elsewhere in Germany, very often from the Benelux or, for home games, the UK.
Libero: What plans do you have for visitors coming to Euro 2024?
Olivier: The Church of St Joseph will be the hub and anchor location. On May 4, a bilingual app called EXPERIENCE SCHALKE will enable people from all over the world to explore and experience Schalke on their own, including with augmented reality. This will be a benchmark for football tourism in Germany. And we will have our own tours for the public, plus private ones upon request.
Libero: There is a vital game against St Pauli on Friday. What is the mood around the Schalker Meile these days?
Olivier: Currently not great, because Schalke are performing poorly, but otherwise the heart of Schalke 04 always beats on the Schalker Meile.
Contact Olivier Kruschinski at oli4@mythos1904.de & Mythos Schalke tours through the website.
