Gelsenkirchen is a city in Germany, situated on the Emscher River at the center of the Ruhr area. It ranks as the 25th-most populous city in Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of 262,528 as of 2016. The city is located within the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which serves as the second-largest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union.
As part of the Ruhr area, Germany's largest urban area, Gelsenkirchen is its fifth-largest city following Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, and Bochum. It is also recognized as the fifth-largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund, Bochum, Bielefeld, and Münster. Geographically, it is one of the southernmost cities in the Low German dialect area.
The city is notably home to the football club Schalke 04, which takes its name from Gelsenkirchen-Schalke. While associated with the city, the club's current stadium, Veltins-Arena, is located specifically in the district of Gelsenkirchen-Erle.