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Introduction |  |
Map | |
Berlin | |
Cologne | |
Dortmund | |
Frankfurt | |
Gelsenkirchen | |
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Introduction to the venues
The twelve cities for the venues are:
Berlin Cologne Dortmund Frankfurt Gelsenkirchen Hamburg
Hannover Kaiserslautern
Leipzig Munich Nuremberg Stuttgart
The German people enjoy a reputation for accuracy, precision and efficiency. There is perhaps also an enduring image of Bavarians hoisting beer steins at Munich’s famous Oktoberfest.
But neither of these stereotypes reflects the diversity of Germany’s towns and cities.
There is the historical & charming Nuremberg, the lively Baltic port city of Hamburg, the financial centre of Frankfurt, the modern dynamic home to Daimler Benz and Porsche at Stuttgart, the historical city of Hannover famous for the exquisite gardens at Herrenhausen,
the dramatically transformed city of Leipzig since reunification, and the historical city of Koln famed for its massive cathedral, to mention just a few.
And perhaps overshadowing them all is the cosmopolitan nation's capital of Berlin, which is the most lively tourist destination, and where bureaucrats of the new capital rub shoulders with artists and techno club-goers.
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Berlin
Berlin is a city reinventing itself as one of Europe’s finest capitals, since the infamous Wall came down in 1989 when the peoples of East and West Berlin were finally re-united. The Brandenburg Gate typically symbolises this re-unification.
The city occupies a large geographical area including numerous parks, forests and lakes. It has fine architecture and many museums and strong traditions in the performing arts.
Berlin has a laid-back attitude and a vibrant nightlife. There is everything from authentic beer halls and old Soviet era haunts to stylish bars and Latino nightclubs.
Berlin's Olympia Stadium will hold a fascinating football gala on 8th June to celebrate the commencement of the 2006 tournament.
Population: 3.39 Million Football Clubs: Hertha BSC Berlin
Airports: Tegal, Tempelhof, Schonefeld
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Cologne (Koln)
Cologne, situated on the banks of the river Rhine, is the oldest major city (and the fourth largest city) in Germany. It was the Romans who said 'If you haven't seen Cologne, you haven't seen Germany'.
It is famed for it's Gothic Cathedral (Dom), which is a UN heritage site, and is also renowned as a media centre with quite a number of private TV stations. Cologne is also famous for its museums, dedication to music and the arts, Rhine river boat trips,
the 'House of 4711' (the origin of Eau de Cologne), and Altstadt (old town).
Nearly half of the households of this cosmopolitan city are single, which contributes to it's party reputation. Cologne has a vaste horde (some 4,000) of traditional bars, restaurants that serve fantastic German food,
and modern stylish bars and lounges.
Cologne is expected to be the 'home base' for the Brazilian fans.
Population: 1.0 Million Airport: Koln-Bonn Football Clubs: FC Koln
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Dortmund
Traditionally famed for its ‘coal, quality steel and beer’, Dortmund, the Ruhr's biggest city, has changed. Now there are microchips instead of coal, shopping streets instead of rolling mills, stations instead of blast furnaces, concert halls instead of coke ovens. However it is still famous for it's beer. And it still has the largest canal harbour in Europe.
Dortmund is now the centre of the region's burgeoning IT industry, with a forward-looking service industry, and trade and insurance firms.
Places of interest include the Museum of Art and Art History, the East Wall Museum (Museum am Ostwall), Westfalian Museum of Industry, Hansa Coking plant, Altes Hafenamt (the Old Port Authority Building), DASA, Concert Hall, Playhouse, Opera House, Fletch Bizzel private theatre and countless small arthouse theatres, Hohensyburg Casino, Westfalenpark and the Florian Tower, Theatre in the Depot,
the Racecourse, and a wide choice of restaurants.
Population: 590,000 Airport: Dortmund FC: Borussia Dortmund
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Frankfurt
Frankfurt is continental Europe's largest financial centre. It is a dynamic metropolis, a global village, and a melting pot of cultures and lifestyles. Despite the imposing skyline, the atmosphere is quite relaxed.
The city's many charms include the 'Museum mile' along the banks of the river Main, the elegant Goethestrasse and Fressgass shopping areas, traditional cider pubs in Sachsenhausen, and the beautiful restored houses of Romerberg.
This is an open-minded, diverse and tolerant international city with a world class cultural and arts scene.
There will be a gigantic movie screen set afloat on the river Main to allow fans on each side of the river embankment to view live broadcasts of the 2006 football matches.
Population: 640,000 Airport: Frankfurt Rhein-Main
Football club: Eintracht Frankfurt
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Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a port city on the Rhine-Herne canal and used to be nicknamed 'the city of a thousand fires' as it's main industries were coal and iron, in common with much of the Ruhr Valley at the time.
It has now transformed itself into a vibrant multifaceted city with new technologies (eg solar energy) and high-tech industry. It has one of the largest solar module
production sites in Europe. A third of the city is dedicated to parks, meadows and forests. It also has a rich cultural landscape with mineshafts being replaced by cabarets and theatres.
Sights to visit include: Musiktheater im Revier, Rheinelbe Science Park, Horst castle, Solar factory, Berge Palace and Gardens, Nordstern park, City park, Nienhauseenbusch park, and the shopping areas of Bahnhofstrasse
and Hochstrasse in Buer. There are also numerous bars, eight huge discos, comedy and rock music facilities.
Population: 285,000 Nearest Airport: Düsseldorf (40 km)
Football club: FC Schalke 04
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Hamburg
Hamburg lies on the Elbe and Alster rivers in northern Germany. It's seaport is one of the seven largest container ports in the world, and is the largest in Europe in terms of surface area.
It is also the location of the International Maritime Law Court.
Hamburg is Germany's richest and second largest city. And not only is it a city but it is also one of the 16 states of Germany. It is a worldly and cosmopolitan place, a centre of media and fashion, and internationally renowned for it's musical productions.
The city is shaped by water - as typified by the large Alster lake in the heart of the city. Hamburg has at least 2,300 bridges (more than Amsterdam and Venice combined).
There's a lot to see and do: theatres, music halls, cabarets, museums, river trips, shopping and some 4,000 restaurants. Hamburg is also the host to one of the continent's most famous red light districts.
Population: 1.7 million Airport: Hamburg
Football club: Hamburg SV
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Hannover
The historical city of Hannover, situated in Lower Saxony (north-central Germany), is relaxed and easy-going. It is a major international trade fair location, and in particular hosts the Cebit IT fair and the Hannover Messe industrial fair.
It is also famous for the exquisite Herrenhausen Royal Gardens (Europe's only surviving intact Baroque gardens).
The city is fairly packed with sights, ranging from the Old and new Town Halls to the numerous Castles and Churches, and the largest city forest of Europe.
Don't forget to follow the red line, painted on the pavement, that guides visitors to 32 interesting sights on a 4 km route.
Nearby excursions include Lake Steinhuder, the medieval town of Celle, Hildesheim (UNESCO heritage site), and Hameln (of Pied Piper fame).
Hannover has a rich and diverse nightlife scene. There are variety of restaurants, bistros, "biergartens", pubs, bars and discos.
Population: 520,000 Airport: Hannover FC: Hannover 96
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Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a relaxed and friendly city in the Palatinate forest, south west Germany, close to France and Luxemberg. It has a few pleasant contradictions -
it is rather introspective for a large city, and has remained true to its roots for an international city; and for a historical city dating back to the 9th century it is very modern.
Kaiserslautern is a modern centre of information and communications technologies as well as automobile manufacture. It is also a lively student town full of quaint bars and is the cultural heart of Palatinate.
The city offers many excursion destinations, museums, pubs and taverns and a very lively inner city, and is the location for the annual World Garden Show.
Kaiserslautern's outstanding attraction is the Palatinate forest - the largest contiguous forest in Germany. There are twelve hiking trails ranging from 40 to 400 kilometers (three to fifteen days).
Population: 100,000 Airport: Frankfurt (100km) FC: Kaiserslautern
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Leipzig
Leipzig, situated in Saxony, is a grand and culturally rich city in which music, education and the arts have always featured prominently. It is the birthplace of Wagner and favourite city of the poet Goethe. Leipzig was also home
to Bach, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Leibniz.
It is well remebered for the peaceful 'Monday demonstrations' in 1989 against the GDR, which helped lead to the re-unification of Germany.
Leipzig has emerged as a stylish regional capital of culture, study and trade with superb art shops and a vibrant music scene. Leipzig's importance as a trade fair and conference centre goes back centuries.
The compact and beautiful old centre is full of Renaissance and baroque churches, street markets, Europe's oldest universities and a few ultra-modern buildings. Don't forget to visit the Museum in der Runden Ecke,
and the restored Gothic Thomaskirche.
Population: 500,000 Airport: Leipzig
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Munich
Munich, the hi-tech cosmopolitan capital of Bavaria state, is Germany's third largest city. It is noted for it's world-class museums, theatres, expansive parks, architecture and culture,
cafes, street life, and it's famous Oktoberfest beer festival. It is also a gateway to the Alps.
Munich is certainly one of the most popular cities in Germany. It has a lovely mix: there is a rural charm within the city; a combination
of Alphine character and Mediterranean style; operas and bars; beer gardens and haute cuisine; traditional customs and high technology.
The city is the home to many painters and filmmakers, students, the rich and the jet-setters, fashion trendsetters, and companies such as BMW, Siemens and MBB.
Attractions include the Marienplatz, Frauenkirche church, the Schloss Nymphenberg, the English Garden, Viktualienmarkt, Residenz (Residenzmuseum), and the Alte Pinakothek.
Population: 1.3 million Airport: München Franz-Josef Strauss
FC: Bayern München (the most successful German club)
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Nuremberg
Nuremberg has a long history, and was once the 'Capital of the Middle Ages'. More recently in the 1940's, it has seen some darker moments.
Today Nuremberg has regained its vitality and is a thriving commercial, industrial and hi-tech multicultural city. It is a modern and relaxed place to visit, and is an
interesting mix of the cosmoplitan and the quaint - in particular there is the magnificant Altstadt which is the lovingly restored medieval (5km) walled old town, with cobble stone streets, a lively nightlife and 80 watchtowers, and graced by the pretty Pegnitz River.
The German Renaissance leader Albrecht Durer lived here. The city is also famed for its gingerbread, gluhwein, toy industries,
and the Christkindlmarkt. Attractions include Kaiserburg castle, Schlossmuseum Neunhof, Nassauer Haus, Historischer Kunstbunker, and the National and Natural History Museums. Before you leave town, turn the gold ring at the fountain called Schoner Brunnen - for good luck.
Population: 490,000 Airport: Nürnberg FC: Nürnberg
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Stuttgart
Stuttgart has a beautiful setting on the Neckar river surrounded by rolling green hills, forests and its exceptionally famous vineyards, in the Swabian Mountains, at the edge of the Black Forest. And the city itself is one of the greenest in Europe, with more than two thirds being devoted to parks, gardens, and woodlands.
And yet this is one of Germany's biggest industrial centres and is the home of Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bosch, Zeiss & Hugo Boss. This is a can-do city where they say work is a pleasure.
It is also a city of culture and the arts, with more than forty theatres, thirty art galleries and numerous museums, including car museums, the wine-growing Museum, Hegel House, Linden Ethnology Museum and the Carl Zeiss Planetarium.
The city also offers a two hour 'Historic Stuttgart walk' and a variety of therapeutic pools and health facilities.
The Bohemian quarter has wine bars, pubs and antiques shops.
Population: 590,000 Airport: Stuttgart FC: VfB Stüttgart
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