Westfalen-Blau
Die Königsblauen – from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen.
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04, and abbreviated as S04, is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top flight of the German football league system, following promotion from the 2. Bundesliga in 2025–26. Other activities offered by the club include athletics, basketball, handball, table tennis, winter sports and eSports.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Gelsenkirchen, Germany
- Opened
- 2001
- Capacity
- Approx. 62,000 spectators
- Key feature
- Retractable roof and sliding grass pitch
- Nickname
- The Blue Temple
- Previous home
- Parkstadion
- Primary tenant
- FC Schalke 04
Lore & Background
The club was founded on 4 May 1904 as Westfalia Schalke. Since 2001, Schalke's stadium has been the Veltins-Arena. Schalke hold a long-standing rivalry with Ruhr neighbors Borussia Dortmund, known as the Revierderby.
Reader's Guide
Schalke have won seven German championships, five DFB-Pokals, one DFB Ligapokal, one DFL-Supercup, one UEFA Cup and two UEFA Intertoto Cups. In 1937, Schalke became the first German club to win the double. As of September 2025, the club has 210,000 members, making it the third-largest football club in Germany and the sixth-largest club in the world in terms of membership.
Did You Know?
- The '04' in the club's name derives from its formation in 1904.
- Schalke's nickname Die Knappen comes from an old German word for 'miners' because the team drew many players and supporters from coal miners.
- Schalke's second nickname is Die Königsblauen, derived from their blue and white kit.
- The club's dominant style of play in the 1920s became known as the Schalker Kreisel.
More in Veltins-Arena & Fan Culture
Elsewhere in Schalke 04
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced