"Nuremberg is under the spell of football", says Lord Mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly on the city's official homepage. Which is not at all surprising, if one considers that the local Bundesliga club FC Nuremberg is proud to have one of the most reliable fan bases in Germany. Besides that, the almost thousand years old city, is rich in history and culture.
Munich is where it all kicks off on the nineth of June. Germany vs. Costa Rica will be the first match in the FIFA World Cup 2006™ and the German host cities welcome their guests from all over the world. And where should this spectacle begin, if not in the home stadium of Germany's most successful club Bayern Munich.
Kaiserslautern is a city with a lot of "international football experience". Their Bundesliga club 1.FC Kaiserslautern has been a constant challenge for foreign teams in the international team cups in the past. Their old stadium was a place that teams from abroad literally feared, since it was the home of the "Red Devils" from the "Betzenberg"
Frankfurt, on the river Main, is the biggest financial center on the European continent. Home to the German stock exchange the bank district has by the time developed into what is nowadays called "Mainhattan". It has always been and still is one of the most liberal minded cities in the country.
Among the major cities in Germany, Cologne is the oldest. The construction of its landmark, the cathedral, began in the year 1248. By that time the city had already seen more than half of the years it has seen today. Being located on a trading road of the Roman Empire, Cologne has always welcomed people from all corners of the world.
The birthplace of the German Football Association is also one of the host cities of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Leipzig, one of Germany's cities with the most intense cultural background is waiting for its guest from all over the world.
Being also known as "Benztown", Stuttgart lies deep in the heart of Swabia. Home to the Daimler-Chrysler Group, it is one of the major industrial cities in Europe. Since the 1980s Stuttgart has earned its reputation as a sports city by hosting the 1986 European Track and Field Championship, the EURO '88 and the 1993 IAAF Track and Field World Championship
Hanover belongs to the ten biggest cities in Germany and is home to many trade shows with world wide importance. The CeBIT, for example, is one of the world's most important computer fairs. The EXPO 2000, which was the last world fair of the 20th century also took place in the capital of Lower Saxony.
For many people the Footbal Mekka of the Ruhr area is Gelsenkirchen. It has over 70 Football clubs and one of them is Schalke 04, the Bundesliga team that was able to win seven league titles. And the city in the heart of the Ruhrgebiet has a lot more to offer than just the game of 22…
Dortmund is one of the most northern cities of the Ruhrgebiet and where other cities might have a heart, in Dortmund there's a football. A black and yellow one that is, since Borussia Dortmund is one of Germany's Bundesliga clubs with the most followers.
