Gelsenkirchen gets a "Walk of Fame": a little Hollywood in the pot

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Disguised street artist on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles: the original

Photo: Imaginechina-Tuchong / IMAGO

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Klug, Gelsenkirchen should get a "Walk of Fame".

The whole thing was your idea.

Why do you need something like that?

Klug:

Because Gelsenkirchen has produced so many outstanding people: the chanson singer Claire Waldoff, for example, the Nobel Prize winner Harald zur Hausen or our national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

I think we sometimes make ourselves smaller as a city than we really are.

We wanted to have the self-confidence to show who comes here.

We as the FDP submitted the proposal almost ten years ago.

I think back then the other council members thought it was such a fun idea.

SPIEGEL:

It certainly sounds like a fun idea.

Klug:

Yes, but we mean it very seriously.

We are convinced that the place where the Walk of Fame should lead, in the north of the city, is particularly important.

This is the way to school for the children from four schools, and the Walk of Fame could show them: You come from Gelsenkirchen, and that can become of you.

SPIEGEL:

Gelsenkirchen is actually known for its coal past, but not for its glamor factor, right?

Klug:

Yes, many say that.

We are the city of a thousand fires, mining has an important tradition here, but we are not just coal, we can also do a lot more.

SPIEGEL:

Who do you want to honor?

Klug:

The best-known are the footballers, I already mentioned Manuel Neuer.

Of course there are also a lot of artists, Anton Stankowski, who designed the Deutsche Bank logo, or Thomas Such, the singer of the metal band Sodom, which is also world-famous.

And there are actors who come from Gelsenkirchen, Martin Wuttke for example.

SPIEGEL:

What about Mesut Özil?

Klug:

Certainly too!

He comes from Gelsenkirchen and is soccer world champion.

But a commission should decide on the choice of people.

We are now planning the first three records with Claire Waldoff, Anton Stankowski and Rolf Glasmeier, an artist who designed a lot in Gelsenkirchen.

But we are also open to further ideas if the Institute for Urban History or the Cultural Department suggest something.

SPIEGEL:

Are there any criteria for the honor?

Klug:

No, we're still working on it.

The people should, if possible, be born in Gelsenkirchen or have spent most of their life here, that is what we strive for.

So not only lived here for two years.

SPIEGEL:

Are you a native of Gelsenkirchen?

Klug:

Yes.

SPIEGEL:

So you could be lying there one day?

Klug:

I don't see myself as an outstanding personality in Gelsenkirchen, there are others.

SPIEGEL:

What should the Walk of Fame look like?

Klug: It's a

very classic way of imagining a Walk of Fame: We have a very wide sidewalk at the point, and slabs are to be embedded there.

We still have to decide whether it will be a star like in Hollywood or a Gelsenkirchen own brand.

We want to commission regional or local artists to design what the »star« might ultimately look like.

The name must be visible and it should be clear what the personality has made - Nobel Prize winners, athletes, musicians, artists.

SPIEGEL:

And the material?

Klug:

You can take different ones, we left that open - classic floor slabs made of granite or natural stone or fittings made of copper or brass.

But there you have traffic safety obligations so that it doesn't get too slippery!

SPIEGEL:

When are you planning the opening?

Klug:

It should be implemented next year, we want to set the first stone in mid-2022.

The whole thing will initially cost around 20,000 euros, for the concept, stones and further planning.

SPIEGEL:

Federal Justice Minister-designate Marco Buschmann is the chairman of your FDP district association.

Was his celebrity now tipping the scales?

Klug:

I don't think he tipped the scales.

And we're not doing this now to be able to honor him.

But he would certainly also be someone who could be honored there at some point, after all, he is the first Federal Minister from Gelsenkirchen.