German city renames itself in honor of Taylor Swift; Swifties delighted

Make way, Munich.

Take the back seat, Berlin.

Pfundsand, Stuttgart.

There’s a new German city on the map and it’s named after Taylor Swift… for a few weeks.

According to the Associated Press, the pop star will temporarily be the namesake of Gelsenkirchen, where she will give three concerts at the end of the month. During this time, the city will be called “Swiftkirchen.”

That means “Swift’s Church” and believe it or not, there is already one in Germany.

Taylor Swift could reach the level of fame of David Hasselhoff in Germany.

The German city of Gelsenkirchen will temporarily take the name “Swiftkirchen” in honor of Taylor Swift. (Getty Images)

I find this strange, because Germany has a rich musical history. From Beethoven to the famous Beatles residence in Hamburg to the Scorpions, Kraftwerk and Nena (99 Balloons) to Rammstein, but no city was named after any of them.

…Okay, technically there is a place called “Ramstein” (one M), but that’s where the band got its name from, not the other way around.

I mean, “Beatleburg” and “Kraftwerkkirchen” sound nice.

Unfortunately, Taylor Swift gets the honor, and that shows once again how big her fame is. She conquered the NFL and now she’s conquering a German city… for a few weeks.

Surely by Swifties who flock to ̶G̶e̶l̶s̶e̶n̶k̶i̶r̶c̶h̶e̶n̶ Swiftkirchen – one of the poorest towns in the country after playing a major role in the coal industry – but I wonder if the town’s postal workers are in for a few headaches.

The idea to change the town’s name came from teenager Aleshanee Westhoff, who presented it to the mayor and then circulated a petition. It’s nice to see an enterprising young woman put an idea into action, even if it’s naming the town after Taylor Swift, which will no doubt completely confuse some of the town’s older residents.