Bergisch Gladbach () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the

Cologne/Bonn Region The Cologne Bonn Region (German: ''Region Köln/Bonn'') is a metropolitan area in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, covering the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen, as well as the districts of Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer K ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, Germany, and capital of the

Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis The Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis is a Kreis (district) in the Cologne Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kreis Mettman, Oberbergischer Kreis and Rhein-Sieg, and the district-free cities Cologne, Leverkusen, S ...

(district).

Geography

Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, approx. 10 kilometers east of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Neighbouring municipalities

Beginning in the north clockwise the neighbouring municipalities and neighbouring towns are:

Odenthal Odenthal is a municipality in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Odenthal is situated approximately 5 km north of Bergisch Gladbach and 15 km north-east of Cologne. Neighbouring places Nearby ...

Kürten Kürten is a village and a municipality in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Kürten is situated approximately 25 km east of Cologne. Neighbouring places Nearby cities include Bergisch Gladbac ...

Overath Overath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Overath is located about 25 km east of Cologne, in the Bergisches Land. Despite the reclassification as a 'Stadt' (town, though the ...

Rösrath Rösrath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The earliest known documents mentioning the settlement ''Rösrath'' can be found in documents dated to 1356. There have been findings of Paleo ...

and

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...

History

Early settlements existed in the 13th century, but the town was officially founded in 1856. Altes Schloss Bensberg and City Hall, June 2021

The word ''Bergisch'' in the name does not originate from its location in the county of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...

and was not added to distinguish it from

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbac ...

as believed by many people, but from the counts who gave their name to the region. At the start of the 12th century the counts of Berg settled in the area and it later became the duchy (under Napoleon, the grand duchy) of Berg. This is where the first part of the name (''Bergisch'') comes from, the town being located in the former county of Berg. It is the administrative headquarters ('Kreisstadt') of the Rheinish-Bergisch district (or 'Kreis'). The second part of the name, ''Gladbach'' (cognate with English ''Ladbrooke'') originates from Low Rhenish (''Bergisches Platt'') and means ''canalised stream'', referring to the small river (the ''Strunde'') that was artificially canalised (''laid'') in early medieval times. In ''Bergisch Platt'', the regional dialect, ''laid'' is said ''gelaat'', a word which eventually evolved to ''glad'' (in this case the 'd' is pronounced as a 't'). The second part of the word, ''bach'' is the standard German word for a small stream, referring in this case to the '' Strunde''. In 1975 the town incorporated neighbouring Bensberg and when it reached a population of 100,000 in 1977 it was given city status.

Economy

Paper manufacturing, printing, glass wool manufacturing, chocolate, and high-tech industries make up a large part of Bergisch Gladbach's economy.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Bergisch Gladbach is Frank Stein of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

(SPD). The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Candidate ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Frank Stein , align=left,

, 25,321 , 52.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Buchen , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 18,973 , 39.2 , - , , align=left, Iro Herrmann , align=left, Citizens' Party GL , 2,093 , 4.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Günther Schöpf , align=left, Alternative for Germany , 2,014 , 4.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 48,401 ! 99.3 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 358 ! 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 48,759 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 89,995 ! 54.2 , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Bergisch Gladbach

City council

The Bergisch Gladbach city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 17,463 , 36.2 , 5.7 , 20 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 13,858 , 28.7 , 12.8 , 16 , 6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 9,209 , 19.1 , 5.0 , 10 , 5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 2,438 , 5.1 , 0.5 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 2,213 , 4.6 , 0.2 , 3 , ±0 , - , , align=left, Citizens' Party GL (BGL) , 1,398 , 2.9 , 1.2 , 2 , 1 , - , , align=left, Free Voters' Association Bergisch Gladbach (FWG) , 1,645 , 3.4 , New , 2 , New , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 48,224 ! 98.8 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 597 ! 1.2 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 48,821 ! 100.0 ! ! 56 ! 6 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 89,995 ! 52.3 ! 0.1 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Bergisch Gladbach

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergisch Gladbach is twinned with: * Beit Jala, Palestine (2010) * Bourgoin-Jallieu, France (1956) *

Ganei Tikva Ganei Tikva ( he, גַּנֵּי תִּקְוָה, lit="gardens of hope") is a town in Israel bordering Kiryat Ono to the west, Petah Tikva to the north, Gat Rimon to the east and Savyon to the south. History Ganei Tikva was formed in 1949, ...

, Israel (2012) * Joinville-le-Pont, France (1960) *

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

, Cyprus (1991) *

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

, England (1956) *

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by several other names) is a cultural and industrial city and the capital of the Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The population of Mar ...

, Lithuania (1989) *

Pszczyna Pszczyna (german: Pleß, cs, Pština) is a town in southern Poland with 25,823 inhabitants (2019), and a seat of a local gmina (commune). It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship, and was a part of the Katowice Voivodeship from 1975 until ad ...

, Poland (1993) *

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining ...

, England (1995) *

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known a ...

, Netherlands (1956)

Notable people

Markus von Ahlen Markus von Ahlen (born 1 January 1971) is a German football manager and a former player. He manages the Under-19 squad of Fortuna Köln. Coaching career von Ahlen started his coaching career in the youth section at Bayer Leverkusen in 2007 befo ...

(born 1971), footballer and coach * Rüdiger Baldauf (born 1961), jazz musician * Astrid Benöhr (born 1957), endurance athlete * Sebastian Blomberg (born 1972), actor *

Wolfgang Bosbach Wolfgang Walter Wilhelm Bosbach (born 11 June 1952) is a German politician and member of Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which he joined in 1972. A lawyer by profession, Bosbach is a partner at Winter, Jansen & Lamsfuß in Bergisch Gladbach ...

(born 1952), politician (CDU) *

Karl Budde Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austrian ...

(1850–1935), Protestant theologian *

Armin Falk Armin Falk (born 18 January 1968) is a German economist. He has held a chair at the University of Bonn since 2003. Biography Education and career Falk studied economics as well as philosophy and history at the University of Cologne. In 1998 he ...

(born 1968), economist *

Markus Feldenkirchen Markus Feldenkirchen (born 1 September 1975 in Bergisch Gladbach) is a German journalist and writer. Early life and education Markus Feldenkirchen was educated at Albertus Magnus Grammar School in Bergisch Gladbach, where he took his '' Abit ...

(born 1975), journalist * Vanessa Fuchs (born 1996), Germany's Next Topmodel winner of the season 2015 *

Kerstin Gier Kerstin Gier (born 8 October 1966) is a German author of novels for adults and young adults. Her popular young adult novel ''Rubinrot'' (''Ruby Red'') and its two sequels - a series about time travel - as well as her ''Silber'' trilogy were transl ...

(born 1966), author * Volker Goetze (born 1972), German born, New York based musician composer and filmmaker *

Fabian Hambüchen Fabian Hambüchen (also spelled Hambuechen; ; born 25 October 1987) is a retired German gymnast who was a four-time Olympian (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016) and was Olympic, World, and European champion. Fabian also won gold medals at European Games a ...

(born 1987), artistic gymnast *

Götz Heidelberg Götz Heidelberg (1 March 1923 in Bergisch Gladbach-Bensberg near Cologne – 22 April 2017) was a German constructing engineer and entrepreneur known for the development of Maglev magnetic transportation systems. He implemented the first func ...

(1923–2017), physicist, constructor and entrepreneur *

Waldemar Henrici Waldemar Henrici (February 3, 1878 – February 15, 1950) was a Lieutenant General of the German Wehrmacht who commanded a division of the VII Army Corps in the 4th Army during Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia during the Second ...

(1878–1950), general and Reichsarbeitsdienstführer * Mats Hummels (born 1988), footballer *

Hubert Käppel Hubert Käppel (born 3 July 1951) is a German classical guitarist. He teaches classical guitar at the Hochschule für Musik Köln in Germany. Guitars International states that "Hubert Kappel is among the most influential teachers and guitarists o ...

(born 1951), guitarist and music pedagogue * Brigitte Kraus (born 1956), middle distance runner *

Georg Koch Georg Koch (born 3 February 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Born in Bergisch Gladbach, Koch started his career playing at amateur club SpVgg Erkenschwick before becoming a professional in J ...

(born 1972), football goalkeeper * Heidi Klum (born 1973), model and presenter *

Carolin Kebekus Carolin Kebekus (born 9 May 1980) is a German comedian and television personality. Biography Born in Bergisch Gladbach, Kebekus grew up as daughter of a social education worker and a banker in Köln-Ostheim. Her younger Brother David Kebe i ...

(born 1980), comedian, singer and actress * Theo Koll (born 1958), journalist * German Mäurer (1811–1885), Prussian writer * Veronika Moos-Brochhagen (born 1961), textile artist * Benyamin Nuss (born 1989), pianist * Bastian Oczipka (born 1989), footballer * Uwe Ommer (born 1943), act, fashion and advertising photos *

Monika Piel Monika Piel (born 9 April 1951 in Bensberg) is a German television journalist and radio journalist. Life and career Piel studied Business economics in Cologne. Afterwards she studied Jura and Oriental Studies without graduating. During her ...

(born 1951), journalist and presenter *

Tibor Pleiß Tibor Pleiß (, alternative spelling Pleiss; born 2 November 1989) is a German professional basketball player for Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Super League and the EuroLeague. Standing , he plays the center position. He is also a member of the ...

(born 1989), basketball player * Karin Sander (born 1957), artist * David Schnell (born 1971), painter *

Tim Wiese Tim Wiese (; born 17 December 1981) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Having progressed through the youth teams at DJK Dürscheid and Bayer Leverkusen, Wiese started his professional career at Fortuna Köln, ...

(born 1981), German

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper and wrestler

Secondary schools in Bergisch Gladbach

* Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Bensberg/Bergisch Gladbach * Gymnasium Herkenrath/Bergisch Gladbach *

Nicolaus-Cusanus-Gymnasium Bergisch Gladbach The Nicolaus-Cusanus-Gymnasium (NCG) is a public high school in the German city Bergisch Gladbach. The school is named after the German church law academic, philosopher, bishop and cardinal Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 Aug ...

* Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg/Bergisch Gladbach * Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium Bergisch Gladbach * Integrierte-Gesamtschule-Paffrath Bergisch Gladbach

References

External links

*
Fire Department Bergisch Gladbach
{{Authority control Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia Districts of the Rhine Province