Brühl () is a town in the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is located in the district of Rhine-Erft, 20 km south of the

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 ...

city center and at the edge of the

Rhineland Nature Park Rheinland Nature Park (''Naturpark Rheinland'') is a nature park in North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly ...

, a famous nature reserve.

History

Brühl received its town privileges in 1285. From 1567 on, the city of Brühl was the official residence of the Prince Bishops of Cologne. In the 18th century the Prince Bishop Clemens August replaced a former ruined castle and built the Augustusburg and Falkenlust palaces near the city center. Today, both are listed as

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s because of their outstanding

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

architecture. Until 1990 Augustusburg Palace was used by the federal government to receive foreign heads of states visiting

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

Main sights

* The amusement park

Phantasialand Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented p ...

* The Max Ernst Museum, opened in 2005. It displays sculptures and paintings of the surrealistic artist

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

(who was born in Brühl) and other modern art. * Local history and pottery are shown in two small museums in the city centre

Infrastructure

Brühl station Brühl station is a railway station in the city of Brühl in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It consists of a passenger station and a freight yard about a kilometre to the north. Both parts of the station are on the Left Rhine line (g ...

is on the

Left Rhine line The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It i ...

and the nearby Kierberg station is on the

Eifel railway The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

. Brühl also has several stops on line 18 of the Cologne tram line.

Notable people

Else Schmitt Else Marie Sofie Schmitt (May 2, 1921 in Brühl, Germany – March 22, 1995 in Cologne, Germany) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She served as member of city council of Cologne (1961–1984) as well as ...

(1921–1995), politician (SPD) and a district mayor in Cologne *

Erika Reihlen Erika Reihlen (born 2 August 1936) is a former president of the German Evangelical Church Assembly. She served from 1991 to 1993. She is active in women's causes and on the BORA Women's Shelter Board of Directors. She has also been involved in Prot ...

(born 1936), theologian and former president of the German Protestant Church Day *

Hans Leyendecker Hans Leyendecker (born 12 May 1949) is a German journalist. He writes for the '' Süddeutsche Zeitung'' and is one of Germany's best known investigative journalists. Leyendecker formerly worked for the magazine '' Der Spiegel'', unveiling various ...

(born 1949), journalist *

Heinz-Josef Kehr Heinz-Josef Kehr (born 18 December 1950 in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, died 19 November 2014) was a professional German footballer. Kehr made 187 appearances and scored 78 goals in the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga for Alemannia Aachen, Tennis ...

(1950–2014), footballer *

Helmut Müller-Brühl Helmut Peter Müller-Brühl (28 June 1933 – 2 January 2012) was a German conductor. Müller-Brühl was a pupil of Hermann Abendroth, founder of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra. In 1958, Müller-Brühl invited this orchestra to be the principal or ...

(1933–2012), conductor and initiator of the ''Brühler Schlosskonzerte'' at the Augustusburg Palace *

Josef Engel Josef Engel (born 3 July 1942) is a Czech former wrestler who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1 ...

(1922–1978), historian *

(1891–1976), painter and sculptor *

Patric Hemgesberg Patric Hemgesberg (born 3 November 1973 in Brühl) is a German poet. Life and career Patric Hemgesberg was born in 1973 in Brühl. After a brief study of social education he has worked since 2001 as a home educator in a home for disabled peopl ...

(born 1973), lyricist *

Reiner Calmund Reinhold "Reiner" Calmund (born 23 November 1948) is a German retired football executive. He was the managing director of Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen from 1976 to 2004 and most recently from 1999 worked as the first managing director of Fu� ...

(born 1948), football coach and former manager of

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

Wolfgang Streeck Wolfgang Streeck (; born 27 October 1946) is a German economic sociologist and emeritus director of the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies in Cologne. Early life Streeck was born "just outside Münster", the son of refugees – e ...

(born 1946), sociologist

Twin towns – sister cities

Brühl is twinned with: *

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

, Greece *

Kaş Kaş (; el, Αντίφελλος, translit=Antífellos, translit-std=ISO) is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168 km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist resort, it is re ...

, Turkey * Kunice, Poland *

Royal Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

, England, United Kingdom * Sceaux, France *

Weißwasser Weißwasser ( hsb, Běła Woda) is a town in Upper Lusatia in eastern Saxony, Germany. Weißwasser is the third largest town in the Görlitz district after Görlitz and Zittau. The town's landmark is its water tower. The town is part of the re ...

, Germany

Gallery

References

External links

*
Max Ernst Museum

Brühler Museumsinsel

Phantasialand theme park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruhl, North Rhine-Westphalia Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Rhein-Erft-Kreis