Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) 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 ...

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 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 west of the

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

, halfway between

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

and the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

border.

Geography

Municipal subdivisions

Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbach has comprised four (previously ten) boroughs which are subdivided into 44 districts. The boroughs and their associated districts * ''Nord:'' Am Wasserturm, Dahl, Eicken, Gladbach, Hardt-Mitte, Hardter Wald, Ohler,

Venn Venn is a surname and a given name. It may refer to: Given name * Venn Eyre (died 1777), Archdeacon of Carlisle, Cumbria, England * Venn Pilcher (1879–1961), Anglican bishop, writer, and translator of hymns * Venn Young (1929–1993), New Zea ...

, Waldhausen, Westend,

Windberg Windberg is a municipality in the district of Straubing-Bogen in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russ ...

* ''Ost:'' Bettrath‑Hoven, Bungt, Flughafen, Giesenkirchen‑Mitte, Giesenkirchen‑Nord, Hardterbroich‑Pesch, Lürrip, Neuwerk‑Mitte, Schelsen, Uedding * ''Süd:'' Bonnenbroich‑Geneicken, Geistenbeck, Grenzland‑Stadion, Heyden, Hockstein, Mülfort, Odenkirchen‑Mitte, Odenkirchen‑West, Pongs,

Rheydt Rheydt () is a borough of the German city Mönchengladbach, located in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 1918 and then again from 1933 (due to a split from Mönchengladbach arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born there) through 1975 it w ...

, Sasserath, Schloss Rheydt, Schmölderpark, Schrievers * ''West:'' Hauptquartier,

Hehn Hehn is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Hans-Jürgen Hehn (born 1944), German fencer * Keri Hehn (born 1981), American swimmer * Paul N. Hehn, American historian *Sascha Hehn (born 1954), German actor Places *Hehn, a quarter ...

, Holt, Rheindahlen‑Land, Rheindahlen‑Mitte, Wanlo, Wickrath-Mitte, Wickrath‑West, Wickrathberg

History

Name and origins

The original name of the city was Gladbach, by which it is still often known today. To distinguish it from another town of the same name (the present Bergisch Gladbach), it took the name München-Gladbach in 1888. Between 1933 and 1950, it was written München Gladbach (short: M. Gladbach), without a hyphen. This spelling was seen as potentially misleading, as it could imply that Gladbach was a borough of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(''München'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

), so consequently the name was changed to Mönchen-Gladbach in 1950 (and subsequently Mönchengladbach in 1960) to avoid confusion. The town was founded around

Gladbach Abbey Gladbach Abbey was a Benedictine abbey founded in 974 by Archbishop Gero of Cologne and the monk Sandrad from Trier. It was named after the Gladbach, a narrow brook that now runs underground. The abbey and its adjoining villages grew into the tow ...

in 974. It was named after the Gladbach, a narrow brook which mostly runs underground today. The abbey and adjoining villages became a town in the 14th century. The town of

is located nearby and is incorporated into Mönchengladbach today.

Early history

The first settlements in the area of Mönchengladbach are approximately 300,000–400,000 years old and show remains of

Homo erectus ''Homo erectus'' (; meaning "upright man") is an extinct species of archaic human from the Pleistocene, with its earliest occurrence about 2 million years ago. Several human species, such as '' H. heidelbergensis'' and '' H. antecessor' ...

and

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

. There are numerous cairns from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

s. The history of Mönchengladbach began with the construction of the Gladbach Minster and the founding of an abbey in the year 974 by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, and his companion, the monk Sandrad of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. To improve the settlement, the monks created a market north of the church in the 12th century. Craftsmen settled near the market. Gladbach received its

town charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally the granting of a charter ...

in 1364–1366. The "town" erected a town wall made of stone, which had to be maintained by the citizens. Remains of the wall can be found at the Geroweiher, as can remains of the "Thick Tower", an old fortified tower at the Waldhausener hill. Until the end of the 18th century, the city belonged to the department of

Grevenbroich Grevenbroich () is a town in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Erft, approximately 15 km southwest of Neuss and 15 km southeast of Mönchengladbach. Cologne and Düsseldorf are in a 3 ...

within the duchy of Jülich. On 4 October 1794, the armed forces of the

French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

marched into the town, one day before the fortress Jülich had been handed over. When the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II ceded the left bank of the river

to France with the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

in 1801, Gladbach fell under French laws suppressing religion. This was the end for the abbey, and the monastery was closed. On 31 October 1802, the last 31 monks left the monastery. The contents of the tremendous abbey library, well known outside Germany, were scattered or destroyed. From 1798 until 1814, the ''

Mairie In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

'' Gladbach was part of '' Canton'' Odenkirchen, of the ''

Arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

'' Krefeld, of the

Roer The Rur or Roer (german: Rur ; Dutch and li, Roer, , ; french: Rour) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse ( nl, links=no, Maas). About 90 perce ...

Département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

''.

Recent history

In 1815, Gladbach became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

and seat of the Landkreis Gladbach, which was dissolved in 1929. In 1815 Gladbach became seat of the Bürgermeisterei (Office of mayor), which was split in 1859 into two parts: the City of Gladbach and Office of Mayor Obergeburth. The latter was renamed to München-Gladbach-Land in 1907. From 1933 through 1975, the neighborhood of

was an independent city; the split from München-Gladbach was arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born locally. After reuniting with Mönchengladbach, the central station (

Rheydt Hauptbahnhof Rheydt Hauptbahnhof is a railway station in Mönchengladbach, Germany. Mönchengladbach is the only city in Germany that has two stations called Hauptbahnhof, due to the merger of the city of Rheydt into Mönchengladbach in the late 1970s. Rheydt ...

) kept its original name, making Mönchengladbach the only city in Germany to have two rail stations each called Hauptbahnhof. In response to the 10 May 1940 German invasion of Belgium, Mönchengladbach was bombed by RAF Bomber Command on the evening of 11 May. The bomber crews were attempting to interdict German troop movements on roads, intersections and rail lines in the area, especially the city's railyards. About half of the approximately 36 twin-engine

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) bombers reportedly hit their targets, and three were shot down. Four people were killed on the ground, including a British woman living in Germany. Eventually, the Prussian Rhine Province was dissolved after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the city became part of the new state of

which was formed in 1946.

Economy

Mönchengladbach's industrial ascent was mainly influenced by the development of the textile industry from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. In addition, a textile-oriented machine industry also developed. After the Second World War, a major structural change began, reducing the importance of the textile industry and attracting new economic sectors. At present, only 7 percent of employees work in the once dominant textile and clothing industry (for example: ''Van Laack'' and ''gardeur''). As part of the successful diversification of the business location, local government and representatives founded the Mönchengladbach Business Development Corporation (WFMG) in 1997. WFMG and the University of Applied Sciences Niederrhein have developed a five-pillar model for the future orientation of the business location. Thereafter textile and fashion, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, logistics, the creative industry and the health sector are the leading sectors for the economic future of the city of Mönchengladbach. As part of an active cluster policy, the WFMG has partly initiated its own networks for these industries. The most important employer in Mönchengladbach is the

Santander Consumer Bank Banco Santander, S.A., doing business as Santander Group (, , Spanish: ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Madrid and Santander in Spain. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in all global financial centres ...

, which has its headquarters at Aachener Straße in Mönchengladbach's city center. The economic structure includes:

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

and spinning machines (Dörries Scharmann, Monforts, Trützschler, Schlafhorst), automatic conveyor systems, signal and system technology (Scheidt & Bachmann), transformers (SMS Meer), cables ( Nexans Germany formerly Kabelwerk Rheydt), printed matter and foodstuffs.

Chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, ...

Heinemann is known beyond the city limits for his cakes, pralines and baked goods, which he offers in cafés on site as well as in

and

. Furthermore,

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

breweries are represented in Mönchengladbach. The Oettinger brewery produces at the site of the former Hannen brewery. The Hensen brewery has been producing a lower Rhine-type Altbier since 2015 at the former

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

of the river Gladbach in the Waldhausen district. Especially in the 1970s and 1980s nightlife was attractive to young party people from Düsseldorf. In the meantime,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

in particular is playing a certain role. Mönchengladbach has about 40 hotels (for example: Hotel Burgund) and inns as well as a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...

in the district Hardter Wald. In total there are about 2000 beds. The number of overnight stays is over 200,000 annually.

Mönchengladbach Airport Mönchengladbach Airport (german: Verkehrslandeplatz Mönchengladbach, formerly ''Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport'', ) is a small regional airport located northeast of Mönchengladbach and west of Düsseldorf. It is co-owned by the company ...

is dominated by general aviation. There are currently no scheduled services to and from Mönchengladbach. Additionally, there are few business-charter passenger flights. In June 2015 ''Hugo Junkers Hangar'' was opened as an aviation and event facility. Airplane enthusiasts can book sightseeing flights with Junkers Ju 52 from the 1940s. The next major international airport

Düsseldorf Airport Düsseldorf Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Düsseldorf, ; until March 2013 ''Düsseldorf International Airport''; ) is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is about north ...

is only 20 kilometres (12 mi) away to the east.

Politics

Mayor

The current Mayor of Mönchengladbach is Felix Heinrichs 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) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Felix Heinrichs , align=left,

, 32,808 , 37.5 , 50,421 , 74.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Frank Boss , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 25,929 , 29.6 , 17,513 , 25.8 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Boris Wolkowski , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 15,304 , 17.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Corina Bülow , align=left, Alternative for Germany , 4,706 , 5.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Stefan Dahlmanns , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 3,149 , 3.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sebastian Merkens , align=left, The Left , 3,010 , 3.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Chana Clarissa Lischewski , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...

, 1,914 , 2.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Franz Josef Schiller , align=left,

Ecological Democratic Party The Ecological Democratic Party (german: Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, ÖDP) is a conservative and ecologist minor party in Germany. The ÖDP was founded in 1982. The strongest level of voting support for the ÖDP is in Bavaria, where in ...

, 540 , 0.6 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Sandra van den Broek , align=left, National Democratic Party , 186 , 0.2 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 87,546 ! 97.3 ! 67,934 ! 99.3 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 2,473 ! 2.7 ! 496 ! 0.7 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 90,019 ! 100.0 ! 68,430 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 207,117 ! 43.5 ! 207,018 ! 33.1 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Mönchengladbach 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) , 30,198 , 34.0 , 7.5 , 26 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 22,365 , 25.2 , 4.3 , 20 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 18,879 , 21.2 , 10.6 , 16 , 9 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 5,282 , 5.9 , 4.5 , 5 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 4,911 , 5.5 , 1.0 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 3,605 , 4.1 , 0.4 , 3 , ±0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 2,419 , 2.7 , 1.5 , 2 , 1 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(ÖDP) , 507 , 0.6 , New , 0 , New , - , , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG) , 439 , 0.5 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, National Democratic Party (NPD) , 229 , 0.3 , 0.6 , 0 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independents , 30 , 0.0 , – , 0 , – , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 88,864 ! 98.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,160 ! 1.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 90,024 ! 100.0 ! ! 76 ! 8 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 207,117 ! 43.5 ! 0.8 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Points of interest

* Municipal

Abteiberg Museum The Museum Abteiberg is a municipal museum for contemporary art in the German city Mönchengladbach. Since the 1970s, the museum has been known for its experimental and avant-garde exhibitions, starting with director Johannes Cladders (1967-1985 ...

for contemporary art * Municipal Museum

Schloss Rheydt Schloss Rheydt is a Renaissance palace in Rheydt, Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Over the years the building has been the family seat of various noble families, including the Bylandt-Rheydt dynasty that ruled over Rheydt for ...

for fine art * Museum im Wasserturm Rheindahlen for relics of the Stone Age * Museum Altes Zeughaus e. V. for Carnival * Museum

Schloss Wickrath Schloss Wickrath is a moated castle complex in Wickrath.Stefan Frankewitz: ''Der Niederrhein und seine Burgen, Schlösser, Herrenhäuser entlang der Niers''. Boss, Geldern 2011, , pp. 89–108. The castle is located on the river Niers. The origina ...

for ornithology *

Bunter Garten The Bunter Garten (30 hectares) is a municipal park with botanical garden (5 hectares) and arboretum located along Lettow-Vorbeck Straße, Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open daily without charge. The park contains three ...

, municipal park with

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and arboretum * Wasserturm Mönchengladbach

Twin towns – sister cities

Mönchengladbach is twinned with: *

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, England, UK (1971) *

North Tyneside North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend. North Tyneside is bordered ...

, England, UK (1958) *

Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...

, France (1969) *

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Ro ...

, Netherlands (1971) *

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The ...

, England, UK (1969) *

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...

, Belgium (1970)

Transport

The city has two main railway stations:

Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof Mönchengladbach Hauptbahnhof ( German for ''Mönchengladbach main station'') is a railway station in the city of Mönchengladbach in western Germany. Overview The station is the largest railway station in the city and, along with Rheydt Hbf, o ...

and

, the result of the merger of the two cities, in which the deprecated name for Rheydt Hbf was never removed. Line 8 of the

Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn The Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Rhein-Ruhr) is a polycentric and electrically driven S-train network covering the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in the German federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia. This includes most of the Ruhr (and ...

connects the city to

and Hagen; an extension further westwards is being discussed. A number of

regional trains Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are public transport, passenger rail transport, rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail ...

serve Mönchengladbach, including regional line RE13 to the city of

Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, a ...

which is located in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. By the end of 2009 it was the largest city in Germany without regular InterCity, long-distance services. With the new schedule for 2010, Mönchengladbach got an InterCity/Intercity-Express connection twice a week. The city also has a commercial airport called Düsseldorf-Mönchengladbach Airport, Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach. Local bus and rail transport is carried out by the NEW-AG under the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, VRR transport association regulations.

Sports

Football

Mönchengladbach has a long Association football, football tradition. Its home club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, is one of the country's most well-known, best-supported, and successful teams. The club plays on the Borussia-Park stadium with a capacity of 54,057. The club has the fourth largest fan club in Germany, "The Foals" (''Die Fohlen''), with more than 50,000 active members.

Field hockey

The city hosted three International Hockey Federation, International Field Hockey world championships: the 2006 Men's World Hockey Cup, the 2008 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy, and the 2010 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy.

Harness racing

Since 1892, Mönchengladbach has owned a harness racing track called ''Trabrennbahn Mönchengladbach'' (Trotting track Mönchengladbach).

Military

Until December 2013, the Rheindahlen Military Complex was located just outside Mönchengladbach, where it was home to the headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Germany.

Notable people

Franz Meyers ex Ludwig Erhard 1965 FdG 1

* Jacob Masen (1606–1681), Jesuit priest, historian, dramatist and theologian * Hugo Junkers (1859–1935), engineer and entrepreneur * Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945), Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany * Lisel Haas (1898–1989), photographer * Hans Jonas (1903–1993), philosopher and scholar, wrote extensively on ethics * Franz Meyers (1908–2002), politician (CDU), former minister-president North Rhine-Westphalia * Elisabeth Gottschalk (1912–1989), German-born Dutch historical geographer and professor * Jack Zunz (1923–2018), civil and structural engineer, former chairman of Arup Group Limited, Ove Arup & Partners, principal structural designer of the Sydney Opera House * Dietrich Nummert (1928–2021), journalist * Petra Schürmann (1933–2010), Miss Germany 1956, Miss World 1956 * Shakuntala Banerjee (born 1973) television presenter *Hildegard Uhrmacher (born 1939), operatic soprano * Peter Klusen (born 1951), writer, translator and cartoonist * Reinhold Ewald (born 1956), physicist and ESA astronaut * Walter Moers (born 1957), author * Joscho Stephan (born 1979), gypsy jazz guitarist * Joko Winterscheidt (born 1979), television presenter

Sport

* Joseph Pilates (1883–1967), physical trainer, proponent of the Pilates method * Hans Heyer (born 1943), racing driver * Horst-Dieter Höttges (born 1943), footballer * Günter Netzer (born 1944), footballer * Jupp Heynckes (born 1945), footballer and manager * Erwin Kremers (born 1949), footballer * Ulrike von der Groeben (born 1957), television sport journalist * Michael Frontzeck (born 1964), footballer * Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 1967), Formula One driver * Jorg Albertz (born 1971), footballer * Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), Formula One driver * Marcell Jansen (born 1985), footballer * Isabell Herlovsen (born 1988), Norwegian footballer * Marc-André ter Stegen (born 1992), footballer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach, Cities in North Rhine-Westphalia