Langenfeld ( Ripuarian: ''Langefääl'') is a town in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

(

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 ...

) in the district of Mettmann. The suburban city is located between

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

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. Langenfeld was formed from the two localities of Richrath and Reusrath and received city rights in 1948.

Economics

Langenfeld has no public debt as of October 3, 2008. The

debt clock A debt clock is a public counter, which displays the government debt (also known as ''public debt'' or ''national debt'') of a public corporation, usually of a state, and which visualizes the progression through an update every second. Because of ...

installed at the town hall in 1997, showing the current debts of Langenfeld, 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 ...

, and the national debt, got demounted end of 2008 and handed over to

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 ...

. In Langenfeld it had served its purpose, so the comment by former mayor Magnus Staehler. The town was honored for that with the prize ''Kommune des Jahres 2007'' (''

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of the Year 2007'') in the national contest ''Großer Preis des Mittelstandes'' (''Grand Prize by Small Firms and Traders'') of the Oskar-Patzelt-Siftung. To achieve that goal, on the one hand taxes got raised and in addition cuts of subsidies to clubs applied, so that debts halved from 1997 up to 2002. Being free of debt, and with that regaining free hand, was celebrated with a big party for the citizens at the first weekend in October under the slogan "Golden Times". Up to 2013 the savings from that surpluses had strongly diminished again by the budget deficits of the following years.

Transport

Langenfeld is accessed by nearby highways A 3, A 59 and A 542, as well as the ''Bundesstrasse'' (federal route) B8. The mainline railway from

runs through the town's area as well. Public transport is provided by the

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

line S6 and various bus lines operating under the umbrella of the VRR. The nearest airports are

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 ...

(approx. 28 km) and

Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport (german: Flughafen Köln/Bonn 'Konrad Adenauer') is the international airport of Germany's fourth-largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, former capital of West Germany. With around 12.4 million passengers passing thr ...

(approx. 35 km).

Twin towns – sister cities

Langenfeld is twinned with: * Ennis, Ireland *

Gostynin Gostynin is a town in central Poland with 19,414 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodship since 1999 and was previously in the Płock Voivodship from 1975 to 1998. It is the capital of Gostynin County. History Gostynin h ...

, Poland *

Montale Montale is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about east of Pistoia. Montale borders the following municipalities: Agliana, Cantagallo, Montemurlo, Pi ...

, Italy *

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hautes de France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

, France

Notable people

Herbert Reul Herbert Reul (born, 31 August 1952) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as State Minister for Internal Affairs in the government of successive Ministers-President Armin Laschet (2017–2021) and He ...

(born 1952), politician (CDU) *

Christian Menzel Christian Menzel (born 22 June 1971 in Langenfeld (Rheinland)) is a German racecar driver. His career started in 1981 in Karts. Since 1991 he competed in ADAC BMW Formula Junior, later Formula Renault and since 1994 Formula 3. In 1998 he wo ...

(born 1971), racing driver

Gallery

Marktarkaden Langenfeld.JPG, Marktarkaden Stadthalle Langenfeld Schauplatz.JPG, Stadthalle with Schauplatz

References

External links

Official website
* Towns in North Rhine-Westphalia Mettmann (district) {{Mettmann-geo-stub