Porz () is a borough, or ''

Stadtbezirk A (; also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as "borough". In Germany, usually only exist in a metropolis with more than 150,000 in ...

,'' of

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

. It is situated on the east side of the

Rhine river The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

in the south-east of the city. Porz is the largest borough of Cologne by area, with 78.92 km² and has 113,500 inhabitants. Porz borders with the

Cologne boroughs Since the last administrative reform in 1975, the City of Cologne is made up of nine Stadtbezirke and 86 Stadtteile. ''Stadtbezirk'' literally translates as city district, which are further subdivided into ''Stadtteile'' (city parts). The Stadttei ...

of Kalk and Innenstadt to the north,

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

and

Rhein-Sieg-Kreis The Rhein-Sieg-Kreis () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer Kreis, Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen, Neuwied (district), Neuwied, Ah ...

to the east and south, and the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

to the west. On the other riverbank lies the Cologne borough of

Rodenkirchen Rodenkirchen () is a southern borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Cologne (Köln) in Germany. It has about 110,000 inhabitants and covers an area of . The borough includes the quarters Bayenthal, Godorf, Hahnwald, Immendorf, Marienburg, Meschenich, R ...

History

In 1951 the former independent town of Porz was awarded the

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

(). In the course of the local government reform in the 1970s in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Porz was incorporated with Cologne.

Subdivisions

Porz consists of 16 Stadtteile (city parts):

Economy

Organisations based in Porz include The

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (, abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany, founded in 1969. It is headquartered in Cologne with 3 ...

TÜV Rheinland TÜVs (; short for , ) are internationally active, independent service companies from Germany and Austria that test, inspect and certify technical systems, facilities and objects of all kinds in order to minimize hazards and prevent damages. T ...

, The

European Astronaut Centre The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) (German: Europäisches Astronautenzentrum, French: Centre des astronautes européens), is an establishment of the European Space Agency and home of the European Astronaut Corps. It is near to Cologne, Germany, ...

of the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

, and the Cologne-Bonn airport. Engine manufacturer

Deutz AG Deutz AG is a German internal combustion engine manufacturer, based in Porz, Cologne, Germany. History The company was founded by Nicolaus Otto, the inventor of the four-stroke internal combustion engine, and his partner Eugen Langen on 3 ...

has its headquarter and a R&D facility in Porz. The Executive Transport Wing of the German Air Force is based on the military part of the Cologne-

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

airport and contributes to the local economy by the large number of soldiers stationed there. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Porz has been known for its glass manufacture.

Transport

For car drivers, Porz can be reached from the

Cologne Beltway The Cologne Beltway (German:''Kölner Autobahnring'') is the collective term for the Autobahns encircling Cologne. It consists of the Bundesautobahn 1, the Bundesautobahn 3 and the Bundesautobahn 4. Segments of the beltway handle the highest ...

via

Bundesautobahn 59 is an autobahn in Germany that starts in Dinslaken and runs with three breaks along Duisburg, Düsseldorf and Cologne to Bonn. In Duisburg it is also the city highway. Between Cologne and Bonn the A 59 has the nickname "Flughafenautobahn ...

and

Bundesautobahn 559 is an autobahn in Germany. The A 559 is a former alignment of the A 59. The A 59 was rerouted in the 1980s to relieve congestion at the Gremberg four-way interchange with the A 4. The primary function of the A 559, b ...

Rhine bridges

Südbrücke *

Rodenkirchener Autobahnbrücke The Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge is a steel suspension bridge over the Rhine located in Cologne, Germany.Taylor, R. R. (1974). ''The word in stone: The role of architecture in the national socialist ideology''. University of California Pressp.&nbs ...

Public transport

Porz is served by a number of railway stations. Regional train station include Porz (Rhein), Porz-Wahn, Köln-Steinstraße, and Köln-Airport Business Park. Porz (proper) has two light-rail stations of

Stadtbahn (; German for 'city railway'; plural ) is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

line 7: Porz Steinstraße to the north and Porz Markt in the town center.

Twin towns – sister cities

Porz is " twinned" with the following cities: *

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of ), commonly known as simply Brive, is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the aggl ...

, France *

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

, United Kingdom *

Hazebrouck Hazebrouck (, , , ) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France. It was a small market town in Flanders until it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual language until 1880, when French was taught ...

, France

References

External links

Official webpage of the district
Boroughs and quarters of Cologne City districts in Germany {{Cologne-geo-stub