Bergisch Gladbach

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 51 ° 0 '  N , 7 ° 8'  E
Basic data
State :	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region :	Cologne
Circle :	Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis
Height :	100 m above sea level NHN
Area :	83.09 km 2
Residents:	111,846 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	1346 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes :	51427, 51429, 51465, 51467, 51469
Primaries :	02202, 02204, 02207
License plate :	GL
Community key :	05 3 78 004
City structure:	25 districts in 6 statistical districts
City administration address :	Konrad-Adenauer-Platz 1 51465 Bergisch Gladbach
Website :	www.bergischgladbach.de
Mayor :	Lutz Urbach ( CDU )
Location of the city of Bergisch Gladbach in the Rheinisch-Bergisch district

Bergisch Gladbach ( Platt : Jläbbisch ) is a large city in the Bergisches Land in North Rhine-Westphalia . As a district town , it is also the middle center of the Rheinisch-Bergisch district . In the west it borders directly on Cologne , in the north on Leverkusen , both of which are independent cities . This is followed in a clockwise direction by Odenthal , Kürten , Overath and Rösrath , all of which belong to the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis. With around 110,000 inhabitants, it is one of the smaller large cities in Germany , in 71st place.

The current city was created on January 1, 1975 as part of the regional reform in North Rhine-Westphalia , when the old city of Bergisch Gladbach became a new city through the Cologne Act with the previously independent city of Bensberg and the village of Schildgen , which belonged to the municipality of Odenthal Bergisch Gladbach was united. As a result of the merger, the population exceeded 100,000 in 1977, making Bergisch Gladbach a major city .

Geography and climate

Geographical location

Bergisch Gladbach is about ten kilometers east of the Rhine on the steeply rising western edge of the Bergische Heights against the Lower Rhine Bay . In the west the city borders on Cologne. The highest point of the urban area is the three-jumping ( 50 ° 58 '  N , 7 ° 13'  O ) to 267.3  m above sea level. NHN , the lowest is west of Refrath at the Beningsfeld sewage treatment plant at 51.2  m above sea level. NHN . The largest extension of the urban area is 12 kilometers in north-south direction and 14 kilometers in west-east direction.

City structure

View from Marien Hospital towards Herkenrath

The urban area of ​​Bergisch Gladbach is not divided into urban districts with their own district representatives . For statistical purposes, a distinction is made between only six statistical districts , which are numbered consecutively and are divided into several city ​​districts with their own names. These are mainly names for formerly smaller settlements from which today's urban area developed or for new building areas whose names have been memorized over time for better orientation. Bensberg was an independent town until 1975. Before 1975, Schildgen belonged to the municipality of Odenthal .

• Statistical district 1: Schildgen (11), Katterbach (12), Nussbaum (13), Paffrath (14), Hand (15)
• Statistical district 2: Stadtmitte (21), Hebborn (22), Heidkamp (23), Gronau (24)
• Statistical district 3: Romaney (31), Herrenstrunden (32), Sand (33)
• Statistical district 4: Herkenrath (41), Asselborn (42), Bärbroich (43)
• Statistical district 5: Lückerath (51), Bensberg (52), Bockenberg (53), Kaule (54), Moitzfeld (55)
• Statistical district 6: Refrath (61), Alt Refrath (62), Kippekausen (63), Frankenforst (64), Lustheide (65)

Climate table

Bergisch Gladbach (Cologne-Stammheim station)
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     69   7th 2     62   9 2     69   12 4th     37   16 6th     51   21st 10     78   24 14th     60   26th 15th     71   26th 15th     55   21st 12     50   16 9     71   11 5     71   9 4th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: DWD, data: 2015–2020

Average monthly temperatures and precipitation for Bergisch Gladbach (Cologne-Stammheim station) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 6.7 8.9 11.8 16.1 20.7 24.4 25.8 25.6 21.4 15.7 10.6 8.8 O 16.4 Min. Temperature (° C) 1.7 2.0 3.7 5.8 10.1 14.0 15.4 15.0 11.6 8.5 4.9 3.9 O 8.1 Temperature (° C) 4.2 5.3 7.7 11.3 15.4 19.2 20.8 20.1 16.1 11.9 7.7 6.4 O 12.2 Precipitation ( mm ) 69 62 69 37 51 78 60 71 55 50 71 71 Σ 744 Source: DWD, data: 2015–2020

history

Recent finds and excavations in 2014 and 2015 have shown that people settled in the urban area as early as Roman times. Roman lime kilns were found that can be assigned to the 1st and 2nd century AD.

middle Ages

→ Main article : Gladbach messenger office

The city of Bergisch Gladbach was first mentioned in 1271 as Gladebag . The place later developed into the core of an area consisting of a large number of residential areas. Today's urban area essentially comprised the Honors Gladbach , Gronau , Sand , Paffrath , Combüchen in the Botenamt Gladbach , Herkenrath , Bensberg , Refrath in the Botenamt Herkenrath as well as the freedom Bensberg and parts of the lordship Odenthal in the Amt Porz in the Duchy of Berg .

Early modern age

→ Main article : Mayor's office in Gladbach

In 1806 the area came under French rule, then in 1808 to the Grand Duchy of Berg and finally in 1815 to Prussia . There it initially belonged to the Jülich-Kleve-Berg Province and from 1822 to the Rhine Province . Within Prussia, the settlements initially belonged to the Gladbach mayor in the Mülheim am Rhein district . In 1848 the addition Bergisch appeared for the first time in a postmark, although it had been mentioned every now and then since the beginning of the 19th century. In 1856 Bergisch Gladbach received city ​​rights . The young city had about 5000 inhabitants. From 1863, the city officially had the addition of Bergisch , especially to distinguish it from Munich-Gladbach (initially renamed Munich Gladbach and later Mönchengladbach ) .

The 20th century

After Mülheim am Rhein was incorporated into the city of Cologne in 1914, the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis emerged in 1932 from the remaining Mülheim and Wipperfürth districts. Bergisch Gladbach became a district seat .

During the Second World War , Bergisch Gladbach and the surrounding area were largely spared from destruction. This is largely thanks to the courageous initiative of the Bergisch Gladbach citizen Karl August Vollmann (called "Charly" Vollmann), thanks to whose negotiating skills the American officers decided not to bomb Bergisch Gladbach.

In the course of the regional reform , Bergisch Gladbach and Bensberg were combined with the inclusion of the Schildgen district on January 1, 1975 under the Cologne Act to form the new town of Bergisch Gladbach. The city remained the district town of the somewhat enlarged Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis. As early as 1977, the number of inhabitants exceeded the hundred thousand mark and Bergisch Gladbach became a large city.

Bergisch Gladbach around 1880

When the two cities of Bergisch Gladbach and Bensberg were merged to form the new city of Bergisch Gladbach in 1975, new structures also had to be organized. It was decided to introduce residential spaces, which were converted into districts on November 3, 2015 . These were areas that in some cases no longer corresponded to the earlier and “felt” boundaries by the residents. For example, both cities had “centers” that one no longer wanted to refer to as such. The new residential area in Bensberg and its center retained the old name. The name Gladbach was chosen for the “center” of the old town of Bergisch Gladbach . This led occasionally to misunderstandings; therefore the city council decided on January 12, 1999 that the name Bergisch Gladbach should now apply to the entire city area. For the previous residential area in Gladbach, the council decided to introduce the name city ​​center . However, it does not exist as a “center” just around Konrad-Adenauer-Platz. It is much larger and has partially acquired areas from other former districts. For example, the former Gronau district used to go as far as the “Driescher Kreuz”; with the reorganization, Gronau ended at the railway embankment. Anything in between was added to the city center - even the Gronau inn . The Gronauerwald garden settlement also recently belonged to Heidkamp. The list goes on.

The Bergisch Gladbach city archive secures the historical records of the cities of Bergisch Gladbach (old and new city) and Bensberg as well as their residential areas and predecessor communities and makes them accessible to the public. The city archive located in the city center publishes its own series of books on the city's history.

religion

Old Catholic parish church in Refrath

Denomination statistics

According to the 2011 census , 21.2% of the population were Protestant , 43.7% Roman Catholic and 35.1% were non-denominational , belonged to another religious community or did not provide any information. The number of Protestants and Catholics has fallen since then. As of December 31, 2017, 39.2% of the population belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, 18.6% were Protestants and 42.2% were followers of other religions or did not belong to any religious community.

history

The area of ​​today's big city Bergisch Gladbach belonged from the beginning to the Archdiocese of Cologne or to its archdeaconate of the provost of St. Kunibert , deanery Deutz. The church of St. Clemens in Paffrath is the oldest parish church in the city . Gladbach and Sand later separated from the Clemens parish, and in the 19th and 20th centuries further parishes were parishes from Paffrath and Gladbach, for example Hebborn in 1912 and Gronau in 1926. Since 1827, all Catholic parishes in the area belonged to the Mülheim am Rhein deanery. Bensberg became the seat of its own deanery in 1896. Today the parishes of the city form a total of five pastoral care areas, which belong to the district dean of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis .

St. Laurentius Church

The current Catholic churches in the city are St. Laurentius (city center), St. Marien (Gronau), Holy Three Kings (Hebborn), St. Konrad (Hand), St. Josef (Heidkamp), St. Clemens (Paffrath), St. Severin (Sand), Herz Jesu (Schildgen), St. John the Baptist (Herrenstrunden), St. Nikolaus (Bensberg), St. Maria Königin (Frankenforst), St. Antonius Abbas (Herkenrath), St. Joseph (Moitzfeld) , St. Elisabeth (Refrath) and St. Johann Baptist (Refrath).

Evangelical Church of Grace

Reformed papermakers also appeared in Bergisch Gladbach for the first time in 1582 . From 1589 they belonged to the Bergische Synod. From 1610 to 1621 there was a Reformed pastor for Bergisch Gladbach and Bensberg. The Bensberg Church was left to the parishioners. But the Bergisch bailiff handed the church back to the Catholics in 1618 , after the Duke of Berg converted to Catholicism again in 1614. In the following period the area became almost completely Catholic again, but Protestants were still tolerated. Until 1638 they formed a "secret" community in Bensberg and were then looked after from Mülheim am Rhein.

In 1775 the paper manufacturer Heinrich Schnabel founded his own Reformed parish again in Bergisch Gladbach, which built its own church in 1776, today's Evangelical Church of Grace . The community belonged to the Düsseldorf class. A Lutheran congregation also came into being at that time . Both united in 1817 to form the Protestant community of Gladbach, after the union between Reformed and Lutheran communities to form the Evangelical Church in Prussia had been completed in the entire Kingdom of Prussia, to which the area now belonged . The parishioners of Bergisch Gladbach then belonged to the Mülheim Synod or Mülheim class and later came to the Cologne parish within the Rhenish provincial church, from which today's Evangelical Church in the Rhineland emerged . Protestants also settled in Bensberg again in the 19th century. They held their services in Bensberg Castle. The pastors came from Bergisch Gladbach. In 1937/1938, however, the small community was able to build its own church. Since the division of the Cologne parish in 1964, the parishes of the city of Bergisch Gladbach belong to the parish of Cologne-rechtsrheinisch within the Evangelical City Church Association of Cologne of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.

The current Protestant churches in the city are Gnadenkirche, Heilig-Geist-Kirche, Kirche zum Friedens Gottes, Kirche Zum Heilsbrunnen (Evangelical Church Community Bergisch Gladbach), Andreas Church (Evangelical Church Community Schildgen / Altenberg), Evangelical Church Bensberg , Evangelical Church Refrath, Evangelical Church Kippekausen , as well as Evangelical Church Herkenrath (Evangelical Church Community Bensberg).

In addition to the two large churches, there are two Evangelical Free Churches ( Baptists , Brethren Movement ), the Seventh-day Adventists , the New Apostolic Church and a Free Evangelical Congregation . For the 150th anniversary of the city in 2006, a documentary on the development of the religious communities in Bergisch Gladbach from 1945 to the present day was published.

Population development

In 1895 Bergisch Gladbach had around 10,000 inhabitants, and this number had doubled by 1933. By 1960 there was a further doubling to around 40,000 inhabitants. On January 1, 1975 Bergisch Gladbach with 51,771 inhabitants in 1974, most of the city of Bensberg with 47,209 inhabitants in 1974 and the district of Schildgen of the municipality of Odenthal merged to form the new town of Bergisch Gladbach . In 1977 the population of Bergisch Gladbach exceeded 100,000, making it a major city. In the wake of the refugee crisis , the population grew to a temporary high of 111,627 (2017). The proportion of foreigners rose to 10.5%.

The following overview shows the number of inhabitants according to the respective territorial status. Up to 1810 it is mostly an estimate, then census results (¹) or official updates from the respective statistical offices. From 1871, the information relates to the “local population”, from 1925 to the resident population and since 1987 to the “population at the location of the main residence”. Before 1871, the number of inhabitants was determined according to inconsistent survey procedures.

Population development of Bergisch Gladbach according to the data opposite

1773-1939 Year / date Residents 1773 1,760 1810 2,655 01 Dec 1834 1 3,764 01 Dec. 1871 1 6,192 01 Dec. 1885 1 7,928 01 Dec. 1890 1 9,500 0Dec. 2, 1895 1 10,029 01 Dec. 1900 1 11,435 0December 1, 1905 1 13,411 0December 1, 1910 1 15.207 0December 1, 1916 1 14,766 0December 5, 1917 1 15,551 0Oct 8, 1919 1 16,733 June 16, 1925 1 18,140 June 16, 1933 1 20,446 May 17, 1939 1 22,286

1945-2000 date Residents December 31, 1945 28,444 October 29, 1946 1 30,230 13 Sep 1950 1 32,681 25 Sep 1956 1 36,392 0June 6, 1961 1 41,902 Dec 31, 1965 46,416 May 27, 1970 1 49,558 December 31, 1974 1 51,771 0Jan. 1, 1975 1 98,980 2 Dec. 31, 1975 99,517 Dec 31, 1980 101,472 Dec. 31, 1985 101.112 May 25, 1987 1 100,589 Dec 31, 1990 104,037 Dec 31, 1995 105,478 Dec. 31, 2000 105,693

Since 2005 date Residents Dec 31, 2005 105,761 Dec 31, 2010 109.994 0May 9, 2011 1 108,878 Dec 31, 2015 111,366 December 31, 2016 111,341 December 31, 2017 111,627

¹ Census result

² 47,209 inhabitants through the incorporation of Bensberg - see text

politics

Bergisch Gladbach town hall

Most of the settlements in what is now Bergisch Gladbach's urban area remained relatively insignificant until the 19th century. The whole area was administered by the bailiff or senior bailiff in Porz. Since the 17th century this had an administrator. On the one hand, he was responsible for the high school in Bensberg, who was responsible for administration and police duties, and on the other hand, the waiter in Bensberg for the dominal goods and taxes. Both had their organs, treasure collectors, administrators, messengers and aldermen in Bergisch Gladbach. In 1808, the municipal constitution was introduced in Bergisch Gladbach. Thereafter, the mayor was at the head of the community, assisted by adjutants as councilors. The Mairie became the mayor's office in 1813 with a mayor and a council, which was retained even after the town was raised in 1856. However, the number of city councilors later increased from 18 to 24. In the 19th century, Bensberg also had a mayor and a council.

At the time of National Socialism , the mayors of both communities were appointed by the NSDAP . After the Second World War, the military government of the British occupation zone appointed a new mayor and in 1946 it introduced the local constitution based on the British model. Afterwards there was a city ​​council elected by the people , whose members were city ​​councilors . The council initially elected the mayor from among its members as chairman and representative of the city, who worked on a voluntary basis, and from 1946 a full-time city ​​director as head of the city administration. Since the unification of the two cities in 1975 there was only one joint mayor and one city director. In 1999 the dual leadership in the city administration was given up. Since then there has only been the full-time mayor. He is chairman of the council, head of the city administration and representative of the city. He is directly elected by the people.

On September 21, 2003, a referendum prevented the Bergisch Gladbach sewage works, including the entire sewer network , from becoming part of a cross-border leasing contract .

Election results in Bergisch Gladbach in percent

Political party	BT 2017	Lrat 2017	LT 2017	Com. 2014	BT 2013	LT 2012	Lrat 2011	LT 2010	BT 2009	Com. 2009	EU 2009	BT 2005	LT 2005	Com. 2004	EU 2004
CDU	34.36	42.35	34.66	41.85	41.82	24.95	49.0	36.7	34.7	40.3	38.4	35.9	45.10	36.83	43.8
SPD	21.47	25.63	26.10	24.13	26.55	34.18	30.39	28.7	24.0	24.9	20.2	34.1	32.85	26.96	21.9
B90 / greens	10.10	11.73	8.51	15.90	10.09	14.54	14.36	15.9	12.4	13.1	15.8	9.8	8.26	13.60	16.2
FDP	16.16	12.98	16.25	5.61	7.01	13.89	-	8.3	18.0	10.0	16.0	13.6	9.44	10.68	10.2
The left	6.90	7.32	4.44	4.36	5.41	2.09	3.79	4.8	6.6	3.4	3.4	4.2	2.81	-	1.7
Democrat 14	-	-	-	1.18	-	-	-	-	-	3.8	-	-	-	6.47	-
BfBB	-	-	-	0.44	-	-	-	-	-	4.4	-	-	-	5.45	-
AfD	7.77	-	6.22	4.40	4.90	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Pirate party	0.30	-	0.73	-	1.89	6.95	-	1.12	1.4	-	0.7	-	-	-	-
Citizens' Party GL	-	-	-	1.7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
voter turnout	80.30	75.03	71.20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

City Council

See also : Local elections in Bergisch Gladbach

City council election 2014

Turnout: 54.35%

 %

50

40

30th

20th

10

0

41.9

24.1

15.9

5.6

4.4

4.4

1.7

1.2

CDU

SPD

Green

FDP

AfD

left

BGL

D14

Gains and losses

compared to 2009

 % p

   6th

   4th

   2

   0

  -2

  -4

  -6

+1.6

-0.8

+2.8

-4.4

+4.4

+1.0

+1.7

-2.6

CDU

SPD

Green

FDP

AfD

left

BGL

D14

Allocation of seats in 2014 in the city council

       

A total of 62 seats

• Left : 3
• SPD : 15
• Greens : 10
• CDU : 26
• FDP : 3
• ALFA : 3
• Non-attached : 2

The city council (officially, according to § 5 paragraph 1 of the main statute: "Council of the City of Bergisch Gladbach") is the municipal representative of the city of Bergisch Gladbach. Every six years, citizens decide on the allocation of the 52 seats in a general, direct, free, equal and secret ballot. 26 council members are elected directly in the 26 constituencies, the remaining council members move into the city council via the electoral lists. Due to overhang mandates and compensatory mandates, the City Council of Bergisch Gladbach has 62 seats after the 2014 municipal elections.

Current distribution of seats in the city council
fraction		Seats
	Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)	26th
	Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)	16
	Alliance 90 / The Greens (Greens)	9
	ALFA	3
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	3
	The Left with Citizens' Party GL	3
	non-attached (1 Democrative14)	1
	non-attached (1 Die Linke)	1

The council member elected for the Democratic14 voter group initially joined the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and its council group after the election , which increased the number of AfD council members to four. In the meantime, the AfD council members are oriented towards the Alliance for Progress and Awakening (ALFA), which have renamed themselves Liberal-Conservative Reformers . The Councilor of the Democrats14 did not follow this change and is now non-attached.

Mayor from 1808 until today

• 1808–1820: Franz Heinrich Fauth
• 1820–1842: Johann Anton Kolter
• 1842–1847: Heinrich August Kolter
• 1847–1863: Jakob Herweg
• 1863-1892: August Clostermann
• 1892–1896: Carl Echelmeyer
• 1897–1914: Bernhard Schröter
• 1914–1920: Hermann Pütz
• 1921–1928: Johann Odenthal
• 1928–1933: Franz Weber
• 1933–1939: Franz Alfons jacket ( NSDAP )
• 1939–1945: Walter Kappes (NSDAP)
• 1945–1946: Joseph Geyser
• 1946–1950: Franz-Josef Heider ( CDU )
• 1950–1952: Ignaz Tenckhoff
• 1952–1956: Moritz Weig
• 1956–1957: Johann Mick
• 1957–1963: Fritz Wachendorff
• 1963–1974: Heinz Fröling (CDU)
• 1975–1984: Franz Karl Burgmer (CDU)
• 1984–1989: Franz Heinrich Krey (CDU)
• 1989–1994: Holger Pfleger ( SPD )
• 1994–2004: Maria Theresia Opladen (CDU)
• 2004–2009: Klaus Orth (SPD)
• since October 21, 2009: Lutz Urbach (CDU)

Town hall main portal

City directors from 1946 to 1999

• 1946–1947: Aloys Nell
• 1947–1948: Josef Hermanns
• 1948–1969: Peter Kentenich
• 1970–1995: Otto Fell
• 1995–1999: Hans-Joachim Franke (CDU)

Coat of arms, flag and banner

The city of Bergisch Gladbach was granted the right to carry a coat of arms, a seal, a flag and a banner with a certificate from the District President in Cologne dated April 6, 1977.

Blazon : "In green above a silver (white) alternating crenellated bar, a growing red-tongued and red-armored golden (yellow) lion, underneath a golden (yellow) stag's head."

Justification of the coat of arms: The Bergische Löwe is the heraldic animal of the county or the Duchy of Berg, which had possessions in the area very early on. It could also be seen in the old Bergisch Gladbach coat of arms. The deer head is taken from the old Bensberg coat of arms and is intended to indicate the forest, which played an important role in Bensberg throughout history. The alternating pinnacle bar, taken from the historical coat of arms of the Counts of Berg, is intended to refer to the Bergisches Land and connect the symbols of both cities. He was also shown in the old Bergisch Gladbach coat of arms.

Description of the flag according to the main statute: “The horizontal division of the flag is green-white-green. The two outer green stripes each take up one sixth, the middle white stripe four sixths of the width of the flag. ”In fact, different versions of the flag or banner are shown.

• 

  Coat of arms from 1905–1977

• 

  Coat of arms of the former city of Bensberg

• 

  flag

• 

  banner

• 

  alternative flag

• 

  alternative banner

Town twinning

In order to enable friendships and contacts across borders, especially young people, the city of Bergisch Gladbach maintains friendly relationships with ten cities in eight countries.

Bourgoin-Jallieu Luton Velsen Joinville-le-Pont Runnymede Marijampolė Limassol Pszczyna Beit Jala Ganei Tikva

Sister cities of Bergisch Gladbach

country		place		region	since
France		Bourgoin-Jallieu		Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes	1956
United Kingdom		Luton		Bedfordshire	1956
Netherlands		Velsen		North Holland	1956
France		Joinville-le-Pont		Île-de-France	1960
United Kingdom		Runnymede		Surrey	1965
Lithuania		Marijampolė		Marijampolė	1989
Cyprus		Limassol		Limassol	1991
Poland		Pszczyna		Silesia	1993
Palestine		Beit Jala		West Bank	2011
Israel		Ganei Tikva		Gush Dan	2012

Dedication of squares and streets

On September 10, 2016, the city of Bergisch Gladbach inaugurated the Sister Cities Square , which is dedicated to all Sister Cities. It is located between the S-Bahn station , Marktkauf and the pedestrian zone. In addition, two cities were dedicated to squares and five cities to streets. This resulted in the following breakdown:

Places

• Beit Jala Square in the city center district
• Ganey-Tikva-Platz in the Hebborn district

Streets

• Bourgoinstrasse in the Gronau district
• Lutonstrasse in the Gronau district
• Marijampolestrasse in the Hand district
• Plesser Strasse in the Hand district
• Velsenstrasse in the Gronau district

Culture and sights

Town hall in the Bensberg district

Buildings

A nationally known sight and one of the city's landmarks is the town hall in the Bensberg district (popularly: "Affenfelsen"), a design by the architect Gottfried Böhm , who integrated the new building into the old castle complex instead of restoring it . The Bergischer Löwe community center , the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the Schildgen district and the Bethanien children's village in the Refrath district also came from the same architect . Probably the oldest building in the city and in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis is the baptistery in Refrath. It was built between the 10th and 12th centuries and stands on the foundations of a wooden church from the 9th century. The adjoining small cemetery with its old tombstones is also worth seeing. Other churches worth mentioning are: St. Laurentius , the town's main Catholic parish church in neo-Romanesque style, which was built in several construction phases and was only completed at the beginning of the 20th century; Inside, the figures of saints from 1411 and the church treasure are particularly worth seeing, as is the Evangelical Church of Grace , which was built in 1776 as a reformed church. In Bensberg, the parish church of St. Nicholas is the main Catholic church. The Protestant church was only built in 1937/38.

Blackboard in the Bergisch Gladbach town hall

Bensberg Castle

Villa Zanders with integrated urban gallery

Other sights of the city are Schloss Bensberg , the hunting lodge built by the Venetian architect Matteo d'Alberti from 1703 to 1711 for Elector Jan Wellem in Bensberg, which was also described by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Schloss Lerbach in Sand , Burg Zweiffel and the Maltese Commandery in Herrenstrunden . The Bergisch Gladbach town hall , built in 1905/1906 in the historicist style by the architect Ludwig Bopp , is located on the Konrad-Adenauer-Platz in the city center . There are also the Villa Zanders , the Bergischer Löwe community center and the Wirtshaus am Bock , which is structurally connected to the town hall by a walkway. In the former town house of Hans Wilhelm Zanders of today's Altenberg Cathedral Club and the paper-historical collection Zanders housed. The museums include the Alte Dombach Paper Museum , the Bergisches Museum for Mining, Crafts and Trades , the Bergisch Gladbach School Museum – Cüppers Collection and the North Rhine-Westphalia Kindergarten Museum .

The Cardinal Schulte House , built in 1924 as a seminary by the architect Bernhard Rotterdam, is located in the Bockenberg district and today houses the Thomas More Academy Bensberg under the auspices of the Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

theatre

Bergisch Gladbach has a total of three theaters: the aforementioned Bergischer Löwe as a guest theater, the theater in the puppet pavilion in Bensberg with a focus on puppet theater and a literary program, and the Theas-Theater with an attached theater school, which focuses particularly on social and educational projects.

Restaurants

Lerbach Castle

Two restaurants in Bergisch Gladbach have received awards from the Gault-Millau restaurant guide in the past . Both have also been awarded Michelin stars :

• Joachim Wissler in the Vendôme restaurant in Schloss Bensberg with three stars
• Dieter Müller in Lerbach Castle from February 1992 to February 2008 with three stars; immediately followed by Nils Henkel , also briefly with three stars, then with two stars.

Until Henkel lost its third star in 2011, Bergisch Gladbach was the only place in Germany with two three-star restaurants besides Baiersbronn . However, the Henkel restaurant closed in early 2015.

Culture award

Once a year, the City Association of Culture awards the culture prize Der Bopp, named after Ludwig Bopp, for outstanding projects of artistic collaboration.

See also

• List of architectural monuments in Bergisch Gladbach
• List of ground monuments in Bergisch Gladbach
• List of stumbling blocks in Bergisch Gladbach
• List of museums in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis
• List of nature reserves in the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis

The mills on the round

The literature on the mills on the Strunde is extensive, but the exact number is unknown. Around 1846 there were 51 mills that were listed. Only the Iddelsfeld mill is still fully functional today .

Economy and industry

Zanders paper mill, Gohrsmühle

• The history of the Zanders paper factory begins in 1822. This company was the largest employer in the city for many decades. The company buildings are in the city center.
• The Isover provides insulation products and systems for heat, cold, noise and fire her. From far away you can see the company's tall chimney at the train station in the city center.
• In the environment of the station earlier more companies, including who were lime kilns Cox , the mechanical engineering company Berger & Co and the foundry and Transport Equipment Factory H. Köttgen & Co .
• The Joh. Heider Verlag was founded in 1889. He has his business on Paffrather Strasse.
• The food manufacturer Krüger has been one of the leading food manufacturers in Germany since the 1970s. The company is located in the Zinkhütte industrial park.
• The Lübbe publishing group with Bastei-Verlag was based in Bergisch Gladbach on Scheidtbachstraße until 2009.
• The biotechnology company Miltenyi Biotec is headquartered in the city.
• In the TechnologiePark Bergisch Gladbach business park, around 140 small and medium-sized companies have settled on an area of ​​32.5 hectares. Together they employ around 2,400 people.

Infrastructure

Road traffic

The federal motorway 4 runs through the southern urban area from Cologne to Olpe , which already crosses the A 3 Frankfurt – Cologne – Oberhausen in the west of the city in the Cologne city area . The federal highways 55 and 506 also run through the city.

On January 1, 2018, 72,682 motor vehicles were registered in Bergisch Gladbach , of which 63,633 were cars , 5,220 motorcycles and 3,574  commercial vehicles .

Special structures

In the area of ​​the city there are two nationwide unique special structures for road traffic:

• At the Driescher roundabout , which was inaugurated in 2008 , four streets converge (Stationsstraße, An der Gohrsmühle, Hauptstraße and Kalkstraße), next to the roundabout run two separate right-turn lanes. A railroad track runs through the middle of the roundabout and serves as a connection for the Zanders paper mill . In addition to 14 barriers and 22 light signals, eight acoustic signal systems were installed to secure all footpaths and lanes. An eight-minute video about the operation of the barrier system can be found on YouTube under the title Largest Level Crossing in Germany .
• At the Schnabelsmühle roundabout, which was inaugurated in 2017 , three streets converge (Schnabelsmühle, Bensberger Straße and An der Gohrsmühle), a right-turn lane runs far apart from the district. In contrast to a normal roundabout, you cannot drive completely around the roundabout on the right-hand side, the right lane leads directly to the right at the next exit. Accordingly, the center of the square is not circular, but rather resembles the triangular rotor (piston) of a Wankel engine .

S-Bahn at Bergisch Gladbach station

Bus station adjacent to the S-Bahn station

Local public transport (ÖPNV)

The public transport in and around Bergisch Gladbach is of different transport companies within the transport association Rhein-Sieg offered (VRS).

From the Bergisch Gladbach train station in the city ​​center , the S11 S-Bahn runs every 20 minutes during the week and every 30 minutes on the weekend to Cologne and further on the left bank of the Rhine via Neuss to Düsseldorf Airport . A second stop is in Duckterath . The tram line 1 of the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB) runs from the Bensberg underground station via the Neumarkt in Cologne to Cologne-Weiden . Another direct connection to Cologne is the express bus from Bensberg bus station to Cologne main station .

The bus station at the S-Bahn station in the city center and the Bensberg bus station serve as central junctions and transfer points, both from the bus lines to the S-Bahn or city train and between the bus lines. Bus traffic in Bergisch Gladbach and the surrounding area is carried out by Kraftverkehr Wupper-Sieg (KWS) and Regionalverkehr Köln (RVK). The Stadtverkehrsgesellschaft Bergisch Gladbach is the responsible authority for the public transport in Bergisch Gladbach.

See also : Cologne-Lindlar railway , suburban railway line Cologne Bergisch Gladbach and suburban railway line Cologne Bensberg

media

• The daily newspapers Bergische Landeszeitung and Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger maintain a joint local editorial office in the city center, which is responsible for the respective weekday local parts of the publications.
• The Bergisches Handelsblatt , an advertising paper distributed free of charge weekly in newspaper format with an editorial focus on local events in the region, is based in Bergisch Gladbach.
• GLkompakt is a monthly magazine distributed free of charge.
• The Bergisch Gladbach citizen portal is a digital news and communication service that reports on all events in the city via the website, newsletter and social media. It serves as a publication platform for citizens, initiatives and associations.
• The Bergische pulse is an institutionally independent free news portal and online magazine based in Bergisch Gladbach.

Public facilities

Bergisch Gladbach is the seat of the Rheinisch-Bergisch district . The Frankenforst district has been the seat of the Federal Highway Research Institute since 1983 , and the Bensberg earthquake station , an institution of the University of Cologne, is located in Bockenberg .

Bergisch Gladbach has a volunteer fire brigade with approx. 205 volunteers and 140 full-time workers in two continuously manned fire stations and three rescue stations.

The Federal Agency for Technical Relief is represented by a local association in Bergisch Gladbach .

Events

• The Bergische Bautage takes place every year in autumn .
• In April 2008, the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis organized the first day of Rheinisch-Bergische history in Bergisch Gladbach .
• Every year, part of the route from Around Cologne leads through Bergisch Gladbach. The route highlight is the mountain classification, over the cobblestone passage, at Bensberg Castle .
• In the Refrath district, the Rund in Refrath cycle race takes place once a year, which is organized by the Staubwolke Refrath cycling club.

education

The city has a wide range of general and vocational schools. The primary level in the urban area is covered by 20 primary schools.

The following school facilities exist for secondary level I and secondary level II :

Special schools

• Special school for the language handicapped in Paffrath
• Friedrich-Froebel-Förderschule in Moitzfeld
• Wilhelm-Wagener-Förderschule in Refrath

Secondary schools

• All-day secondary school Ahornweg
• Secondary school in Kleefeld in Hebborn

Realschulen

• Johannes Gutenberg Secondary School in Kaule
• Otto Hahn Secondary School in Kippekausen
• Herkenrath secondary school
• Realschule Im Kleefeld in Hebborn

Comprehensive schools

• Integrated comprehensive school Paffrath (IGP)
• Nelson Mandela Comprehensive School Gronau / Heidkamp (Ahornweg)

High schools

• Albertus Magnus High School in Kaule
• Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium in Heidkamp
• Herkenrath high school
• Nicolaus Cusanus High School
• Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg in Kippekausen

Replacement school of its own kind

• Free Waldorf School Bergisch Gladbach in Refrath

Vocational schools in Bergisch Gladbach

• Vocational college Bergisch Gladbach for nutrition and housekeeping, design, social and health care and technology in Heidkamp
• Vocational college Bergisch Gladbach - commercial schools in Heidkamp
• Vocational College for Applied Computer Science bib International College

Tertiary education

• The Fachhochschule der Wirtschaft concentrates its range of courses on the areas of business administration and business informatics, in which it offers dual and part-time Bachelor and Master courses.
• Volkshochschule Bergisch Gladbach in the sponsorship of the city with offers also in Odenthal and Kürten
• Education forum Bergisch Gladbach sponsored by the education center of the Archdiocese of Cologne , in which the Catholic family education center Bergisch Gladbach and the Catholic education center Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis are combined
• Thomas-More-Akademie Bensberg supported by the Diocesan Council of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Cologne

As a cultural educational offer, the city's Max Bruch Music School offers musical training in different musical styles.

The Bergisch Gladbach city ​​library offers media and information for basic, advanced and advanced training, for hobbies and leisure.

Personalities

→ Main article : List of personalities of the city of Bergisch Gladbach

The list includes honorary citizens of the city, locally born personalities as well as those who have or had their sphere of activity in Bergisch Gladbach.

Associations (extract, alphabetically)

Culture and customs

• BONO-Direkthilfe, a non-governmental organization, works for children's and women's rights in developing countries
• Citizens for us Pänz
• Festival Committee Bensberg Carnival from 1969
• Association of the Bergisches Museum for mining, handicraft and trade
• Friends of the Bergisch Gladbach School Museum
• Galerie + Schloss, society for the promotion of tradition and modernity in Bergisch Gladbach
• Big Bensberger KG from 1968 red and white
• Large Gladbach Carnival Society
• KAJUJA Bergisch Gladbach
• KG Alt-Paffrath
• KG Bensberger Guard Black and White 1971
• KG De Schinghellije eV
• KG Löstige Stänedräjer
• KG Narrenzunft Bergisch Gladbach founded in 1951
• KG Schlader Botze 1958
• Prinzengarde from 1966 of the Große Gladbacher KG
• Sankt Sebastianus Schützenbruderschaft Schildgen 1907, organizer of the Diocesan Young Rifle Day Cologne 2007
• Stadtverband Kultur, umbrella organization of the free, around 5000 people, awards the culture prize Der Bopp , named after Ludwig Bopp , on May 21, the International Day for Cultural Development
• City partnership Bergisch Gladbach – Beit Jala
• Association for the preservation and care of local customs

BELKAW-Arena, stadium of SV Bergisch Gladbach 09

sports clubs

• Bergisch Gladbach Lions, American Football
• Bergisch Gladbacher Billardclub 1926 eV Billard
• Bergischer Luftsportverein
• SV blue-white hand, handball , football , popular sports
• DJK SSV Ommerborn Sand, including football
• ESV Bergisch Gladbach, ice hockey
• FC Bensberg, football
• FC Hebborn 1998
• Karate Community Bergisch Gladbach 1998
• RSV Staubwolke Refrath 1952, cycling
• SG Pegasus Rommerscheid 1991, including Korfball
• Bergisch Gladbach Ski Club
• SV Refrath, football, tennis and sailing
• SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 , football
• SV Bergisch Gladbach 1920/71, swimming
• SSV Jan Wellem 05 Bergisch Gladbach
• TC Grün-Gold Bensberg, tennis
• THC Rot-Weiß Bergisch Gladbach , Hockey
• Gymnastics Association Bergisch Gladbach 1879
• TuS Schildgen 1932 , including Korfball
• TV Herkenrath , including football, gymnastics , athletics
• TV Refrath , including athletics and gymnastics
• TV Bensberg , basketball , gym wheel
• SC 27 Bergisch Gladbach

Media reception of the city

Inclusion in the Duden

In 2017 Bergisch Gladbach was included in the 27th edition of the Duden .

The "Bergisch Gladbach case" in the investigation of cases of sexual abuse

Bergisch Gladbach has been a nationwide topic in the media since October 2019 after the sexual abuse of at least 21 children between eleven months and fourteen years (throughout Germany) with the production of child pornographic material, the first case of which presumably took place in the city, became known. As of December 2019, 31 suspects had been identified, ten of whom were in custody.

On June 29, 2020, investigators found traces of more than 30,000 suspects who were not only concerned with the distribution and possession of child pornography, but also with serious child abuse.

In August 2020, Chief Public Prosecutor Markus Hartmann, Head of the Central and Contact Point Cybercrime NRW (ZAC NRW) spoke of "a new dimension in the Bergisch Gladbach case".

literature

• Johann Bendel : Heimatbuch des Landkreis Mülheim am Rhein, history and description, legends and tales , Cologne-Mülheim 1925
• Kurt Kluxen : History of Bensberg . Paderborn 1976
• Willi Fritzen: The old count and ducal residence of Bensberg . Bergisch Gladbach 1985
• Hans Leonhard Brenner : The history of the lime distillery in Bergisch Gladbach , Bergisch Gladbach 1992, ISBN 3-88265-171-7
• Manfred Jahnke: 150 years of post in Bergisch Gladbach , Bergisch Gladbach 1992
• Rolf-Dieter Bauche: Papermaker in Bergisch Gladbach , Bergisch Gladbach 1993, ISBN 3-7927-1389-6
• Andree Schulte, Bergisch Gladbach, city history in street names , published by the Bergisch Gladbach City Archives, Volume 3, and by the Bergisches Geschichtsverein Department Rhein-Berg eV, Volume 11, Bergisch Gladbach 1995, ISBN 3-9804448-0-5
• Dörte Gernert: School attendance and factory work in Bergisch Gladbach in the 19th century , Bergisch Gladbach 1998
• Sabine Schachtner: Bergisch Gladbach and the development of the paper industry in Germany in the 19th and 20th centuries , Bergisch Gladbach 1998, ISBN 3-7927-1561-9
• Peter Köster: City marriage - The reorganization of Bensberg and Bergisch Gladbach 1964-1976 . Bergisch Gladbach city archive. Contributions to the history of the city of Bergisch Gladbach Volume 6. Bergisch Gladbach 1999. ISBN 3-9804448-3-X
• Gerhard Geurts : carts, kettles and grenades, history of the metal industry in Bergisch Gladbach, Bergisch Gladbach 2000, ISBN 3-9804448-5-6
• Eva Kistemann: Commercial-industrial cultural landscape in protection and planning concepts Bergisch Gladbach 1820–1999 , 1st edition 2000
• Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts, Herbert Ommer : The legacy of ore - The white mine . Bergisch Gladbach 2003, ISBN 3-00-011243-X
• Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts, Herbert Ommer: The legacy of ore , Volume 2, The pits on the Gangerz deposits in the ore district Bensberg . Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-00-014668-7
• Manfred-Walter Kautz, Michael Werling: "Against forgetting" . The old Protestant cemetery at the Gnadenkirche in Bergisch Gladbach. Documentation in text, images and drawings, published by the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Architecture and Volume 42 of the series of publications by the Bergisches Geschichtsverein department Rhein-Berg, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-932326-42-3
• Lothar Speer: The first mention of Bensberg in the document from 1138/1139. Who did Bensberg Castle belong to in the 12th century? . In: Heimat between Sülz and Dhünn 12, 2005, pp. 4–8
• Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts, Hans-Dieter Hilden, Herbert Ommer: The legacy of ore , Volume 3, The pits in the Paffrath Kalkmulde . Bergisch Gladbach 2006, ISBN 3-932326-49-0
• Albert Eßer: Bergisch Gladbach City History , Contributions to the History of the City of Bergisch Gladbach Volume 9, published by the Bergisch Gladbach City Archives 2006, ISBN 3-9804448-6-4
• Herbert Stahl (editor), Gerhard Geurts, Hans-Dieter Hilden, Herbert Ommer, Siegfried Raimann: Das Erbe des Erzes , Volume 4, Der Lüderich , Bergisch Gladbach 2008, ISBN 3-932326-52-0
• Herbert Stahl (editor), Das Erbe des Erzes , Volume 5, New news and stories about the Bensberg ore district , Bergisch Gladbach 2014, ISBN 978-3-00-044826-3
• Andree Schulte: Bergisch Gladbach, city history in street names. Second edition supplemented and newly illustrated by Albert Eßer, published by the Bergisch Gladbach City Archives and the Bergisches Geschichtsverein Rhein-Berg eV, Bergisch Gladbach 2015, ISBN 978-3-9813488-4-2

Web links

Commons : Bergisch Gladbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Bergisch Gladbach  - Travel Guide

• Official website of the city of Bergisch Gladbach
• Geoportal of Bergisch Gladbach with the boundaries of the city districts

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population of the municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia on December 31, 2019 - update of the population based on the census of May 9, 2011. State Office for Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia (IT.NRW), accessed on June 17, 2020 .   ( Help on this )
2. ↑ ^{a b} Residential areas become urban districts: After 17 years, the council decided to restructure the Bergisch Gladbach area. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, local edition for Bergisch Gladbach from November 24, 2015
3. ^ ^{A b} Andree Schulte: Bergisch Gladbach, city history in street names. Bergisch Gladbach 1995, ISBN 3-9804448-0-5
4. ^ German Weather Service: Climatic Information Bergisch Gladbach. wetterdienst.de, accessed on April 15, 2020 . 
5. ^ Archeology in Bergisch Gladbach: Roman bricks pose a riddle. Retrieved June 23, 2016 . 
6. ↑ See Meyers 1905: Bergisch-Gladbach or Brockhaus 1911: Bergisch-Gladbach .
7. ↑ Information about Charly Vollmann on the homepage of the city of Bergisch Gladbach
8. ↑ Martin Bünermann, Heinz Köstering: The communities and districts after the municipal territorial reform in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-555-30092-X .
9. ↑ Poing Religion , 2011 census
10. ↑ City of Bergisch Gladbach: [ https://www.bergischgladbach.de/bevoelkerung.aspx ] Retrieved on June 16, 2019
11. ↑ Catholic. Rhenish. Bergisch. Retrieved January 17, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Glaubgl.de: Development of the religious communities in Bergisch Gladbach from 1945 to today
13. ^ State database North Rhine-Westphalia. November 6, 2018, accessed November 6, 2018 . 
14. ^ City of Bergisch Gladbach: City Council , accessed on August 25, 2017
15. ^ Rolf Nagel: Rheinisches Wappenbuch . Rheinland-Verlag, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-7927-0816-7 , p. 197 .
16. ^ City of Bergisch Gladbach: Main statutes of the city of Bergisch Gladbach, § 2. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on November 23, 2015 ; Retrieved February 7, 2014 . 
17. ↑ s. Flags and banners and the references there
18. ^ City of Bergisch Gladbach: town twinning
19. ↑ Bergisch Gladbach celebrates town twinning, accessed on July 17, 2018
20. ^ Carsten Henn: Michelin-starred restaurant: Vendôme is the tenth best restaurant. In: ksta.de. April 30, 2013, accessed February 7, 2016 . 
21. ↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger : Seven stars redistributed. dated November 8, 2011
22. ↑ New Michelin Guide: Three stars for the high-tech chef. In: Spiegel Online . November 8, 2011, accessed February 7, 2016 . 
23. ↑ Christine Scharrenbroch: Schlosshotel Lerbach will soon be empty. In: FAZ.net . December 15, 2014, accessed February 7, 2016 . 
24. ↑ DER BOPP - Kulturpreis des Stadtverband Kultur ( Memento from February 7, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 7, 2016
25. ↑ Vincent von Zuccalmaglio : History and description of the city and the district of Mülheim a. R. , Cologne 1846 pp. 203f.
26. ↑ Mobility in North Rhine-Westphalia - data and facts 2018/2019. In: Road traffic. Ministry of Building, Housing, Urban Development and Transport of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, p. 66 (PDF; 14.2 MB, holdings on January 1, 2018).
27. ↑ Driescher Kreuz: Limited joy in the first test. Retrieved May 27, 2017 . 
28. ↑ Germany's largest level crossing "Driescher Kreisel" , accessed on May 27, 2017
29. ↑ The Bergisch Gladbach turbo gyro in the test. Retrieved May 27, 2017 .  (with picture view from above)
30. ^ Citizen portal Bergisch Gladbach , accessed on June 1, 2017
31. ^ Fire brigade - City of Bergisch Gladbach. Retrieved January 4, 2020 . 
32. ↑ THW OV Bergisch Gladbach - Home. Retrieved January 4, 2020 . 
33. ↑ rp-online.de, August 8, 2017
34. ↑ Child abuse in Bergisch Gladbach - More and more suspects across Germany on Deutschlandfunk from December 2, 2019
35. ↑ Investigators find traces of more than 30,000 suspects in the abuse case in Frankfurter Allgemeine on June 29, 2020
36. ↑ "Child Abuse | Senior Public Prosecutor speaks of a new dimension in the Bergisch Gladbach case ”. ZEIT ONLINE , August 4, 2020, accessed on August 14, 2020 .