Bergisch Gladbach

Geography

Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and about 10 km east of Cologne.

City structure

The urban area of Bergisch Gladbach is not divided into city districts (Stadtbezirke) with their own district representation. For statistical purposes, there are six statistical districts (statistische Bezirke), which are numbered consecutively and are divided into several districts (de: Stadtteile) with their own names. These are mainly name of former smaller settlements from which today's urban area developed, or new development 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: City Center (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)

Neighbouring municipalities

Beginning in the north, the neighbouring municipalities and neighbouring towns are clockwise Odenthal, Kürten, Overath, Rösrath, Cologne, and Leverkusen.

History

Early settlements existed in the 13th century, but the town was officially founded only in 1856.

The word Bergisch in the name does not originate from its location in the county of Berg, and it was not added to distinguish it from Mönchengladbach, as is believed by many people, but from the counts who gave their name to the region.

In the early 12th century, the counts of Berg settled in the area, which later became the Duchy of Berg (under Napoleon, it became a grand duchy). That is where the first part of the name (Bergisch) comes from, the town being located in the former County of Berg. The town is the administrative headquarters (Kreisstadt) of the Rheinish-Bergisch district (Kreis).

The second part of the name, Gladbach, originates from Low Rhenish (Bergisches Platt) and means canalised stream in reference to the small river (the Strunde) that was artificially canalised in early medieval times. In Bergisch Platt, the regional dialect, gelaat (laid) eventually evolved to glad (the 'd' is often pronounced as a 't'). The second part of the word, Bach, is the Standard German word for a small stream and refers to the Strunde.

In 1975, the town incorporated the neighbouring Bensberg, and when it reached a population of 100,000 in 1977, it was given city status.

Economy

Paper manufacturing, printing, glass wool manufacturing, chocolate and high-tech industries are a large part of Bergisch Gladbach's economy.

Transport

Line 1 of Cologne Stadtbahn runs from Bensberg station in Bergisch Gladbach via Kalk, Heumarkt, Friesenplatz, Junkersdorf and Lindenthal to Köln-Weiden West station.

Suburban train line S11 of Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn runs from Bergisch Gladbach station via Cologne and Düsseldorf downtown to Düsseldorf Airport terminal.

Bergisch Gladbach is located in the area of the fare association Rheinland-Tarif.

The city is served by Cologne Bonn Airport, which is located 15 km (9 mi) south of Bergisch Gladbach. Other nearest airport is Düsseldorf Airport, located 54 km (34 mi) north west.

Politics

Mayor

The current mayor of Bergisch Gladbach is Marcel Kreuz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who was elected in 2025.

Previous mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

City council

The Bergisch Gladbach city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 14 September 2025, and the results were as follows:

Twin towns – sister cities

Bergisch Gladbach is twinned with:

Notable people

Markus von Ahlen (born 1971), footballer and coach

Rüdiger Baldauf (born 1961), jazz musician

Astrid Benöhr (born 1957), endurance athlete

Sebastian Blomberg (born 1972), actor

Wolfgang Bosbach (born 1952), politician (CDU)

Karl Budde (1850–1935), Protestant theologian

Armin Falk (born 1968), economist

Markus Feldenkirchen (born 1975), journalist

Philomena Franz (1922 - 2022), Sinti writer and activist

Vanessa Fuchs (born 1996), Germany's Next Topmodel winner of the season 2015

Kerstin Gier (born 1966), author

Volker Goetze (born 1972), German born, New York based musician composer and filmmaker

Fabian Hambüchen (born 1987), artistic gymnast

Götz Heidelberg (1923–2017), physicist, constructor and entrepreneur

Waldemar Henrici (1878–1950), general and Reichsarbeitsdienstführer

Mats Hummels (born 1988), footballer

Hubert Käppel (born 1951), guitarist and music pedagogue

Secondary schools in Bergisch Gladbach

Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium Bensberg/Bergisch Gladbach

Gymnasium Herkenrath/Bergisch Gladbach

Nicolaus-Cusanus-Gymnasium Bergisch Gladbach

Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Bensberg/Bergisch Gladbach

Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium Bergisch Gladbach

Integrierte-Gesamtschule-Paffrath Bergisch Gladbach