Bergisch Gladbach

Bergisch Gladbach
	Bergisch Gladbach
	Forecourt of Schloss Bensberg
	Bergisch Gladbach
Location of the town of Bergisch Gladbach within Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis district
Coordinates	51°06′N 7°07′E / 51.100°N 7.117°ECoordinates: 51°06′N 7°07′E / 51.100°N 7.117°E
	Administration
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Cologne
District	Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis
City subdivisions	6
Mayor	Lutz Urbach (CDU)
	Basic statistics
Area	83.12 km2 (32.09 sq mi)
Elevation	51 - 267 m
Population	105,836 (31 December 2011)
- Density	1,273 /km2 (3,298 /sq mi)
	Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	GL
Postal codes	51401-51469
Area codes	02202, 02204, 02207
Website	www.bergischgladbach.de

Bergisch Gladbach ( listen (help·info)) is a town in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district).

Geography[edit]

Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of Cologne.

Neighbouring municipalities[edit]

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

History[edit]

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

Old castle and town hall of Bensberg

The word Bergisch in the name does not originate from its location in the earldom of Berg and was not added to distinguish it from Mönchengladbach as believed by many people, but from the earls who gave their name to the region. At the start of the 12th century the earls of "Berg" settled in the area and it became the grand duchy of Berg. This is where the first part of the name (Bergisch) comes from.

The second part of the name is a lot harder to explain in English, as it originates from Low German (Bergisches Platt). The word "Gladbach" refers to the small river (the Strunde) which was artificially canalised in early medieval times. Basically the river was laid which is gelaat in Bergisch Platt, the regional dialect. During the centuries the word gelaat evolved and was rounded by the people to glad (the German 'd' is pronounced as a 't'). The second part of the word, bach is the standard German word for stream, referring in this case to the Strunde. In short, Gladbach means a canalised stream.

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

Economy[edit]

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

International relations[edit]

Bergisch Gladbach is twinned with:

Country	Place	County / District / Region / State	Date
France	Bourgoin-Jallieu	Rhône-Alpes	1956
United Kingdom	Luton	Bedfordshire	1956
Netherlands	Velsen	North Holland	1956
France	Joinville-le-Pont		1960
United Kingdom	Runnymede		1965
Lithuania	Marijampolė		1989
Cyprus	Limassol		1991
Poland	Pszczyna	Silesian voivodship, pszczyński county, Pszczyna gmina	1993
Palestine	Beit Jala	West Bank	2010