Rhein-Erft-Kreis

The Rhein-Erft-Kreis is a district in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Flag of Rhein-Erft-Kreis
Coat of arms of Rhein-Erft-Kreis
North rhine w bm.png
Country Germany
StateNorth Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. regionCologne
CapitalBergheim
Area
 • Total704.5 km2 (272.0 sq mi)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total455,487
 • Density646.54/km2 (1,674.53/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registrationBM
Websitehttp://www.rhein-erft-kreis.de

History

The district in its current borders was created in 1975, when the previous rural districts of Bergheim and Cologne were merged. On November 1, 2003 the district was renamed from Erftkreis to Rhein-Erft-Kreis.

Geography

The main river in the district is the Erft, which also gave it the name. The Erft flows through the foothills of the Eifel, on the left side of the Rhine river.

Coat of arms

  The coat of arms shows the lion of Jülich in the left half, as most of the area belonged to the duchy of Jülich. The right side shows the Cologne cross, which stands for the former Cologne district. On top the Erft river is depicted; the Prussian Rhine Province had the same symbol in its coat of arms.

Towns and municipalities

Towns Municipalities
  1. Bedburg
  2. Bergheim
  3. Brühl
  4. Erftstadt
  1. Frechen
  2. Hürth
  3. Kerpen
  4. Pulheim
  5. Wesseling
  1. Elsdorf

Rhein-Erft-Kreis Media

References

Other websites