Overath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Overath is located about 25 km east of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, in the

Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, ) is a low mountain range in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of the Rhine and south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by forests, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains over twenty artificial lakes ...

. Despite the reclassification as a 'Stadt' (town, though the German understanding leans towards city) years ago due to surpassing the relevant population threshold, the former appellation Gemeinde (parish) seems more appropriate (particularly to the inhabitants) due to the spread-out villages it consists of. The main settlement is in the Agger valley, with others spread on the hills surrounding it. The ''kleine Heckberg'' (small Heckberg, 348 m) near Federath is the highest point of Overath, and the whole ''Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis''. Neighbouring cities are

Rösrath Rösrath (; ) is a town in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The earliest known documents mentioning the settlement ''Rösrath'' can be found in documents dated to 1356. There have been findings of Paleo ...

in the West,

Bergisch Gladbach Bergisch Gladbach () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district). Geography Bergisch Gladbach is east of the Rhine and abo ...

in the North-West,

Lindlar Lindlar ( ) is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located about 30 km east of Cologne. Geography Lindlar is located between latitudes 50°58' and 51°5' N. and longitudes 7°15' and 7°28' E ...

in the North-East,

Engelskirchen Engelskirchen (literally "angel’s churches") is a municipality in Oberbergischer Kreis, Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia, about east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities are (clockwise from the west) Overath, Lindlar, Gummersbach, Wie ...

in the East and Much,

Neunkirchen-Seelscheid Neunkirchen-Seelscheid () is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district in the southern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Beside the two principal places Neunkirchen and Seelscheid there are numerous smaller localities among the municipality ...

and

Lohmar Lohmar (; Ripuarian: ''Luhme'') is a municipality and a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Lohmar is located about 20 km east of Cologne and 15 km north-east of Bonn in the Bergisches Land a ...

in the South.

Subdivisions

Overath is divided into 7 parts. * Brombach * Heiligenhaus * Immekeppel * Marialinden * Steinenbrück * Untereschbach * Vilkerath

History

When first mentioned in 1060, Overath was called "Achera" (after the Agger river). Presumably because of the first settlement at a clearing (German ''Rodung'') the name changed to "Ouerode" (about 1280), "Ovverode" (1304), "Overadt" (1582), and finally became "Overath".

Demographics

In 1939, the population of Overath was 6,500. In 1946, it already exceeded 10,500 and continued to grow to 15,500 in 1970. The area of the community was extended in 1975, which increased the population to over 20,000. Since then it has risen further up to 27,106 in December 2005.

Religion

The

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church is devoted to

Saint Walpurga Walpurga or Walburga (; ; ; 71025 February 777 or 779) was an Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish Empire. She was canonized on 1 May c. 870 by Pope Adrian II. Walpurgis Night, Saint Walpurgis Night (or "Sankt Walpurgisnacht") is the name fo ...

(''Heilige Walburga''). Until 1803 the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

s had a monastery in ''Cyriax'', a subsidiary of Michaelsberg Abbey at

Siegburg Siegburg (; i.e. ''fort on the Sieg (river), Sieg river''; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg (river), Sieg ...

. The

church in Heiligenhaus is devoted to

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79; traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327), also called Rock in English, was a Majorcan Catholic confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he was especially invo ...

(''Heiliger Rochus''). ''Marialindens church (''St. Mariä Heimsuchung'') is a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

destination for

Saint Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads

The B 55 und B 484 federal roads (German ''Bundesstraßen'') as well as the A 4

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

pass through area of the town. The A 4 has got two exits to Overath, Overath-Untereschbach and Overath.

Air transport

The

Cologne Bonn Airport Cologne Bonn Airport () is an international airport in north-western Germany. It serves the country's fourth-largest city Cologne, as well as Bonn, the former capital of West Germany. With approximately 12.4 million passengers passing through i ...

is reachable within 25 minutes.

Public transport

The railway station in Overath connects the town with

and

Marienheide Marienheide is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Marienheide is located about 50 km east of Cologne. Neighbouring places The neighbouring towns are Gummersbach and Wipperfürth as well ...

. The train heading for Cologne departs every 30 minutes, the train heading for Marienheide departs every 60 minutes. Cologne is reachable by train in within 35 minutes. These traffic connections, together with rural surroundings, make Overath a popular place to live for

commuters Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...

Healthcare

There is no hospital in Overath. The nearest hospitals are in Bergisch Gladbach and Engelskirchen.

Government

City council

The

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

consists of 38 members. The current breakdown, from the general elections held September 26, 2004, is as follows:

Mayor

Christoph Nicodemus was elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(German ''Bürgermeister'') in September 2020, representing CDU, Greens and FDP.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Overath was only created on March 3, 1938. It consists of two areas: * The upper area shows the lion of Berg. It symbolizes the former jurisdiction by the Earldom of Berg. * The lower area shows a golden

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

. It is supposed to symbolize a tradition of bell making. The inclusion of the bell is, however, due to a 15th and 16th century bell making family ''von Overra e'' from

, which falsely led to belief that bells were cast in Overath.

Twin towns – sister cities

Overath is twinned with: *

Colne Valley The Colne Valley is a steep sided valley on the east flank of the Pennine Hills in the English county of West Yorkshire. It takes its name from the River Colne which rises above the town of Marsden and flows eastward towards Huddersfield. ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Pérenchies Pérenchies (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry People from Pérenchies *Yvon ...

, France

References

External links

* {{Authority control Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Districts of the Rhine Province