The Rhein-Erft-Kreis () is a district in the west of

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 ...

. Neighboring districts are

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

, district-free

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 ...

Rhein-Sieg The Rhein-Sieg-Kreis () is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer Kreis, Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen, Neuwied (district), Neuwied, Ah ...

Euskirchen Euskirchen (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Euskirchen (district), district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating ba ...

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

History

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

Geography

The main river in the district is the

Erft The Erft () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It flows through the foothills of the Eifel, and joins the Lower Rhine (left tributary). Its origin is near Nettersheim, and its mouth in Neuss-Grimlinghausen south of the Josef Cardina ...

, which also gave it the name. The Erft flows through the foothills of the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

, on the left side of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river. The lake

Bleibtreusee Bleibtreusee is an artificial lake on the grounds of the former open-pit lignite mine in Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies betwee ...

is located within the district.

Towns

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows the lion of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...

in the left half, as most of the area belonged to the

duchy of Jülich The Duchy of Jülich (; ; ) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the wes ...

. 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 The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

had the same symbol in its coat of arms.

Gallery

Image:Schloss Augustusburg Bruehl.jpg,

Augustusburg Augustusburg () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 12 km east of Chemnitz. Augustusburg is known for its ''Jagdschloss'', the hunting lodge of the same name. The town includes the ortsteil or to ...

Palace in Brühl, Rhein-Erft-Kreis. File:Erft in Bergheim.jpg, The Erft river in Bergheim. File:Phantasialand Brühl.JPG, Aerial photo of

Phantasialand Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. It was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented park, ...

amusement park in Brühl. File:Schlosspark-Lechenich-Osteingang-Lindenallee.jpg, Gates of Parkanlagen Schloss Lechenich in Erftstadt.

References

External links

Official website
(German) {{Authority control Districts of North Rhine-Westphalia Cologne (region)