Bergisch Gladbach (help·info) is a city in the Cologne/Bonn Region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and capital of the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis (district).
Bergisch Gladbach is located east of the river Rhine, approx. 10 kilometers east of Cologne.
Beginning in the north clockwise the neighbouring municipalities and neighbouring towns are: Odenthal, Kürten, Overath, Rösrath, Cologne and Leverkusen.
Early settlements existed in the 13th century, but the town was officially founded in 1856.
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…