|
|
| DEUTSCHLAND | GERMANY |
| Bundesland: Nordrhein-Westfalen | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Regierungsbezirk: Düsseldorf | |
| Stadt: Mönchengladbach |
map →
Mönchengladbach (until 1960 officially named München Gladbach or simply M. Gladbach) is located at an elevation of 70 m about 16 km west of the river Rhine, about halfway between Cologne and the Dutch border. The present municipality was formed in 1975 when the (old) independent cities of Mönchengladbach and Rheydt were merged, incorporating also the municipality of Wickrath (district Grevenbroich). Mönchengladbach has a population of about 257,000 (2011).
The original name of the city was Gladbach, which is even today often applied to the town. To distinguish the town from another town of the same name (the present Bergisch Gladbach) it took the name München-Gladbach in 1888. This spelling (mostly abbreviated to M. Gladbach) could mislead people to think that Gladbach was a borough of Munich (München in German), and consequently the pronounciation of the name was changed to Mönchen Gladbach in 1950 (with the written form remaining M. Gladbach. In 1960 the official name was finally changed to Mönchengladbach.
The origin of the town was an abbey founded in 974 by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, and his companion, the monk Sandrad of Trier.
It was named after the Gladbach, a narrow brook, that mostly runs subterraneously today. To advance the settlement, the monks created a market north of the church in the 12th century.
Gladbach received its town charter in 1364/1366. Until the end of the 18th century the city belonged to the department of Grevenbroich within the duchy of Jülich. On October 4, 1794,
French revolution army troops marched into the town, one day before the fortress Jülich had been handed over. When the Holy Roman Emperor Franz II conveyed the left bank of the
river Rhine to France with the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, Gladbach fell under French religion laws. This was the end for the abbey, and the monastery was
closed. On October 31, 1802, the last 31 monks left the monastery. The tremendous abbey library, well known outside of Germany, was scattered or destroyed. From 1798 until 1814, the
mairie Gladbach was part of canton Odenkirchen, arrondissement Krefeld, of the French Département de la Roer. In 1815, Gladbach became part of the Kingdom of Prussia and seat of the
Landkreis Gladbach, which was dissolved in 1929. In 1815 Gladbach became seat of the Bürgermeisterei (Office of mayor), which was split in 1859 into two parts: the City of Gladbach
and Office of Mayor Obergeburth. The latter was renamed to München-Gladbach-Land in 1907. When the Prussian Rhine Province was dissolved after World War II, the city became part
of the new state North Rhine-Westphalia.
The 
Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle [left] was built in 1901–1903 in Art Nouveau style by the architects Friedrich Wilhelm Wertz and Paul Huber
from Wiesbaden. The building was named for German Emperor Friedrich III who died in 1888 only 99 days after his accession to the throne. Modified in
1925 and 1937, the building survived World War II without much damage. In 1959 it was converted into a concert hall. In 1964 the building was destroyed by a large fire and
thereafter was reconstructed in 1967–1969. After another fire in 1977 the interior decorations were modified. Today the building is used for meetings and conventions.
The Roman-Catholic parish church Mariä Himmelfahrt (Ascension of Our Lady)
[background] goes back to the 13th century. The late Gothic church was then built in 1469–1533.
The main portal was added in 1890. New stained glass windows were created in 1959.
[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mönchengladbach, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mönchengladbach;
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle;
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Maria_Himmelfahrt_(Gladbach), http://helmutvoss.de/kirchen_moenchengladbach_city_kirche_01.html]
![[scale]](lineal.jpg)