Rhein-Erft-Kreis

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

Rhein-Erft-Kreis
District
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 50°55′N 6°40′E
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Adm. region	Cologne
Capital	Bergheim
Area
• Total	704.5 km2 (272.0 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2023)[1]
• Total	480,989
• Density	680/km2 (1,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	BM
Website	http://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
Bedburg Bergheim Brühl Erftstadt	Frechen Hürth Kerpen Pulheim Wesseling	Elsdorf