Mönchengladbach

Map of Mönchengladbach showing the boroughs, districts and postal zones.

Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladbach has comprised four (previously ten) boroughs which are subdivided into 44 districts.[3]

The boroughs and their associated districts

• Nord: Am Wasserturm, Dahl, Eicken, Gladbach, Hardt-Mitte, Hardter Wald, Ohler, Venn, Waldhausen, Westend, Windberg
• Ost: Bettrath‑Hoven, Bungt, Flughafen, Giesenkirchen‑Mitte, Giesenkirchen‑Nord, Hardterbroich‑Pesch, Lürrip, Neuwerk‑Mitte, Schelsen, Uedding
• Süd: Bonnenbroich‑Geneicken, Geistenbeck, Grenzland‑Stadion, Heyden, Hockstein, Mülfort, Odenkirchen‑Mitte, Odenkirchen‑West, Pongs, Rheydt, Sasserath, Schloss Rheydt, Schmölderpark, Schrievers
• West: Hauptquartier, Hehn, Holt, Rheindahlen‑Land, Rheindahlen‑Mitte, Wanlo, Wickrath-Mitte, Wickrath‑West, Wickrathberg

The original name of the city was Gladbach, by which it is still often known today. To distinguish it from another town of the same name (the present Bergisch Gladbach), it took the name München-Gladbach in 1888. Between 1933 and 1950, it was written München Gladbach (short: M. Gladbach), without a hyphen. This spelling was seen as potentially misleading, as it could imply that Gladbach was a borough of Munich (München in German), so consequently the name was changed to Mönchen-Gladbach in 1950 (and subsequently Mönchengladbach in 1960) to avoid confusion.

The town was founded around Gladbach Abbey in 974. It was named after the Gladbach, a narrow brook which mostly runs underground today. The abbey and adjoining villages became a town in the 14th century. The town of Rheydt is located nearby and is incorporated into Mönchengladbach today.

The first settlements in the area of Mönchengladbach are approximately 300,000–400,000 years old and show remains of Homo erectus and Neanderthal. There are numerous cairns from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

The history of Mönchengladbach began with the construction of the Gladbach Minster and the founding of an abbey in the year 974 by Gero, Archbishop of Cologne, and his companion, the monk Sandrad of Trier.

To improve the settlement, the monks created a market north of the church in the 12th century. Craftsmen settled near the market. Gladbach received its town charter in 1364–1366. The "town" erected a town wall made of stone, which had to be maintained by the citizens. Remains of the wall can be found at the Geroweiher, as can remains of the "Thick Tower", an old fortified tower at the Waldhausener hill. Until the end of the 18th century, the city belonged to the department of Grevenbroich within the duchy of Jülich.

On 4 October 1794, the armed forces of the French revolution marched into the town, one day before the fortress Jülich had been handed over. When the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II ceded the left bank of the river Rhine to France with the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, Gladbach fell under French laws suppressing religion. This was the end for the abbey, and the monastery was closed. On 31 October 1802, the last 31 monks left the monastery. The contents of the tremendous abbey library, well known outside Germany, were scattered or destroyed.

From 1798 until 1814, the Mairie Gladbach was part of Canton Odenkirchen, of the Arrondissement Krefeld, of the Roer Département.

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.

From 1933 through 1975, the neighborhood of Rheydt was an independent city; the split from München-Gladbach was arranged by Joseph Goebbels, who was born locally. After reuniting with Mönchengladbach, the central station (Rheydt Hauptbahnhof) kept its original name, making Mönchengladbach the only city in Germany to have two rail stations each called Hauptbahnhof.

In response to the 10 May 1940 German invasion of Belgium, Mönchengladbach was bombed by RAF Bomber Command on the evening of 11 May. The bomber crews were attempting to interdict German troop movements on roads, intersections and rail lines in the area, especially the city's railyards. About half of the approximately 36 twin-engine Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers reportedly hit their targets, and three were shot down.[4][5] Four people were killed on the ground, including a British woman living in Germany.[6]

After the Second World War, in compensation of the occupation of the Netherlands by Germany, several German cities were proposed to be ceded to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Though never approved, the project would have renamed Mönchengladbach to Monniken-Glabbeek.

Eventually, the Prussian Rhine Province was dissolved after World War II, and the city became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia which was formed in 1946.

The current Mayor of Mönchengladbach is Felix Heinrichs of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2020. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September, and the results were as follows:

Results of the 2020 city council election.

The Mönchengladbach city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	30,198	34.0	7.5	26	3
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	22,365	25.2	4.3	20	±0
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	18,879	21.2	10.6	16	9
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	5,282	5.9	4.5	5	4
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	4,911	5.5	1.0	4	1
	The Left (Die Linke)	3,605	4.1	0.4	3	±0
	Die PARTEI (PARTEI)	2,419	2.7	1.5	2	1
	Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)	507	0.6	New	0	New
	Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG)	439	0.5	New	0	New
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	229	0.3	0.6	0	1
	Independents	30	0.0	–	0	–
Valid votes		88,864	98.7
Invalid votes		1,160	1.3
Total		90,024	100.0		76	8
Electorate/voter turnout		207,117	43.5	0.8
Source: State Returning Officer

Borussia-Park, stadium of Borussia Mönchengladbach

Mönchengladbach has a long football tradition. Its home club, Borussia Mönchengladbach, is one of the country's most well-known, best-supported, and successful teams. The club plays on the Borussia-Park stadium with a capacity of 54,057. The club has the fourth largest fan club in Germany, "The Foals" (Die Fohlen), with more than 50,000 active members.

The city hosted three International Field Hockey world championships: the 2006 Men's World Hockey Cup, the 2008 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy, and the 2010 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy.

Since 1892, Mönchengladbach has owned a harness racing track called Trabrennbahn Mönchengladbach (Trotting track Mönchengladbach).

• Joseph Pilates (1883–1967), physical trainer, proponent of the Pilates method
• Hans Heyer (born 1943), racing driver
• Horst-Dieter Höttges (born 1943), footballer
• Günter Netzer (born 1944), footballer
• Jupp Heynckes (born 1945), footballer and manager
• Erwin Kremers (born 1949), footballer
• Ulrike von der Groeben (born 1957), television sport journalist
• Michael Frontzeck (born 1964), footballer
• Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 1967), Formula One driver
• Jorg Albertz (born 1971), footballer
• Nick Heidfeld (born 1977), Formula One driver
• Marcell Jansen (born 1985), footballer
• Isabell Herlovsen (born 1988), Norwegian footballer
• Marc-André ter Stegen (born 1992), footballer